Interview With Hidden City Startup Founder: Is He Naive or an Innovator?

Aktarer Zaman, the 22-year-old Skiplagged founder who got sued by Orbitz and United, has a B.S. in computer science, a year's experience at Amazon as a software engineer, a lot of chutzpah, and an outsider's view on the insanity of and inefficiencies that characterize modern airfares. Zaman's website, which drew the ire of the Chicago-based online travel agency and airline as he outsmarted them with hard-to-replicate searches and deep links, as well as some alleged obfuscation when they tried to bring down the sledgehammer, helps travelers find hidden-city itineraries. These routings enable a traveler to get a cheaper fare by exiting at a stopover without continuing to the final destination instead of purchasing a direct flight to the stopover airport. Some experienced travelers have long dabbled in booking hidden-city tickets, although they can draw the wrath of the airlines, which bar such practices and can banish them from airline loyalty programs if they are found to be ha