Safrica

Safair from usd 90 return
if u book early enough
most other carriers locals get discounts through
loyalty programmes around 35%

Jestner

So a current search for business class fares between JNB-AUH shows prices in the $2600-range and you weren't aware that $80, or a 97% discount, was special to post (even if ultimately it didn't hold)?

For an answer to your question, you will have to consult the respective laws in South Africa and/or UAE, etc.

benzemalyonnais

He might have been worried about blogs stealing a fare that he planned on using and it potentially being cancelled.

After the UA fare it would be silly to post a premium mistake fare here as it won't be honored after 10000 tickets are sold in 3 hours.

Adam1222

It appears people will now try to bring up the recent UA fare in every conceivable thread. This SA fare has nothing to do with the UA fare in particular. 1) this would not have been regulated by the US DOT under any theory. 2) there is no indication of bad faith/lying by the OP in finding the fare. 3) The phenomenon of people being afraid of sharing a mistake fare because the more people who buy it, the more likely it is to be canceled, is nothing new. If anything, it is not the UA fare that has made it worse, but , as you suggest, certain bloggers who target unsophisticated audiences to sell credit cards and then steal FT mistake fares and promote them to inexperienced consumers.

lewende

I think your point is not necessarily different from OP's - at any rate, the most recent UA "Promo fare" (ex-LHR) is just another harsh reminder that the larger the scale is for the audience, the less likely the fare would be honored.

As much as I despise bloggers re-posting deals from FT for their own benefits (like UA BOS-ICN and ex-LHR fares), it's also noteworthy that FT was receptive to deals from bloggers (e.g., RGN R3 fare). I am afraid there is just nothing we can do to stop this two-way information flow, and since it's almost impossible to ask some gluttons to be self-disciplined and refrained from booking excessive tickets out of a "sale", there would be less and less premium "promo" fares to be honored in the future.

Jestner

Oh - I was merely responding to the OP's own verbatim claim that the OP didn't post it because the OP didn't realize it was special (so much so that no one would want to even use it (besides the OP), nevermind steal it).

nas6034

As this thread shows us whether one person or ten thousand book it it will not increase or decrease the chances of it being honored.

montezume

Did OP ever confirm if the flight was even ticketed?

Safrica

Dear Sir/Madam
Subject: Cancellation of your ticket due to erroneous fare

We write to you in regard to the travel you recently booked with South African Airways from Johannesburg (JNB) to Abu Dhabi (AUH). Unfortunately, as you may have been aware, the fare you purchased was incorrect and resulted from an inadvertent error that was beyond our control. While SAA honours its commitment to the highest level of customer service and safety in air travel, it must also honour its obligations to its employees and stakeholders.

We advise that SAA is not obligated to provide services for compensation that is erroneously published and commercially unfeasible. We are aware that good travel bargains are quickly recognised and booked, however principles of fare bargaining (as well as applicable competition legislation) dictate that a service provider cannot give away its services at a loss.

As a result, because the fare you booked was invalid, we have cancelled your reservation and ticket. We are extremely sorry for this error and we will promptly issue you a full refund for the total price you paid for the ticket. The full amount will be automatically credited using your original form of payment. In the event that you would like to rebook your itinerary at the correct price, please visit the flysaa.com website or contact the SAA call center.

SAA deeply regrets the inconvenience caused by the publication of the erroneous fare to the passengers who may have thought they had booked and purchased a valid ticket for an erroneous cost. We apologise for this unfortunate situation and look forward to welcoming you on future travel with SAA.

Sincerely,

South African Airways

chancer

The more professional-looking blogs, whatever their subject, usually rely on advertising (heck, even crappy blogs use links.) It's nothing sneaky or new. Readers are not robots. They can click on the links or not. At least the travel blogs provide useful reviews and other information, not just alerting people about mistake fares, and they do it without attitude or belittling their readers which is more than newbies can expect when posting on FlyerTalk.

tymoon25

See this article on the topic:

http://www.iol.co.za/travel/travel-n...5#.VPbaoY10xaQ

sonofzeus

Adding SAA to my growing "Do Not Bother" list.

lewende

You are not serious...newbies, that's why we don't get good deals honored these days, although I doubt there will be any difference if he didn't call at first place.

Again, appreciate OP's effort to post a problem here asking for help instead of posting the deal to begin with.

Adam1222

We will just have to disagree whether non-transparent "reviews" of special treatment and comp stays, and answering questions by referring people to paid affiliate credit card links is helpful. As has been debated many times, most readers do NOT know how much bloggers make off of credit card affiliates. One major blog in fact hides that it is owned by a credit card marketing company.
When folks have problems with the "deals" posted on those blogs, they come to FT for help- not the bloggers. I encourage you and any newbies though to read the reviews of hotels on FT which I have found extremely helpful over the years. Reading 10 (or 100) people's reviews of a property is far more useful in determining the pluses and minuses a non-VIP traveler will encounter than a blogger who has a private connection to the hotel chain.

Safrica

Dear Valued Customer

South African Airways apologises for the incorrect airfare quotation specific for travel in business class between Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi.

The Johannesburg - Abu Dhabi route is a new addition to the SAA network and we gratefully acknowledge the support recorded for this route. As such, we have made available to you and your direct family members an opportunity to take advantage of a once-off special airfare.

With immediate effect, South African Airways has made available a limited number of seats on selected flights to all passengers who have been impacted by the service inconvenience. This will be sold on a first come, first served basis.



Fly from Johannesburg to Abu Dhabi
Fully inclusive return fares from as little as:

Destination Economy Class Business Class
Abu Dhabi R2, 109* R12, 089*


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