Sue them to hell. Shut TG down.
This will reduce competitor in the world airlines market. This may help save United.

Thai might aruge the confirmation was merely an acknowledgement of the transaction that you indeed took the actions to initiate a contract with them and not someone else + I think they also ask you to verify if everything is correct [I am guessing here based on experiences] so it seems to me at this point, the contract isn't finalized yet. That is if any side still finds any error, e.g. customer finds he is booked in the wrong class or the airline finds the fare is wrong, eitehr side is still duty bound to correct the mistake. Besides, the confirmation was really computer generated automated response so the court might have an easier time to accet this is really an acknowledgement of the transaction rather than a confirmation. My view is that a confirmation in this case would be when a customer has the ticket on his hands or when the ticket is issued with a ticket number on it regardless whether the money has been paid or not, then it would be a confirmation.

I think most terms and conditions will specify they are not responible for typographical or any such error. But that's really just a pre-caution they took but if my hunch about British law is anyway similar to Canadian law [they are in essence from the same source], such clause doesn't carry much weight and in no case would a court rule based soley on such precautionary clause.

I think what TG needs to do is to prove they have behaved in good faith all along and that the customers who have booked those were not. That's the hard part. And the court might also agree to certain extent that the airline are responsible for these errors so that no one abuses these types of situation to become free-publicity generating opportunities. Given TG, to my knowledge, is their first time, I suspect the court will them a warning and give them the benefits of doubts. But if this keeps happening, I say their credibility will not be as high the 2nd time. So, TG better learns from this and quick.

The bottom-line is I am not certain how the court might rule in this case. I doubt TG would get out of this without paying somekind of compensation to those who have entered the contract in good faith but I don't think TG will bear the full-front of 1,500 X full-Fare tickets either. My guess is TG would want to settle this outside of the court if there is an indeed a case.

Not so sure Guava. There were numerous confirmations from Thai - via the initial website booking, their own email follow up, AND their own booking website for the next week or two that the bookings WERE confirmed and in First Class.

=========================================

This page contains your travel details. Please check your personal data for accuracy and make changes below as appropriate.

Mr Glen Stephens
Adult
Home Phone: +61 2 XXXX XXXX
E-Mail 1: [email protected]

Total fare for all flights : 55.70 Pounds Sterling

Thursday, 1 xxxx 2003

Thai Airways Intl TG 911
First Class Status: Confirmed

London /Heathrow (LHR), London, United Kingdom 12:30 Stops: Non-stop
Aircraft: 747
Bangkok /Bangkok Int'l (BKK), Bangkok, Thailand 06:05
+ 1 day(s)
Seats: Non Smoking Non Smoking Aisle Non Smoking Window

Thursday, 8 xxxx 2003

Thai Airways Intl TG 910

First Class Status: Confirmed

Bangkok /Bangkok Int'l (BKK), Bangkok, Thailand 01:10 Stops: Non-stop
Aircraft: 747
London /Heathrow (LHR), London, United Kingdom 07:15

I agree to the Terms & conditions and the selected airfare(s) Conditions (I checked this box.)

========================

Those T+C were, in full:

http://www.thaiairways.com/flying/booking.htm#terms

Paper Ticket Collected at THAI Ticket Office

Advance reservations can be made a minimum of 72 hours and a maximum of 11 months prior to departure.

Payment must be made and tickets collected within 72 hours of making your reservation except as otherwise stated in the "Last day to Ticket" notification under FLIGHT ITINERARY & FARES page.

Tickets must be collected from THAI city office only, and that office must be in the country where the journey commences.

Payment methods depend on local procedures of each THAI office.

For pure domestic segment, however, ticket can be collected from any THAI ticket office regardless of country where the journey commences.

Reservation can also be made for children 2-11 years of age (having reached their2nd but not their 12th birthday).

Ticket for infant may be purchased additionally at THAI office when you purchase and pick up your own ticket.

Birth certificates or passports of both infant and child must be shown when you contact THAI office in Thailand to purchase their tickets for travelling on the domestic sector.

Booking on THAI Flight Reservations is subject to issuance of ticket, therefore, it cannot be used as a change to any other bookings previously made or any other tickets previously issued whatsoever.

Flight segment can be changed on-line but only before the ticket is issued.

Flight confirmation will be sent to the email address indicated in your traveler profile.

Maximum two bookings per day, per user ID (4 seats per booking).

Special meals can be arranged on-line for international flights only.

Fares and taxes are quoted and charged in the currency of the country from where the journey commences.

ROP miles can be accrued as usual.

To ensure that you get the fare as quoted and displayed by the system, the reservation should be made immediately thereafter.

Not applicable for Buy One Get One Free Promotion during March 1- October 31, 2003

==================================================

My Credit card was entered into TG system, verified and accepted as valid. A confirmation email was sent confirming the fares and date and First Class. The Thai on-line booking engine also showed tickets as confirmed.

The only part of the T+C I did not comply with was having the paper tickets issued, simply as Thai London refused to issue them. Not something I had any control over, but in all other ways I complied exactly. A friend visited the TG ticket office to comply but they refused to issue them.

I have not contacted that lawyer in any way. Has anyone else here? My guess is he read 'The Times' piece.

