Chicago-based Orbitz Worldwide has settled a lawsuit against a website that helps passengers find so-called hidden city fares to exploit a loophole in the airfare system.
Litigation by United Airlines against the same website is still active.
The suit against skiplagged.com and itsowner, 22-year-old programmer Aktarer Zaman, sparked debate about whether hidden cities fare bookings are unethical orbeing a savvy consumer.
Skiplagged helps users find hidden city routes, meaning fliers book flights with brief stopovers in a city that is their true destination. They simply get off the plane at the stopover and abandon the remainder of their flight. Such flights with stopovers are sometimes cheaper than direct flights to the same place.
The practice is expressly forbidden by many airlines.
In the settlement, the site agreed not to redirect its traffic to Orbitz.com and other Orbitz websites. Skiplagged also agreed not to use Orbitz brands, logos, trademarks, images or other copyrighted materials on its site or mobile apps, according to a statement by Orbitz.Neither company admitted wrongdoing.
More Top Picks Pool Table
The settlement removes Orbitz from a suit jointly filed with United Airlines against Skiplagged on Nov. 17. Orbitz had said the practice put its contracts with suppliers, namely airlines, at risk.
Twitter @spendingsmart