Inventor of 'Skiplagging' Is Unapologetic

By now the term "skiplagging" is a relatively familiar one for those who fly. The idea is to save money on airfare by booking a flight with a layover, with the layover being the actual destination—unbeknownst to the airline. The flyer then bags the last leg of the flight. In the strange world of airline pricing, this can often save a lot of money. As the New York Times explains, however, the practice is banned by major airlines, which have been known to punish fliers financially (sometimes through taking their frequent-flier miles). The airlines also are going after the site that popularized the idea, and the term—Skiplagged.com. Founder Aktarer Zaman, 32, talks to the Times and has no plans of shutting down.

• The name: Zaman says his younger sister, a fan of Selena Gomez, coined the term after seeing an online post from the singer about being jetlagged. The then-12-year-old suggested the name for her brother's idea, and Zaman bought the domain a few days later. The site launched in 2013 makes it easy to find skiplag, or "hidden city," deals.
• The business: Zaman says 12 million people have used his site in the last year. If they book through Skiplagged, the site collects a service fee, and the Dallas Morning News says the small company has made "millions in revenue." To the Times, Zaman says: "It's enough that we can continue to run the business and stay profitable."
• Trouble? American Airlines recently won a $9.4 million lawsuit against Skiplagged, but Zaman downplayed the significance, spun it as a "huge victory for Skiplagged," and said the awarded amount isn't final. As for the ethics of all this, he called that a "personal decision" for users and questioned whether the airline pricing itself is ethical.

(Read the full interview.)