Long shot, thought I'd ask for advice.

My friend and I are booking tickets on Vietnam Airlines for a trip from Japan to Vietnam, using separate credit cards.

On different browsers on the same computer, directly at the Vietnam Airlines website, we both hit "purchase" at the exact same time (a millisecond apart...) and my booking went through but apparently I got the last ticket at that price. My friend got the message "Sorry, the fare you are trying to book is no longer available."

My ticket was ¥37,020/USD$298, and his is now repricing at ¥79,020/USD$637, a huge difference.

I called the Vietnam Airlines office in Japan and they were unable to honor the fare for my friend. They asked me to call Hanoi, and I did, and they said the same. Even 10 minutes after, this ticket is completely non-refundable.

Will the 24 hour cancelation rule help me here? I booked on the Vietnamairlines.com website, chose USA as the country, but the pricing for the flight was in Japanese yen.

I know this isn't a "bait and switch," and I'm not claiming fraud, but since I can't get anywhere with Vietnam Airlines, should I attempt a chargeback?

Any advice would be appreciated.