I suspect they have. One of the sentences in the "fare change notice" they sent and handed out bore all the flavour of having been drafted by an English lawyer:- This appears to set TG up for two lines of defence:-
1. The provision in the terms and conditions to the effect that "Booking on THAI Flight Reservations is subject to issuance of ticket, therefore, it cannot be used as a change to any other bookings previously made or any other tickets previously issued whatsoever" means that TG had the right not to honour the booking if no ticket has been issued, and no obligation to issue a ticket if it chose not to for a good (or even any) reason.
2. Alternatively, even if that is wrong and TG would normally have been obliged to honour the booking and issue the ticket, it was entitled under English contract law not to do so on the grounds that it alone had made a mistake about its terms which was obvious to the other party (which paraphrases the legal test).

You could argue endlessly about each of these. On the first, the meaning of the provision is not wholly clear, particularly the relationship between the clauses before and after the word "therefore" - and it does not say in terms that TG can refuse to issue a ticket or the circumstances in which it can refuse to do so. The result of the second argument depends on whether the purchaser can make out that he didn't think it was an obvious error. But it seems clear that TG has been well advised to set these lines up.

My gut feeling, FWIW, is that it would take a lot to persuade an English judge to hold TG to these bookings. Judges here tend to start from what they think is right. This is likely to be a gut feeling that the airline made a genuine mistake and that the purchasers were just trying it on, and that the justice of the situation would be for the airline to be relieved of the consequences of its mistake. They then typically work backwards to make whatever findings of fact are necessary to get to that result. In particular, they will then work out whom they believe or not - and it is easy for the judge to say I just don't think that Mr/Ms X really thought that TG was genuinely offering a £0 fare, and they're not telling the truth when they say so.

In particular, if the purchaser were to succeed the judge would probably want to be satisfied that the person came across the fare by accident - I think recipients of the FT e-mail saw the word "error" in the subject line and will probably be disqualified as a result, if they're honest. And if they're not, the first question which would follow would be just why were you trawling around the TG website, then?

Also working against the purchaser will be the fact that even though some airlines occasionally give away free tickets a matter of deliberate marketing choice or policy, those offers are always well advertised. A promotion is, well, exactly that. But nothing on the TG website or any other public marketing materials suggested that free tickets were being given away by TG. And it is inherently less likely that the free tickets would be in the top cabin of a multi-class aircraft, particularly on a very long haul route. If there had been a relatively small fare charged, like GBP 300 or even 100 per sector, TG would be in a more difficult position because a purchaser could more credibly say that they didn't know it was a mistake - but totally free (of fare) tickets are obviously unusual.

But these are just my personal views, and YMMV - everyone needs to take their own proper advice and take their own view. Anyway, ozstamps, have you had any joy out of TG? Are they going to honour your booking? Or compensate you? Have you persuaded them?

There was an article in the Bangkog post advertising fee tickets. Just go through the thread, it's posted somewhere.

A really easy answer in my case. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I travel mainly on unrestricted one-way fares between AU and EU. In fact, I am travelling on one in a few weeks' time. In order to get back home, I searched for specials on different airline websites.

It just happened that at the time I was going through Thai website and booking engine, this "special" fare came up and I took it.

As I have flown TG in paid F on more than one occasion then there is nothing dodgy in my explanation as far as a judge goes.

Maybe it was just an extension of their current UK promotion of buy an F/J ticket and take a companion for free?

I think it is a joke to think the TG should honour these obvious mistakes. It would have been nice if they did, but how can anyone expect free first class travel.

The real loser here is TG, who should have turned this into a great marketing opportunity and held their hands up and said "yes we made a mistake- but heres wat we are going to do about as we want your bums on our seats"

To push this with a lawyer and use the media to show them up is only enhancing what a society we have become.

I still stand by my original opinion that this one is an absolute loser on legal grounds.

I've still not seen enough to demonstrate that there was actually offer and acceptance; the issue of unilateral mistake is certainly live; and it is doubtful in my mind whether the ingredient of valuable consideration would've been present.

Are you a lawyer?

This is the bit I don't have a problem with. Personally, I think there was consideration. Consideration doesn't have to be valuable or adequate; it merely has to exist. If there was a contract, it was an executory contract but that is no less binding.

But the absence of valuable or adequate consideration, for a product which is normally worth thousands, speaks volumes for whether it was obvious to the purchaser that there had been a mistake on TG's part, even assuming that he didn't get the FT e-mail.

With all these disagreements, it only shows this is worth a trial.

Sue them in U.S. court.

TG flies to (has business presence in) the U.S. and surely some American bought one of these tickets from a U.S. computer via a U.S. ISP.

Class-action or small-claims?

Could lead to an impound of a Jumbo or a lien placed on a TG ground facility.

Now excuse me, I need to drive to McDonald's and get some hot coffee to hold between my thighs.

I'm a bit confused by this response. Is your issue with O/A the fact that no money was paid (ie only taxes)? Remember that consideration can be a bargained for exchange of something of legal value as well as things like promissory estoppel, detrimental reliance and good faith modification. I can think of numerous possibilities where detrimental reliance may have taken place. Did people book hotels? buy guide books? The list could go on and on, getting as attenuated as you like.

Regarding the unilateral mistake, remember that unilateral mistakes are generally insufficient to make a contract voidable, unless the nonmistaken party knew or should have known of the mistake. Haven't we seen numerous highly discounted and even free flights given away over the last year? Why is this offer any different? Also keep in mind that the contract law generally states that mistake in value is no defense (ie a mistake in value often goes unremedied, as courts presume parties assume the risk of determining value).

We're talking about English law, right?