Cathay Pacific Honors ANOTHER Mistake Fare
Only a few weeks after it mistakenly advertised and honored deeply discounted business and first class fares between Vietnam and North America, Cathay Pacific has been hit by another glitch. The glitch has seen premium seats between Europe and Hong Kong be offered at a fraction of their true price.
Only a few days into 2019, Cathay Pacific hit the headlines for mistakenly advertising and then gallantly honoring business- and first-class flights between Vietnam and North America at a deep discount. Eagle-eyed bargain hunters were quick to snap up these fares, which allowed for a luxury travel experience at slashed prices. A few weeks on from this major incident, it seems that yet another technical error by the Hong Kong-based airline has allowed for yet more premium fares to be advertised for just a fraction of their original prices.
The South China Morning Post reports that this time around, premium tickets between Portugal and Hong Kong were being offered for $1,512 father than the $16,000 they normally fetch. “The airline offered one-way flights on partner carriers from Lisbon to London, Zurich or Frankfurt, with connecting Cathay Pacific flights from these stops to Hong Kong,” the outlet states.
The fares were spotted on the carrier’s website well into Sunday morning, local time.
Offering his insight on the incident, Jeremy Tam Man-ho, a pilot and a member of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HSKAR), told the outlet, “Human errors can happen, no matter how sophisticated a company is, but if the same kind of errors happen repeatedly in a short space of time, it may indicate a bigger problem.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Cathay told the outlet, “We are aware of an error on some fares from Europe on our website because of an input issue. The sale of such fares was stopped immediately. We are looking into the root cause of this incident both internally and externally with our vendors.”
“For the very small number of customers who have purchased these tickets, we look forward to welcoming you on board to enjoy our premium services,” they added.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
1500 would have been price for airline employee discount, something each airline allows on its flights say 2-3 seats on the very beginning of distribution...
$1500 doesn't really qualify as mistake fare if you ask me...
Dear G.S. you are absolutely right! Not only that they honored error fare and gained big simpaties throughout media and consumers, they also got media exposure valid millions of dollars. Way to go CX!!
It is probably not a "mistake" could be a publicity trick for some free advertising , for the cost of the seat they could not sell.