Sorry, those $40 fares on British Airways weren’t for real

baSome things are just too good to be true. Like a British Airways flight to Mumbai for $40, offered briefly yesterday. Such a deal!

Such a … mistake! (Here’s an update on the story.)

My colleague Janice Hough alerted me to the problem early Saturday. Here’s the fare display she pulled up:

$DSFOBLR4OCT*BA
FO-BLR SUN-04OCT09 BA
PM 12753 AT
TAXES/FEES NOT INCLUDED
PUBLIC FARES
CX FARE FARE C AP MIN/ SEASONS…… MR GI DT
USD BASIS MAX
1 BA 40.00R BL2RT B 13JUL -10DEC R AT
2 BA 40.00R HLRCNA H 7Š SU/12M 13JUL -10DEC R AT
3 BA 40.00R KLRCNA K 7Š SU/12M 13JUL -10DEC R AT
4 BA 40.00R LLNCNA L 7Š SU/12M 13JUL -10DEC R AT
5 BA 40.00R MLRCNA M 7Š SU/12M 13JUL -10DEC R AT

That’s a $40 base fare, not including taxes and fees.

What’s going on here? Hough said, “I think BA fired the wrong programmer.”

Perhaps. But a lot of folks thought this was a real fare, including my colleague Katie Hammel.

I was one of the people who heard about the low fare to Mumbai on British Airways last night and excitedly booked my ticket on Orbitz.com. My card was charged (over $1,100 for the two round trip tickets is still “pending” on my debit card, which means it is unavailable to me) and received an email saying that I would get my confirmation from the airline soon. I started planning my trip, only to wake up this morning to a second email from Orbitz saying that “due to limited quantities”, the order could not be fulfilled.

I’ve now found out via Twitter that the fare was the result of a glitch. Those who bought tickets before the error was corrected will still receive them. I “bought” my tickets before then – when I clicked “purchase”, the fare listed was around $550 per person round trip [after taxes]. I am hoping that Orbitz and British Airways will honor my purchase and have sent them an email asking that they do.

I’m wondering… is there anything else I can do to get the fare, and what are the rules on this sort of thing? I blog for the website Gadling and was planning on putting up a little post on what happened. I wanted to include some general guidelines on how airlines handle it, but can’t find anything. Can you point me to any resources or offer your insight?

I asked Orbitz about the glitch. It responded early this morning with the following statement:

Last night, British Airways misfiled fares for some flights between the U.S. and India. These fares appeared on some online booking sites, including Orbitz. A number of Orbitz customers attempted to book these flights. Our attempts to ticket these flights with British Airways were rejected. When we became aware of these rejections, we promptly notified impacted customers that we were unable to ticket their requested flights. We regret the inconvenience our customers experienced.

I’ve written about pricing errors, which are often referred to as “fat-finger” fares, numerous times. Here’s my take: Knowingly booking one of these tickets is, in my opinion, wrong. Which is to say, if you are aware that this is a mistake and try to buy it anyway, you’re stealing.

There are some who knew better, but went ahead and tried to book it anyway. I have no sympathy for them.

But travelers who think it’s just a really good price — and $550 is not too good to be true — have a real reason to be upset about an airline not honoring the fare. It also puts agencies like Orbitz in a difficult spot.

Bottom line: There’s no easy way for a regular traveler to avoid a fare mistake like this.

Update: Two sources are telling me that some of these fares are being honored. I’ve asked British Airways for a comment, and will update this post when it responds.

Update: (Monday, noon) British Airways has answered –

It seems there was an honest mistake in a fare filing. What was a $40 increase on a USA-India fare was somehow filed as the fare.

Apparently it was corrected within a couple hours, but not before lots of people (don’t have numbers yet) booked tickets. Orbitz realized the error and discontinued selling the incorrect fare.

I just spoke with someone in London and the plan is to rescind the fare – we will have to contact everyone that booked and apologize that this was a mistake and we sincerely apologize for the incorrect fare filing.

Update: (Tuesday noon) I checked with British Airways to see if anything had changed. Here’s the carrier’s response:

Our position still stands.

British Airways apologizes for the issue which arose for two hours on Friday, October 2, on bookings between USA and India.

We are investigating how the error occurred which meant that seats were available for $40 roundtrip plus taxes, fees and surcharges.

Due to the fare being so clearly below the normal fare, we have cancelled all bookings made in this two hour period between USA and India.

We will be refunding all the seats booked at these fares.

British Airways will be contacting the affected customers and would urge them to contact their travel agent or British Airways, if they booked directly with the airline, to claim a refund and be offered alternative travel arrangements.

← Older Comments
  • Christopher Elliott

    I’m confused too.

    At this point, neither BA nor Orbitz are responding to my queries. My sense is that something is going on, but I’m not entirely sure what.

    If anyone has information that might be helpful, please email me directly at elliottc@gmail.com or post to the comments.

