Skiplagged, a startup that has specialized in "hidden-city ticketing," says that the case United Airlines brought against it has been dismissed on a technicality.
UPDATE: 10:30am. The judge dismissed the case on lack of jurisdiction. The dismissal does not preclude United from refiling and litigating its claims elsewhere.
Startup founder Aktarer Zaman told Tnooz:
"The situation surrounding the lawsuit has changed quite a bit since the original filing back in mid November.
Skiplagged assists for non-hidden-city trip bookings. For hidden-city, only information will be shown as of right now.
Will United try again? Only it knows. Is there currently a lawsuit against Skiplagged? No."
UPDATE 12:00ET: United has given us this statement:
"The decision was a ruling on procedural grounds and not on the merits of the case.
We remain troubled that Mr. Zaman continues to openly encourage customers to violate our contract of carriage by purchasing hidden-city tickets, putting the validity of their ticket and MileagePlus status at risk."
In its case, the airline had used a few arguments, one of which was that the company is illegally using false affiliation.
In the meantime, founder Aktarer Zaman can continue his business, in a modified form. He has created app versions for Apple and Android devices.
Zaman didn't comment on whether he might alter his business. But it's possible the site may take a page from ITA Software by Google's approach of just displaying fares but not completing the booking for hidden-city on a permanent basis.
Skiplagged had crowdsourced its legal defense fund and raised about $79,000 in five months. Without that crowdfunding, it is unlikely the startup could have fought the decision.
Orbitz settled with the site in February. Skiplagged has agreed to stop using Orbitz Worldwide sites to find so-called “hidden city” airline tickets.
What is hidden-city ticketing?
Sometimes nonstop flights to a destination are more expensive than booking a multi-stop flight that happens to lay over at a flier’s true destination.
In a sly trick, a daring traveler can buy the round-trip fare and then only use a portion of the ticket to reach his or her “hidden city” destination. This can generate significant savings.
The policy is not illegal, but it is in violation of the US airlines’ terms and conditions for purchasing a ticket, as noted by Nate Silver in a cheat sheet to the tactic that had inspired Skiplagged's founder in the first place.
EARLIER: United, Orbitz sue tiny Skiplagged, which crowdfunds a defense