Originally Posted by
benjyyy
I have to agree with HarryKUK on this. Too many FTers seem completely out of touch with how much Joe Bloggs knows about airfares, nor should they need to in reality.
The test used by the judge in the case cited on the other thread would tend to side with you. I really think that in the context of a website plastered with red "SALE" stickers, BA would have a tough time arguing that the consumer ought to have known there was a mistake when the reasonable expectation of a sale is that cheap, sometimes very cheap, fares are offered for limited dates and for a limited period of time. Sure, if the fare was €1 then it would be obvious but there isn't anything obvious about a ticket costing over a thousand euros.
12. ‘I consider it reasonable to distil the position from these cases as follows. The court is concerned as to whether Mr PASSENGER knew or ought to have known that there was an error on the Defendant’s website in respect of the pricing of the tickets under dispute. I must be satisfied that there was sufficient information available to Mr PASSENGER for him to question the pricing. If there existed no sufficient reason for Mr PASSENGER to question the pricing, he will have been entitled to take advantage of what he saw to be a good deal.
13. ‘On the face of the arrangement between the parties, there was a valid and binding contract. The Defendant must therefore satisfy me that (a) there was a mistake; and that (b) Mr PASSENGER knew that there was a mistake, or (c) Mr PASSENGER ought to have known that there was a mistake on the basis of the information available to him.
And further:
20. ‘All this being said, while Mr PASSENGER is a highly experienced flyer, he is also still a consumer. He is not an airline insider and does not have access to information that is known to airline employees. Ms AIRLINE at the end of her oral evidence commented that she feels that the price of the disputed tickets was obviously too good to be true. But she is an airline insider. Mr PASSENGER is a highly experienced passenger but not an insider. This distinction is important.