  • Huzefa Chithiwala

    I have already filed a formal complaint. Here is another usefull site for Kate Hanni she is an advocate for airline consumers. I have already called her.

    http://strandedpassengers.blogspot.com/

  • Huzefa Chithiwala

    I have sent a news tip to CNN I urge all to send this tip so it will get media attention. Here is the link. Joel from the Passenger’s Bill of rights called me and I forwarded this blog link to him he is having one of his attonery look into it and than put me in touch with them.

    http://www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/index.html

  • Rumana Chithiwala

    As far as I am concerned British Airways should honour this…. lets all get on this and report them and get our tickets reinstated, it is totally their fault…. they have to suck it up and honour this for us.
    Rumana

  • Huzefa Chithiwala

    I called my Congressman’s office they were very nice and have asked me to file a complaint first to BA customer service. I would urge your all to call your Congressman the more people call the better as this will get national attention.
    We must all work together to get our tickets instated. Go to this web site to find who is the congressman for your district.
    Please call and file complaints.
    http://whoismyrepresentative.com/

  • Ganapathy

    People,
    Please be assertive and lodge a complaint with the attorney general of your state.
    I am in Seattle, Washington and here is the website.
    https://fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/ComplaintForm.aspx
    Also complain to the BBB (Better Business Bureau).

  • Huzefa Chithiwala

    This is what I found on the web page of Attorney General of California. Interesting their hands are tied they cannot do anything:

    In the early 1980s a number of airline companies obtained a federal court order in Texas that prevented California and 33 other states from bringing any action against the airlines for deceptive acts, false advertising or unfair business practices.

    The Attorney General’s Office argued that a Texas federal court had no jurisdiction over states other than Texas. In addition, this office argued that Congress had never intended to prevent the states from utilizing their false advertising statutes against airlines. However, the Federal Appeals Court disagreed and held that airlines were exempt from state false advertising laws. We are prohibited from bringing any action against airlines for deceptive practices or false advertising.

    If you feel that you have been a victim of consumer fraud or deception by the actions of a particular airline, you should contact the United States Department of Transportation:

    United States Department of Transportation
    Aviation Consumer Protection Division
    400 7th Street, S.W.
    Washington D.C. 20590
    Phone: (202) 366-2220
    email: airconsumer@dot
    website: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/problems.htm
    Also, you may wish to contact your congressional representatives to notify them of your concerns and problems in regard to this particular industry. To contact your representatives, go to: http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov.

  • Ramesh

    Our tickets should be honored or alternate arrangements made after the BA confirmation of our seats. Lets be assertive and file a complaint.

  • Ramesh Thakkar

    I am with you on this. We must initiate a class action law suit.

  • Ramesh Thakkar

    Our individual losses are what these companies make their profits out of. It adds up for them. Let us please not let them thrive in the glory of their own errors and value the masses because of whose purchases they make money. Please post a message if you are on it and we’ll consult an attorney together to decide if we can go to Small Claims Court or perhaps another courts is more appropriate for such class action lawsuit. For now, just please post a message stating so, if you are victim. We should get a count of the people suffering from this.

  • Kumar

    I already lodged a complaint with AGO Washington state. Let us do a class action suit if required.

  • T.S. Babu

    I’m with you all. I booked the tickect on travelocity website for BA flights. They already charged my card on oct 2nd. Travelocity sent me an email today (10/06/09 5:17 PM) to contact us with 48 hours, otherwise they will not honor the original booking price. I contacted them and they are not honoring the original booking price. We should all act together.The following is their email to me.

    Please call us immediately regarding your flight reservations.
    *********************************************************************

    We have learned that the airline did not confirm the flights you requested. Unfortunately, this means that we are not currently holding air reservations for your trip to Bangalore, India.

    Your immediate action is required.

    Please call our Customer Support Center right away to review your available options and to confirm a new flight schedule for this trip. You must call us back within 48 hours or we may not be able to honor your original booking price.

    We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    Your Trip ID is: xxxxxxxxx78
    ———————————————————————–
    CUSTOMER SUPPORT

    In the USA: 1.888.756.2749 24 hours a day/7 days a week
    Outside the US: 1.210.521.5871 24 hours a day/7 days a week
    En Espanol: 1.866.828.3933 7am – 10pm CST
    TDD/Hearing Impaired: 1.800.555.7585 7am – 10pm CST

  • Bhargava Ravoori

    I have spoken with representatives from British Airways and orbitz.com and neither seemed to have any valid explanations. The representatives were rude and impolite and hung up on me without answering my questions. I have subsequently filed a complaint with my local BBB office against British Airways. With sufficient force we should be able to get BA to own up the mistake it did. It needs to understand that it cannot unilaterally cancel tickets without any intimation to the passengers.

  • T.S. Babu

    I sent my story to cnn. The following is the link
    http://www.cnn.com/feedback/tips/index.html
    When spoke with travelocity customer service agent, they are not very helpful. They kept telling me they are refunding the money without any penalty. They do not want to hear any arguments and they are just asking ” is there any other questions or is there any thing that we can help.”. If we make a mistake in our booking or they allow us to cancel or change? No. They charge us hefty amount for change. Now, they make a mistake and they do not want to own up that. I have asked about the travelocity guarrentee. It is mentioned in their website. It appears we will not be able to win this.

