Lufthansa ‘to SUE passenger who deliberately missed last leg of his flight in trick to get cheap fares’
The airline says the passenger exploited the airline ticketing system by booking a cheaper multiple-stop ticket they never intended to complete
A PASSENGER is allegedly being sued by Germany airline Lufthansa because he used a travel hack that allowed him to book cheaper flights.
The unnamed passenger is said to have booked a cheaper multi-stop ticket, where his real destination is at the stop over point, and never intended to complete the journey he booked.
The alleged infringement happened almost two years ago, in May 2016.
, the passenger booked a return business class trip from Oslo to Seattle via Frankfurt, paying NOK 6224 (£556).
On the return journey, he is said to have bought a separate ticket from Frankfurt to Berlin and did not complete his journey to Oslo.
The terms and conditions when buying tickets through Lufthansa make it clear the practice is not allowed.
Lufthansa says that the passenger should have paid €2769 (£2,430) for his total journey, and demanded €2112 (£1,853) plus interest.
The case was reportedly thrown out because the airline failed to fully explain how it had arrived at the compensation figure of €2112.
How the travel hack works
It's sometimes possible to save on air fares by taking advantage of routes with a layover.
Airlines are occaisionally able to offer multi-stop routes more cheaply than direct ones.
This means that by booking a multi-stop ticket, where your intended destination is actually the layover, your journey might actually be cheaper than if you booked a direct flight.
For example, a return flight from Oslo to Seattle plus the separate flight from Frankfurt to Berlin might work out to be cheaper than an open jaw flight from Oslo to Seattle to Berlin all as one journey.
Airlines are said to be cracking down on the travel hack and some are now seeking additional fees from its passengers.
Lufthansa is now said to be appealing the judgement.
A Lufthansa spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: "As this is a running court case, we do not comment this case at this stage."
With companies like Skiplagged helping customers find cheeky deals, there is a growing ability to play the system for the best deals, according to the .
Skiplagged's website actually boasts: “Our flights are so cheap, United (Airlines) sued us... but we won."
In a shocking alternative tale of cheap tickets, Cathay Pacific airline mistakenly sold £12,000 first class tickets for £535 in a bizarre blunder but have since decided to honour the ultra-low fares.
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