22-year-old entrepreneur sued by United Airlines, Orbitz

CHICAGO, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- United Airlines and Orbitz are suing 22-year-old Aktarer Zaman to recuperate what they say is $75,000 in lost revenue.

Zaman founded the website Skiplagged, which helps passengers find cheaper flights by finding tickets where the actual destination of the traveler is a layover. The strategy is called "Hidden City."

"In its simplest form, a passenger purchases a ticket from city A to city B to city C but does not travel beyond city B," Orbitz, an online booking site, and United Airlines said.

Although not participating in the case, American Airlines said the practice is like "switching price tags to obtain a lower price" and suggested raising fares if it continues.

Zaman graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the age of 20. He was born in Bangladesh and currently lives in Manhattan, N.Y.

"Skiplagged's sole purpose has always been to help you become savvy travelers," Zaman said in a statement on a fundraising website. "Unfortunately, we have been doing too good of a job so United Airlines and Orbitz recently teamed up with a lawsuit to get in the way."

Zaman said he can prove Skiplagged's legality with the help of a legal team and seeks to raise $15,000.