United Airlines sued me last year for creating Skiplagged, a site that saves consumers money on airfare by exposing secrets. Instead of shutting it down, United made Skiplagged go viral worldwide and supporters donated over $80,000! Today, there's...

Update: reddit hug of death, try the Android or iOS apps if website fails <3 . We're also hiring, particularly engineers to make Skiplagged better. Email [email protected] if you're interested.

This is a followup to the AMA I did last year, just after the federal lawsuit was filed.

Hey guys, I founded Skiplagged. Skiplagged is like a regular airfare search engine except it also shows you fares other websites don't. Among those is something very controversial known as hidden-city.

Basically, hidden-city is where your destination is a stopover; you'd simply leave the airport when you arrive at your destination. It turns out booking this way can save you hundreds of dollars on over 25% of common routes, especially in the USA. New York to San Francisco example. There are a few caveats, of course: (1) you'd have to book a round-trip as two one-ways (which Skiplagged handles automatically), (2) you can only have carry-ons, and (3) you may be breaking an agreement with the airlines known as contract of carriage, where it might say you can't miss flights on purpose.

While Skiplagged is aimed at being a traveller's best friend and does more than inform about hidden-city opportunities, hidden-city is what it became known for. In fact, many people even refer to missing flights on purpose as "skiplagging". United Airlines didn't like any of this.

Around September of last year, United reached out trying to get me to stop. I refused to comply because of their sheer arrogance and deceitfulness. For example, United tried to use the contract of carriage. They insisted Skiplagged, a site that provides information, was violating the contract. Contract of carriage is an agreement between passengers and airlines...Skiplagged is neither. This was basically the case of a big corporation trying to get what they want, irrelevant of the laws.

Fast-forward two months to Nov 2014, United teamed up with another big corporation and filed a federal lawsuit. I actually found out I was being sued from a Bloomberg reporter, who reached out asking for my thoughts. As a 22 year old being told there's a federal lawsuit against me by multi-billion dollar corporations, my heart immediately sank. But then I remembered, I'm 22. At worst, I'll be bankrupt. In my gut, I believed educating consumers is good for society so I decided this was a fight worth having. They sent over a letter shortly asking me to capitulate. I refused.

Skiplagged was a self-funded side project so I had no idea how I was going to fund a litigation. To start somewhere, I created a GoFundMe page for people to join me in the fight. What was happening in the following weeks was amazing. First there was coverage from small news websites. Then cbs reached out asking me to be on national tv. Then cnn reached out and published an article. Overnight, my story started going viral worldwide like frontpage of reddit and trending on facebook. Then I was asked to go on more national tv, local tv, radio stations, etc. Newspapers all over the world started picking this up. United caused the streisand effect. Tens of millions of people now heard about what they're doing. This was so nerve-wracking! Luckily, people understood what I was doing and there was support from all directions.

Fast-forward a couple of months, United's partner in the lawsuit dropped. Fast-forward a few more months to May 2015, a federal judge dropped the lawsuit completely. Victory? Sort of I guess. While now there's no lawsuit against Skiplagged, this is America so corporations like United can try again.

From running a business as an early twenties guy to being on national tv to getting sued by multi-billion dollar corporations to successfully crowdfunding, I managed to experience quite a bit. Given the support reddit had for me last year, I wanted to do this AMA to share my experience as a way of giving back to the community.

Also, I need your help.

The crowdfunding to fight the lawsuit led to donations of over $80,000. I promised to donate the excess, so in addition to your question feel free to suggest what charity Skiplagged should support with the remaining ~$23,000. Vote here. The top suggestions are:

  1. Corporate Angel Network - "Corporate Angel Network is the only charitable organization in the United States whose sole mission is to help cancer patients access the best possible treatment for their specific type of cancer by arranging free travel to treatment across the country using empty seats on corporate jets." http://www.corpangelnetwork.org/about/index.html

  2. Angel Flight NE - "organization that coordinates free air transportation for patients whose financial resources would not otherwise enable them to receive treatment or diagnosis, or who may live in rural areas without access to commercial airlines." http://www.angelflightne.org/angel-flight-new-england/who-we-are.html