  • SC

    Do let me know if any mass action is being planned. I will also join. I am consulting a legal counsel tomorrow anyways. Guys, do update, lets not give up on this turmoil caused by BA.

  • PM

    People started receiving mail as below:
    ————————————————-
    Dear Mr XXXXXX

    On Friday October 2, 2009, British Airways updated its air fares between
    North America and India.

    Unfortunately there was an error and the fares that resulted were
    incorrect. This error was corrected within a few hours.

    Due to the error, British Airways is unable to honour your booking.

    If your credit card was charged, British Airways will refund in full the
    cost of your ticket and apologies for any inconvenience.

    Please contact British Airways (on 1-800-AIRWAYS or 1-800 247 9297 in the US) at
    your earliest convenience for further information.

    British Airways

  • AKT

    Chris, you wrote: “don’t you think that by taking advantage of a company when it’s made a mistake, passengers are behaving as badly as the airlines?
    I mean, the way I see it, when you knowingly book a fare that is a mistake, you are basically stealing”. I am sorry but this shows confused thinking. When we make a mistake, we pay for it, by losing some of our money. Why is it a bad thing BA has to live by the same rule? Why is it stealing if I accept BA’s offer, below but around the general ball park of low fares ($650 instead of $750). Businesses routinely clear out inventories for their own internal reasons – am I supposed to feel guilty about buying low priced items? I have bought $100 items marked down to $1 without anyone accusing me of stealing three days later.

  • Christopher Elliott

    @AKT, I think your argument is confused. Just because we have to pay when we make a mistake with an airline reservation doesn’t mean it’s right. You are, in effect, arguing that because BA makes us cough up a change fee for an erroneous booking, it should honor its fare error. This isn’t logical. In fact, I would argue that this “tit-for-tat” mentality is what has lead to the rise of customer-hostile, low-cost carriers that take advantage of customers at every turn. Come on. We are better than that.

  • http://www.acouplethings.com/blog Scholar in Training

    I support small claims action against British Airways on this matter. I would encourage everyone who was ticketed, and then canceled, to pursue this to the fullest extent of the law.

  • Huzefa Chithiwala

    Chris, someone has to take responsibility and it should not be the customer. In today’s Corporate greed and fraud it should be the corporations. We all rely on technology today to process information and make decisions based on this information. I had set an alert on BING.COM using a tool that analizes airlines and sends alerts to buy tickets, I had set this alert 5 months ago for the exact destination and date, a co-incident you can call it, based on this alert I purchased the ticket directly from BA web site. We all do stock trading what would happen if the BA stock would “by mistake” sell for pennies, how would this be resolved, some would loose millions and some would gain. Would this not be brought to the attention of the Security and Exchange commission? Lets go back to the simplest form of trading I been to flee markets sometimes prices are miss-labeled my experiences has always been that the vendor always give me the lower price. It is than clear that a individual is more ethical than a corporation. Corporation hide behind the curtian of leagal mumbo jumbo and do not even have the guts to face their customers and to top it of they are outright rude on the phone, I call them corporate robots, they should know this if BA ever has a layoff the management will not know or care if that employee defended off our requests and inquiries they will go down just like all of us. THE BIG CORPORATION WINS AGAIN, are we going to stand by and let this happen? I am in for the class-action law suite count me in. If there is a BA employee reading this and feel this to be unjust contact standup now and help us blow the whistle like so many did in Enron and other companies. Lets us know the real scoop. Be annonomous.

  • Huzefa Chithiwala

    I just received an email from the passangers rights group with phone# of attorneys who are interested in helping and the email address of the head at the department of transportation. I will be calling these attornies and keep you all posted. I need a count of how many of you want to participate and standup for your rights? I will keep you posted. In the meantime go to this web site http://strandedpassengers.blogspot.com/ and make the call and also fill out a report on the dept. of transportation web site. We all need to do this.

  • harry

    I have and know 6 people who booked and will joine the action.

  • Huzefa Chithiwala

    Here is some interesting info. I got a call from a person that his reservation has not been calcelled and he had purchased it directly from the BA web site. So I thought about it and came to the conclusion that people who called to confirm or make changes have been PROFILED for cancellation. This makes sense. All these reservations span a year on different dates, times and flights, it would impossible to find hundreds of these reservations so how do you solve this problem, when someone calls you tag their record and cancel. This is sneeky, unethical and downright a dirty corporate game. That is why the silence from BA. Lets eliminate 70-80% of these reservations and minimize the loss.

  • SC

    This is a pure marketing gimmick that BA is into… Today when I got a call from a customer relations personnel, he was more than just rude. All he can say is BA is not honoring the tickets and we are free to start from scratch.

    I even complained saying that I lost chances of selecting another airlines at a lower price and this action is ridiculous.

    Further more I also happened to speak to a customer servise person soon aftert I made the booking, and I was told that the prices were for real. However in this scenario they claim to have booked over 1000 tickets and considering just that more than $6,000,000 are in BA’s pocket for 10 days after October 2nd (that is till the money is refunded back to the people).

    This is ridiculous if they still continue to dishonor the fares, count me in, and I am ready for a case action.

← Older Comments