你有没有发现，买飞机票的时候，中转航班价格往往比直飞航班要便宜？于是，不少旅客会选择中转航班以节省花费。不过，最近一位乘客因为购买了中转航班机票，却弃乘第二段航段，而被德国汉莎航空告上法庭，并索赔2112欧元。花钱买了机票还要被告，这是为什么呢？

A Lufthansa Airbus A-380 rolls to its take-off position at the airport. After the airline Emirates cancelled a large part of its A-380 orders, Airbus announced the early end for the giant aircraft. [Photo/IC]

A method commonly used by airline passengers to get cheaper fares is at the center of a court row between a German airline and one of its customers.

航空旅客用来省钱的一种常见购票方式最近成为德国汉莎航空公司与一名乘客官司的焦点。

Lufthansa has taken a passenger, who didn't show up for the last leg of his ticketed journey, to court in an apparent bid to clamp down on "hidden city" ticketing.

德国汉莎航空公司起诉了一名弃乘最后一段航班的乘客，显然是为了打击“隐藏城市”购票方式。

leg [leg]：n.航段

所谓“隐藏城市”购票（"hidden city" ticketing）适用于这样的场景：从A到B的直飞航班票价高于从A经B中转到C的机票价格，因此，乘客选择购买从A经B中转到C的机票，然后在B中转时结束自己的旅程。

The practice involves passengers leaving their journey at a layover point, instead of making a final connection.

用这种方式购票的乘客在中转站离开，而不是继续搭乘中转航班抵达终点。

Anyone can do it, providing you travel only with carry-on luggage.

只要你出门时只带了随身行李，任何人都可以这样做。

For instance, someone flying from New York to San Francisco could book a cheaper trip from New York to Lake Tahoe with a layover in San Francisco and get off there, without bothering to take the last leg of the flight.

比如，如果乘客要从纽约飞往旧金山，可以订一张从纽约飞往太浩湖（在旧金山中转）的联程机票，并在旧金山下飞机，不再继续第二段航程。

Flight attendants of German airline Lufthansa stand outside an aircraft at Frankfurt International Airport in Frankfurt, June 12, 2018. [Photo/IC]

According to a court document, an unnamed male passenger booked a return flight from Oslo to Seattle, which had a layover in Frankfurt. But he did not catch the Frankfurt to Oslo return flight. He instead flew on a separate Lufthansa reservation from Frankfurt to Berlin.

法院文件显示，一名不具名的男性乘客预定了从西雅图飞往奥斯陆的航班，在法兰克福中转。但他却没有登上第二段从法兰克福飞往奥斯陆的航班，而是购买了汉莎航空另一架航班的机票，从法兰克福飞往柏林。

Lufthansa saw this as a violation of their terms and conditions and is seeking €2,112 in compensation.

汉莎航空公司称，这一行为违反了该公司的条款和协议，并要求乘客赔偿2112欧元（约合16118元人民币）。

A Berlin district court dismissed the lawsuit in December, but Lufthansa's spokesperson confirmed to CNN that the company has "already filed the appeal against the decision."

虽然去年12月柏林一家地方法院驳回了该诉讼，但公司发言人向美国有线新闻网证实，汉莎公司“已对此提出上诉”。

Back in 2014, United Airlines and Orbitz filed a civil lawsuit against 22-year-old Aktarer Zaman, who founded the website Skiplagged.com, which helps travelers find cheaper flights by using the "hidden city" strategy.

早在2014年，美联航和旅程网就曾对当时22岁的阿克塔尔-扎曼提起民事诉讼。扎曼创建了Skiplagged.com网站，帮助航空旅客通过这种方法寻找更便宜的航班。

Gaming the system within the US may cost airlines a few hundred dollars, based on the company’s ability to re-sell the seat that wasn’t used, but with international fares running into the thousands, the stakes for the airlines are significantly raised.

在美国境内使用该系统订票可能导致航空公司损失数百美元，具体数额基于航空公司转售空位的能力，但由于国际航班票价高达数千美元，航空公司的损失会大幅增加。

翻译&编辑：yaning