  3. Miracle Flights for Kids - "the nation’s leading nonprofit health and welfare flight organization, providing financial assistance for medical flights so that seriously ill children may receive life-altering, life-saving medical care and second opinions from experts and specialists throughout the United States" http://www.miracleflights.org/

  4. Travelers Aid International - "While each member agency shares the core service of helping stranded travelers, many Travelers Aid agencies provide shelter for the homeless, transitional housing, job training, counseling, local transportation assistance and other programs to help people who encounter crises as they journey through life." http://www.travelersaid.org/mission.html

I'm sure you love numbers, so here are misc stats:

Donations

Number of Donations Total Donated Average Min Max Std Dev Fees Net Donated
GoFundMe 3886 $80,681 $20.76 $5.00 $1,000.00 $38.98 $7,539.60 $73,141
PayPal 9 $395 $43.89 $5.00 $100.00 $44.14 $0 $395
3895 $81,076 $20.82 $5.00 $1,000.00 $39.00 $7,539.60 $73,536

Legal Fees

Amount Billed Discount Amount Paid
Primary Counsel $54,195.46 $5,280.02 $48,915.44
Local Counsel $1,858.50 $0.00 $1,858.50
$56,053.96 $50,773.94

Top 10 Dates

Date Amount Donated
12/30/14 $21,322
12/31/14 $12,616
1/1/15 $6,813
1/2/15 $3,584
12/19/14 $3,053
1/4/15 $2,569
1/3/15 $2,066
1/6/15 $2,033
1/5/15 $1,820
1/8/15 $1,545

Top 10 Cities

City Number of Donators
New York 119
San Francisco 61
Houston 57
Chicago 56
Brooklyn 55
Seattle 48
Los Angeles 47
Atlanta 43
Washington 31
Austin 28

Campaign Growth: http://i.imgur.com/PMT3Met.png

Comments: http://pastebin.com/85FKCC43

Donations Remaining: $22,762

Proof: http://skiplagged.com/reddit_11_30_2015.html

Now ask away! :)

tl;dr built site to save consumers money on airfare, got sued by United Airlines, started trending worldwide, crowdfunded legal fight, judge dismissed lawsuit, now trying to donate ~$23,000

Comments: 3744 • Responses: 33  • Date: 

Tjolerie2747 karma

Have airline companies changed their pricing algorithms due to Skiplagged's increasing use and prominence?

skiplagged2301 karma

Not that I've noticed. Airlines still make the additional money from uninformed, so it might be silly to get rid of hidden-city opportunities.

brdrck1374 karma

I love the idea behind Skiplagged, but I noticed you stole and are using the plane icon I originally created in 2010: https://vimeo.com/17007257

Do you plan to eventually contact me to license this or just plan to steal my hard work?

skiplagged701 karma

I'll look into how we got the image and follow up.

SmartPrivilege1097 karma

I get a tear in my eye every time "the little guy" is able to take a figurative jab at a major bloodsucking corporation.

If I ever met you in person, would you prefer a fist-bump, a high-five, or a cold beer?

edit: for the naysayers who claim United is losing money, they made a profit of nearly $2 Billion in 2014.

http://ir.united.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=83680&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2009546

skiplagged708 karma

A fist-bump, a high-five, AND a cold beer with pizza! Haha

themarbz921 karma

Hey Aktarer -- awesome to have you back and really appreciate what you've built here.

While I love the sentiment around asking the community what to do with the "extra" cash, I would really suggest you hold onto the money for 6 months or so until you're sure that this fight isn't going to come around and pull you back into a courtroom. Those people gave you those donations to ensure that you survive, so let's be sure you do :)

Also, just a word of warning for those using the site to fly internationally -- often it might make sense to book a trip to somewhere like Russia for cheap, and then plan to get off at your stopover city in Europe or wherever. However, if the end destination country (that you never really intended on visiting) requires a visa (that you have no intention of actually getting), the airline could request proof and not let you on the plane. I almost just did this on a flight from JFK to Geneva and thankfully someone pointed it out to me before I pulled the trigger.

skiplagged335 karma

Thanks for the input. I've been going back and forth about when to donate the excess like I promised. Only reason I considered now because it's been a year already. I'll be sure to update you guys.

