The Internet Is Giving This 22-Year-Old Almost $20,000 To Fight A Legal Battle Against United And Orbitz

As a side project, 22-year-old computer wiz Aktarer Zaman built a website called Skiplagged, that searches out cheap airfares, particularly a type of cheap airfare called "Hidden City" that is frowned up by the airlines.

Last month, United and Orbitz filed a lawsuit trying to shut his website down, Bloomberg reported at the time.

In the lawsuit United and Orbitz call Skiplagged "unfair competition" and says it promotes "strictly prohibited" travel, reports CNN Money's Patrick Gillespie. They're asking for $75,000 in damages.

But instead of bowing, he's fighting.

"Everything Skiplagged has done and continues to do is legal, but the only way to effectively prove this is with lawyers," he said in a blog post on Gofundme, where's he's trying to crowdfund at least $20,000 to pay his legal bills.

So far, he's raised over $16,000, with the total raising every minute, thanks to all the press attention this lawsuit has gotten. In the time it took us to write the post, the total raised grew to $17,000, up from $14,000.

"I really don't know how much this lawsuit is going to ultimately cost, other than probably a lot," he told donors on Gofundme. "However, you have my word that how every cent is spent will be posted here. If there are any remaining funds, those will be completely donated to charity. I haven't decided which yet, but if you have any suggestions, do send me a message."

"Hidden City" travel is when you book a longer flight that includes a layover to your real destination because it's cheaper than flying direct. You travel with carry-on and you get off the plane during the layover.

Travelers feel that this is a perfectly fair, legit way to travel: they've paid for the flight, why does the airline care if they sit in the seat the whole time? But airlines frown on it. They want you to pay rates according to their complicated pricing schemes. They argue that booking a flight like this makes it difficult to track passengers and that it unfairly takes advantage of the hub-and-spoke nature of airfares, where airlines fly to hub cities and add connecting flights from there.

Anyone can search and book their own hidden city flights, but it's a time consuming mess to search through many cities, hoping to find a cheaper flight that has a layover at your true destination. Skiplagged does that searching for you. And finding such a flight isn't a given. Often it tells you that there are no lower-cost Hidden City flight available that fits your travel needs.

As you might imagine, airlines hate this practice. If the airline discovers that you are getting off the airplane at a layover, they might cancel the ticket without refund, reports Bloomberg. They may do other things, too, like void frequent flyer mileage.

Zaman told CBS News that his site merely shows the airfares it doesn't book the tickets. "I haven't made any money from this," Zaman said. He's been paying for the costs of the website out of his own pocket.

But now, the Internet has taken an interest and people are opening up their wallets to help his legal fight.

We've reached out to Zaman, United, and Orbitz.

Orbitz told CBS News that Zaman's site was "disingenuous." United told "CBS This Morning" it filed this lawsuit to "protect the vast majority of customers who buy legitimate tickets."

You can follow the progress of this crowdfunding campaign and lawsuit on Gofundme.com/skiplagged.