United Airlines recently filed a lawsuit against a popular online travel agency, accusing it of false advertising and illegally marketing and selling United flights.
In a suit filed in Illinois last week, United alleges that Kiwi.com deceived customers into buying flights through their service for a higher price than if they purchased them directly through United. The airline claims Kiwi “unlawfully trades on United’s stellar worldwide reputation and goodwill, disrupts its operations, and systematically deceives consumers—all while masquerading as a legitimate business.”
Additionally, United says it attempted to get Kiwi to stop illegally selling its flights and even sent a cease-and-desist letter, according to Paddle Your Own Kanoo.
Kiwi then allegedly offered to begin charging customers the correct prices–but only if United entered into a commercial agreement with it. The airline rejected the proposal, labeling it an “extortion” attempt.
United and Kiwi worked together in the past
The two businesses previously did have an agreement allowing Kiwi to sell United flights.
However, the airline terminated it in 2023 over what it calls “deceptive and harmful practices” by the Czech Republic-based company.
What United is alleging
According to the court filing, instead of dropping its United offerings, Kiwi allegedly used underhanded practices, such as “scraping” the data from United’s website and creating fake email addresses to complete bookings, all the while making it look like it still had a legitimate relationship with the air carrier.
The airline also accuses Kiwi of charging excessive baggage fees, and in some instances, charging passengers for luggage that was never booked with United.
Additionally, United says Kiwi promoted “hidden city ticketing,” which involves someone purchasing a ticket for a flight that includes a stopover. However, the intention is to end the journey at the layover destination rather than use the connecting flight.
“Because of how airline inventory is sold, buying a direct flight to your destination is often more expensive than buying a connecting flight and simply discarding the final segment,” said Paddle Your Own Kanoo. “Airlines, however, hate this practice and have explicitly banned hidden city ticketing in their terms and conditions.”
This isn’t Kiwi’s first tussle with an airline
The 13-year-old company, originally founded as SkyPicker.com, has been targeted by multiple airlines in recent years for reasons similar to United’s lawsuit.
Southwest sued Kiwi in 2021, winning a permanent injunction banning the company from selling its flights on its website. Irish airline Ryanair also sued Kiwi in 2021, settling out of court two years later; last year, the two sides reached a deal to do business.
Finally, American Airlines sued Kiwi in 2023 over alleged data scraping and “hidden city ticketing,” reaching a settlement in February 2024.
