A Cathay Pacific glitch caused passengers to snag some of the most expensive flights in the world for a small fraction of its price.
The Hong Kong-based airline suffered a pricing glitch that allowed passengers to get first class ticket that sell for a whopping $16,000 (£12,700) under normal circumstances for nothing more than $675 (£536). These fares could be found on the company’s website and it was on a route from the Vietnamese city of Da Nang and it was heading to New York, garnering travelers a discount of 95%.
Cathay Pacific discovered the glitch after the passengers had gotten these deals and the company decided to still honor the tickets at the price offered during the glitch. Aviation bloggers first reported the pricing mistake several days ago as these writers often search the internet for cheap deals.
Gary Leff, who is one of these bloggers, found these first class fares being sold for $675 for travel in August 2019 even though these prices in first class were $16,000 apiece in July and September for the same route.
Here’s how the airline responded on a tweet: “Happy 2019 all, and to those who bought our good – VERY good surprise ‘special’ on New Year’s Day, yes – we made a mistake but we look forward to welcoming you on board with your ticket issued.”
“Hope this will make your 2019 ‘special’ too! #promisemadepromisekept #lessonlearnt,” Cathay Pacific added on Twitter.
