Travelers turning to "hacker fares" for cheaper plane tickets

>>> SUMMERTIME MEANS MORE EXPENSIVE FLIGHTS. MANY AMERICANS ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SAVE MONEY WHEN TAKING A VACATION. SOME OF THE STRATEGIES, KNOWN AS HACKER AFFAIRS BREAK OR BEND THE RULES. >> HERE IS AN EXAMPLE. THIS IS CALLED HIDDEN CITY TICKETING. WHAT THEY WANT TO GO FROM NEW YORK CITY TO DETROIT TOOK A TICKET WITH A LAYOVER IN DETROIT AND HOP OFF THE PLANE AT THAT

POINT, INSTEAD OF CONTINUING TO THE FINAL DESTINATION. THAT WAS A VIEW ABOUT 50 BUCKS. LET'S TALK ABOUT THESE. WAS BRINGING KATHY MANSFIELD, A LAW PROFESSOR >> ALL RIGHT, DOES THAT COUNT AS A HACKER AFFAIR? IS IT LEGAL? >> IT DOES COUNT. YOU HAVE TO DIVIDE IT INTO TWO THINGS. IS IT PROHIBITED BY LAW? ALSO, IS IT PROHIBITED BY A CONTRACT BETWEEN THE AIRLINE CARRIER AND THE

PASSENGER. THERE IS NOTHING THAT PROHIBITS IT BY LAW. I PULLED COPIES OF AIRLINE CHARACTERS. THEY PROHIBIT THIS STUFF TIDIER CONTRACTS WITH YOU. YOU DO AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THAT WHEN YOU ENTER INTO THE CONTRACTS. YOU MAKE WHEN YOU BUY THAT TICKET, AND YOU DON'T READ THE SMALL PRINT, THAT MIGHT BE PART OF AN AGREEMENT. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THEY ARE HACKING THE SYSTEM. INSTEAD OF

PURCHASING ROUND-TRIP , YOU PURCHASE TWO ONE-WAY TICKETS. THAT IS OKAY, RIGHT? THEN YOU HAVE HACKING, FOR LACK OF BETTER FRIED PHRASE, MIGHT BE IN BAD FAITH. EXPECTATION IS, IF YOU PURCHASE A TICKET FROM POINT A TO POINT B, YOU DON'T GET OFF AT B .1, OR WHATEVER. WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE AVOID DOING IF THEY ARE TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE "HACKER FARES"? >> YOU HAVE TO

THINK ABOUT THIS IN THE BROADER STRUCTURE OF CONSUMER CONTRACTS. WE ALL ENTER INTO THESE CONTRACTS THAT WE HAVE NO ABILITY TO NEGOTIATE. THE QUESTION IS, WHAT IS THE PENALTY IF YOU VIOLATE THEM? AMERICAN AND UNITED, LOOKED AT THEIR PRACTICES. THEY PROHIBIT CERTAIN PRACTICES, LIKE THROW AWAY TICKETING, OR SO THAT YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED. THE PENALTY IS, THEY COULD CHARGE YOU A FEE. THAT IS IT. IT'S NOT

LIKE YOU ARE BREAKING A LAW. YOU ARE VIOLATING THE CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE. THE LARGER QUESTION IS, SHOULD AIRLINES BE ABLE TO ASSESS THESE KIND OF PENALTIES AGAINST TRAVELERS, WHO I SAID BEFORE, THEY ARE JUST PLAYING THEIR ROLE IN THE ECONOMY. OUR ECONOMY IS BASED ON INFORMED WIRES AND INFORMED SELLERS. THE MORE INFORMED YOU ARE, THE BETTER DEAL YOU CAN MAKE FOR YOURSELF. THAT IS HOW A

FREE MARKET ECONOMY WORS. I THINK IN A WAY, IT IS SNEAKY TO PUT THIS STUFF IN THE CONTRACTS WHEN CONSUMERS HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO CHOICE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS PREVALENT ACROSS THE WHOLE AIRLINE INDUSTRY. >> WE HAD A LIST OF THINGS THAT YOU DON'T WANT TO DO. DON'T CHECK YOUR LUGGAGE, BECAUSE YOUR LUGGAGE MAY NOT ARRIVE AT YOUR DESTINATION. DO NOT GO THROUGH A TRAVEL AGENT, BECAUSE

THEY WILL FOLLOW THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER OF THE AGREEMENT. IN TERMS OF REPERCUSSIONS, THERE ARE THINGS THAT THE AIRLINES CAN DO. YOU CAN FIND YOURSELF FLYING INTO AN AIRPORT, LEAVING HALF WAY TO THE TRIP, AND THEY COULD CANCEL YOUR RETURN FLIGHT. THEY COULD TAKE AWAY THE POINTS THAT YOU USED FOR THAT FLIGHT. THERE ARE REPERCUSSIONS THAT YOU ARE RISKING, RIGHT? >> YES. THE CONTRACTS SAY

SPECIFICALLY THAT THEY CAN CANCEL THE REST OF YOUR FLIGHT. THEY CAN CHARGE YOU A FEE AND THAT SORT OF THING. THE BIGGER QUESTION WOULD BE, WHETHER THESE ARE FAIR PRACTICES BY THE AIRLINES. I KNOW THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAS BEEN LOOKING AT ALL SORTS OF PRACTICES OF THE AIRLINE INDUSTRIES TO SEE IF THEY ARE FAIR. THE OTHER WAY TO GET AROUND THIS TOUGH, POLICY WISE IS

WHAT YOU SAID, THE CONSUMER, THE TRAVELER HAS VERY LITTLE RECOURSE. WE ARE AT THE MERCY OF THESE AIRLINES AND HOW WE WANT TO TRAVEL. THEY CAN COME UP WITH ALL SORTS OF CONVOLUTED, HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED AWAY YOUR TICKET SAYS? YOUR CLASS GPS IS NOT BUSINESS OR ECONOMY, THERE IS A CLASS, THAT ONLY THEY ARE AWARE OF THAT GIVES THEM SOME CONNOTATION AS TO WHAT IT

IS, THE TYPE OF TICKET YOU HAVE. WE ARE AT THEIR MERCY. WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE HERE TAKING AGENCY OF THEIR LIVES, ALL OF A SUDDEN, THEY ARE IN TROUBLE. >> I THOUGHT ABOUT ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF TRAVEL, LIKE THE TRAIN, WHICH I TAKE. DOES HAVE A TICKET THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, NEW YORK TO PHILADELPHIA. BUT IF I GET OFF IN TRENTON, THAT'S MY CHOICE. I PAID FOR

THE TICKET. >> THAT IS A GOOD POINT. OF COURSE, THE TRAIN IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE EAST COAST. THAT IS ANOTHER TH