skiplagged705 karma

Use this sub-thread to vote for a charity! :)

skiplagged1234 karma

Miracle Flights for Kids - "the nation’s leading nonprofit health and welfare flight organization, providing financial assistance for medical flights so that seriously ill children may receive life-altering, life-saving medical care and second opinions from experts and specialists throughout the United States" http://www.miracleflights.org/

skiplagged479 karma

Angel Flight NE - "organization that coordinates free air transportation for patients whose financial resources would not otherwise enable them to receive treatment or diagnosis, or who may live in rural areas without access to commercial airlines." http://www.angelflightne.org/angel-flight-new-england/who-we-are.html

skiplagged260 karma

Travelers Aid International - "While each member agency shares the core service of helping stranded travelers, many Travelers Aid agencies provide shelter for the homeless, transitional housing, job training, counseling, local transportation assistance and other programs to help people who encounter crises as they journey through life." http://www.travelersaid.org/mission.html

skiplagged252 karma

Corporate Angel Network - "Corporate Angel Network is the only charitable organization in the United States whose sole mission is to help cancer patients access the best possible treatment for their specific type of cancer by arranging free travel to treatment across the country using empty seats on corporate jets." http://www.corpangelnetwork.org/about/index.html

CharsCustomerService687 karma

As I understand it, the lawsuit was tossed on jurisdictional grounds, which does not preclude the airline bringing a new suit in a correct jurisdiction. How much of a concern is this, and what are your plans for dealing with this danger?

skiplagged789 karma

By suing Skiplagged, United educated millions about hidden-city and made Skiplagged significantly more popular. It might be better for the airlines to leave Skiplagged alone.

JDMePlease821 karma

As wonderful a sentiment as that is, that's very rarely how multi-billion dollar companies operate. I don't want to be a negative nancy here, but you shouldn't be surprised if you see the inside of a courtroom again soon.

Or, even more likely, find yourself on the receiving end of their lobbying team.

skiplagged333 karma

It would be interesting to see what happens. Those are definitely likely possibilities.

RudeHero625 karma

A friend of mine claims you can get screwed on this, but I don't know if I believe him

Supposedly if you're flying from NYC to Dallas and use this to get a flight that goes from NYC to las Vegas (with a hidden city of Dallas), the hidden city could switch at the last minute from Dallas to Chicago!

Possible? Or an urban legend? This is the only thing keeping me from using this service

shakin_the_bacon652 karma

Yes. If the airline decides to reroute you due to a plethora of factors this can happen. However it is rare.

skiplagged858 karma

Rare indeed. Only 2.5% of trips get rerouted, usually in obvious times of issues like bad weather.

ZZZlist489 karma

Some carriers have applications that can sniff out passengers using hidden cities and mark their return flights for cancellation. Have any of your passengers had their return flights cancelled for this reason? And if they do, will you compensate them?

skiplagged535 karma

Never had a complaint. We tell you to book a round-trip as two one-ways if it involves missing a flight.

_o_b_347 karma

Can you explain like I'm 5 what a hidden-city is? I don't understand how/why it saves money.

skiplagged109 karma

We made a video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9r6qp8UBQc

aqswdefrgthzjukilo287 karma

Fast-forward a few more months to May 2015, a federal judge dropped the lawsuit completely.

Why?

skiplagged450 karma

We proved it wasn't filed properly. The jurisdiction, Chicago, was not the right place for this lawsuit.

IKingJeremy129 karma

What were the biggest obstacles to overcome in getting the website off the ground?

Also, how does the website and app make money?

skiplagged243 karma

It turns out services that provide airfare data make it really difficult to facilitate what Skiplagged does, i.e. search by stopovers. I had to figure out an efficient and scalable solution to this huge obstacle, given that airfare is lots of data that changes every few minutes.

The website and app don't make money right now, but there are lots of ways Skiplagged as a travel service can in the future (e.g. hotel commissions).

