Lufthansa Is known among Simple Flying readers for their incredibly harsh stance on skiplagging. However, due to Italian law, Lufthansa actually allows skiplagging in selected circumstances.
Skiplagging is also known as hidden city ticketing. The process sees passengers travelling from C to A to B rather than A to B. For those new to Simple Flying, this might seem odd, however, there can be huge savings to be made. But in some cases, missing any segment on an itinerary can have consequences. Stay with us while we explain the loophole which means Lufthansa is honoring these fares.
Lufthansa hates skiplagging
Regular readers of Simple Flying will remember that we covered the Lufthansa skiplagging case. In case you missed it, Lufthansa took somebody to court for damages after a missed segment.
The defendant booked a business class ticket from Oslo to Seattle via Frankfurt for 6,224 NOK (€657). On the return flight, the passenger flew from Frankfurt to Berlin on a separate ticket. Lufthansa says that he should have paid €2,769, and demanded €2,112 plus interest.
Unsuccessful case
The case was thrown out of the court, however, not because the defendant won. Instead, as the court couldn’t determine where Lufthansa got the €2,112 figure from, they were unable to rule in their favour.
However, while the Spanish courts have been busy telling Iberia off for skiplagging punishments, Italy has been hard at work doing the opposite. As a result, a number of airlines now have special policies regarding skiplagging, put in place specially for Italian customers.
Lufthansa’s policy
God Save The Points notes that Lufthansa’s policy states: "Passengers holding a Lufthansa ticket issued in Italy (via LH.com/IT, LH ticket counter, LH call center or at a travel agency) may use the original booked return flight, out of sequence without recalculation and extra payment, even if the outbound section has not been used. In this case, please call the Lufthansa Customer Relations team latest 24 hours after the planned first ticketed flight segment."
Simple Flying spoke to a Lufthansa representative who confirmed this is the case. However, it only applies to tickets booked in Italy. They confirmed an itinerary such as London-Frankfurt-New York would be covered if booked from Italy.
This has the potential to open a huge number of doors for skiplagging passengers, as it could be as simple as booking through LH.com/it to be covered. As long as passengers phone within 24 hours of a missed segment, their entire booking is protected.
What do you think of this skiplagging loophole? Let us know in the comments!