New York – Some lucky fliers capitalized on a computer glitch Thursday and scored some really cheap flights on Delta Air Lines.
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From about 10 a.m. to noon ET, certain Delta fares on the airline’s own website and other airfare booking sites were showing up incorrectly, offering some savvy bargain hunters incredible deals. A roundtrip flight between Cincinnati and Minneapolis for February was being sold for just $25.05 and a roundtrip between Cincinnati and Salt Lake City for $48.41. The correct price for both of those fares is more than $400.
Trebor Banstetter, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based airline, said the problem has been fixed but “Delta will honor any fares purchased at the incorrect price.”
Jackie Fanelli, 27, learned about the super cheap fares from a friend’s Facebook page. She attempted to purchase a $98 roundtrip first-class ticket from her home city of Baltimore to Honolulu on Priceline.com but the transaction didn’t process before the deal was shut down.
“It was too good to be true,” Fanelli said. “I try to go away every other year and this was not the year.”
Delta’s website was having lingering problems from the increased traffic Thursday afternoon.
“It looks like Delta’s programmers had a little too much eggnog yesterday,” joked George Hobica, founder of AirfareWatchDog.com, which promotes airfare sales.
It’s likely that the airline tried to tweak its fares with a $10 or $20 system-wide change and a junior programmer made a mistake or two, he said.
“People just go wild. People have been bragging about booking six first-class tickets to Hawaii,” Hobica said. “People hate the airlines so much that when this happens, they say: I’m going to get back at you for the time you broke my suitcase and didn’t pay for it.”
Other airlines have faced the same issue. In September United Airlines experienced an error in filing fares to its computer system. Many customers got tickets for $5 or $10, paying only the cost of the Sept. 11 security fee.
New Department of Transportation regulations, aimed at truth in advertising, require airlines to honor any mistake fares offered.
Booked a bunch! Thank you Delta!
Schucks. Missed it.
Oh well…
You know, i think it was El-Al who paved the way for airlines to honor their pricing errors.
Remember the $300 round-trip to Israel tickets over a year ago?
These same people would be screaming bloody murder, if their shop accidently advertised one of their products for pennies on the dollars. Hypocrites!
Let me ask every one…If you have a store anywhere in NY or other city and lets say its Cameras and your store floor manager mistakenly put up a $800 camera for
$39.00 would you sell it for $39.00vto the person who walks up to the register with the camera in his hand..? Yes or NO
Why do airlines have to honor a typegraphical error….
Every traveler knows quite well that for $25 you cant fly to LA
I believe the rules have to change and not let flyers get away with a honest company error
But is it halachically ok. If u know someone made a mistake,can u go take advantage and buy it.
Yossi #8 , if u have a camera for $800 and u advertise it for $39.99 u don 217;t have to sell it , but if u sold it its tough luck done deal, same here they honored it until they chaapt then they stopped
Reply to #13 – give me a break. Tickets to Hawaii for less than $100. NY to LA business class for $50. It is so obvious a mistake and I would question if it’s mutar. I’m not a Rav but would like to hear the side to say its ok
The airlines do this on purpose, Its the most effective and cheapest way of marketing.