American Airlines said it will appeal a Texas federal court ruling that sided with Skiplagged’s use of the airline’s name — the ruling, however, still left the flight-booking site on the hook for $9.4 million in copyright damages for use of American’s logo.
The decision is the latest in a longstanding feud between airlines and Skiplagged over the promotion of ‘hidden-city ticketing’, which has caused them to be angry for disrupting the operations of the airlines. This scenario allows flyers to score cheap tickets when they book connecting flights and leave at the connecting city rather than continuing on to their ultimate destination. Skiplagged is used to book hidden-city tickets for about 30% of all flights.
The court’s ruling on the post-trial proceedings following a jury verdict in October 2024 was handed down early in May.
“We are happy that the District Court has upheld the jury’s $9.4-million award, plus pre and post-judgment interests, as well as a permanent injunction for Skiplagged to stop its illegal conduct.
