Skiplagged Ordered to Pay $9.4 Million to American Airlines – 'They Want to Take Us Down,' CEO Says

It's probably not the only issue at play, but if Skiplagged wasn't issuing hidden-city tickets, it might be a lot easier to get American's permission to use the airline's logo.

American Airlines said it will appeal a Texas federal court ruling that sided with Skiplagged’s use of the airline’s name — the ruling, however, still left the flight-booking site on the hook for $9.4 million in copyright damages for use of American's logo.

The ruling is the latest step in a long-running feud over Skiplagged’s promotion of so-called hidden-city ticketing, which has stoked the ire of airlines for disrupting their operations. Under this scenario, flyers score cheap tickets by booking a connecting flight and departing at the connecting stop rather going on to the ultimate destination. About 30% of the flights booked on Skiplagged are for hidden-city tickets.

The court ruling, which took up post-trial motions following a jury decision in October 2024, came down in early May.

"We are pleased the District Court has affirmed the jury’s award of $9.4 million, plus pre- and post-judgment interest, and a permanent injunction against Skiplagged for its unlawfu