Here’s why airlines should always honour mistake fares

Mistake fares are both highly coveted by frequent flyers and also the bane of their existence. When the airline honours these fares, the steep discount is cause for celebration. However, when it is not, it causes frustration and bad press.

There are two schools of thought around this. One, that human error meant the wrong fare went online, therefore the tickets should be invalid. Two, that the tickets went on sale, so they are fair game to use as they were offered to consumers.

The Traditional Airline Selection

I’m going to use myself as a data point of one to illustrate what a mistake fare can do. When travelling between Europe and Australia, I would always take Qantas or British Airways. What was affordable to me then was anything up to around €1,400 return.

This meant that when there was a sale, I could get a ticket in premium economy for extra space. It is a 24 hour journey at best, so the more comfort, the better.

The Unbelievably Cheap Ticket

In May 2016, someone at Qatar Airways accidentally put up the wrong price for some flights during a flash sale. You could fly from Pisa, Italy to Auckland, New Zealand for the extremely low price of €1,373 return. In business class! For context, at the time this is what I would pay for premium economy.

I knew of Qatar Airways and their excellent business class, but never thought I’d be able to afford to fly them. Prices north of €4,000 at the pointy end are completely out of reach for me.

The story goes that the airline found out pretty quickly that the fare was wrong. However, they decided that as it was getting good press and since it was only a three day sale, that they would let it ride.

When I eventually took the flights, there were at least five other people on my flight from Pisa alone who had taken advantage of the fare and were flying Qatar Airways for the first time. It was that popular!

Mistake Fares Changed My Buying Habits

So the airline ostensibly lost money on mine and everyone else’s tickets, right? Well, here’s the thing. That flight was in April 2017 and a few months later I received a redundancy pay out from my employer as they outsourced our function to another country.

With a few months to kill before heading off to get my Masters, I decided to head to Australia again. After having such a good time on my flights, I booked with Qatar Airways in business class again.

Since then, I have also experienced the airline in economy class, which is very comfortable. I’m heading off to Australia later this year and guess who I am flying? That’s right, Qatar Airways.

All of this came about from one mistake fare, which they could have pulled. They were within their rights to remove it from sale and let those who had booked fly, or pull it from sale and cancel the tickets of anyone who booked. Not doing this and letting it run for three days was some good thinking.

Overall Thoughts

I’d love to know how much subsequent business those mistake fares from Pisa sent in Qatar Airways direction. You have the initial effect of people mentioning the fare, but then the subsequent glow of people telling others about their experience.

From what I can gather, it leaves a bad impression when these fares are cancelled. There are stories of airlines doing just that, and having all sorts of ire directed at them by disappointed customers.

Have you ever taken advantage of mistake fares? Did you end up flying or was the ticket cancelled on you? What are your thoughts – should they be honoured or not? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!

Featured image by Sunnya343 via Wikimedia Commons.