Recognizant110 karma

How does it feel to personally be telling that 'One weird trick Airliners don't want you to know about'?

skiplagged14 karma

You reminded me of how difficult it was to educate consumers. It feels weird, but fortunately the trick is real here.

sunk818101 karma

Can you get on a flight from the middle to end instead? Say flight does to New York, Miami, lax. Can I start from Miami to end in lax?

skiplagged211 karma

No, airline's usually cancel.

Rainman541990 karma

If I'm getting a results unavailable page is this a result from the Reddit hug of death and/or no results that save money for my potential trip?

skiplagged106 karma

Hug of death

zyloman70 karma

Is it true that the best (Cheapest) time to purchase a plane ticket is about 3 weeks in advance? Do airlines seem to change the prices on certain days of the week?

skiplagged73 karma

It varies by the route and availability. I don't know how much statistical evidence is behind the 3 weeks, but I would guess not much.

sunk81853 karma

In terms of voting, what about making a comment for each charity and our upvote can help decide?

skiplagged28 karma

Love it!

minime644643 karma

What do you plan on doing next?

skiplagged64 karma

For flight search, we plan on adding other types of cheaper fares and offering misc features such as more real-time alerts on fare change. We're also trying to do more than flight search so people view Skiplagged as a fun way to discover the world. We expect mobile app to be the primary focus.

Bobby_Hilfiger34 karma

Which airlines have "contract of carriage"? What could they do to you for missing a flight?

skiplagged68 karma

All the airlines have some sort of agreement. If you missed a flight, you missed a flight. They can't really prove you missed on purpose and therefore violated the contract.

TheHiddenFox30 karma

Oh hey! We graduated from RPI the same year. I mostly wanted to say that it's super cool to see an RPI grad being successful and don't really have any great questions to ask about Skiplagged, so I guess I'll just ask what your favorite and least favorite parts of RPI were so we can bond.

So, what was your favorite and least favorite part / experience at RPI?

skiplagged11 karma

Hey fellow RPI grad! Thanks for the nice comment. My favorite part was that the computer science curriculum prepared me well for the working world. Least favorite was the boring city. You?

smallatom19 karma

Can I come work for you?

skiplagged31 karma

We're hiring so maybe! Email [email protected]

penkid11 karma

Alternatively, do you have employees or is it a solo operation currently?

skiplagged24 karma

Yeah, Skiplagged is more than just me now. We're hiring too...email [email protected]

daveywestside12 karma

How'd you come up with the idea for Skiplagged??? It's really amazing!!!

skiplagged33 karma

I noticed a hidden-city opportunity while searching for flights. Did research and realized these opportunities are quite prevalent--25% of common routes offer cheaper fares. Also noticed other things like how two one-ways can be cheaper than round-trips, combining one-ways to form a route can be cheaper than normal one-ways, and how two round-trips can be cheaper than one round-trip. Wanted to build something that presents a whole new class of fares to consumers.

AgnewsNews9 karma

What is stopping airlines from deciphering which flights are being purchased through Skiplagged and denying all sales made through your site? I'm not even sure if such a thing is possible, but if it is I wouldn't put such a thing past them.

skiplagged9 karma

The way we help users book is by just providing information. This way, there's no link back to skiplagged.

unfaze76 karma

First congratulations on your win! Second how about donating to those top 4 charities with the top 2 getting the extra $1,500?
When do you think would be the best time to visit Chicago?(Yes i know there isn't a best time to visit Chi city but i have family living there and it's been awhile since i've visited them plus i love the cold and snow) I live in So Cal, about an hour away from LAX. As much as I would like to go to my local airport it's just too expensive and flights from LAX are usually $150 cheaper than my small airport.

skiplagged7 karma

That's not a bad idea for the charities, thanks! Take advantage of the price graph on our website and apps. It shows the cheapest prices for the dates surrounding your searched date.

frederichenry5 karma

Interesting time for the airline industry as profits are finally ubiquitous. What do you foresee, based on the data at your finger tips, about the consumer's airline spending habits in 2016?

skiplagged9 karma

Will definitely be increasing, especially via mobile apps.

spacecase894 karma

RPI Class of '11 here. Here's hoping you bring our school some more recognition. You didn't happen to take any of the Operation Research classes, did you? That class fully explains why airlines price as they do.

skiplagged5 karma

Hi RPI person! I don't think I took that class.