Airline error leads to huge discount on first- and business-class tickets
Finding great deals on airfare isn't so unusual in the internet age, but some bargains really are too good to be true.
Take the travelers who scored sharply discounted tickets for international flights on All Nippon Airways. Because of a currency conversion error, the tickets went on sale for up to nearly 20 times less than their face values, according to Bloomberg. Passengers were able to get business-class tickets for flights traveling between North America and Asia for between $300 and $550 — more than $9,000 off their original cost, the news service reported.
One traveler even locked down a first-class flight from Jakarta, Indonesia, to the Caribbean, with layovers in Tokyo and New York, for $890. The problem stemmed from a glitch on ANA's Vietnam website, which listed an incorrect currency conversion, the company told Bloomberg. The airline added it is "investigating the cause of the bug and the size of its damage."
It remains unclear how many discounted tickets were snapped up as a result of the mixup. All Nippon Airways did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The cheap tickets will remain valid for travelers who fly before the airline makes an official decision on the tickets' validity, Bloomberg reported. The airline will make a decision by the end of this month, an ANA spokesperson told the outlet.
Internet users were quick to spot ANA's dirt-cheap fares, with some users jumping on the chance to buy the discounted tickets and others lamenting they had missed out on deals.
"Oi, just missed an error fare from Jakarta to Houston with ANA just a few minutes ago. ~370 USD in business class, but once I clicked it, it was gone," one Twitter user posted on Wednesday.
Some users remained skeptical that the airline would honor the erroneously discounted tickets. Secret Flying, a travel deals website, advised travelers to postpone booking their vacations until ANA provides guidance on the situation.
"It's best to hold off making any further plans (e.g. positioning flights, hotels) for at least 2-3 weeks to see if the airline honors the deal or not," the company tweeted.
Some travelers remained undeterred, however. One airline industry employee, Johnny Wong, rushed to buy a ticket when he discovered the sale, snagging a business-class flight from Jakarta to Honolulu with a layover at Tokyo's Narita Airport for the equivalent of $550, Bloomberg reported.
"I never thought I'd catch such a deal," Wong told the outlet.
The fare now goes for more than $1,000, Google Flights data shows.
Mistaken fares aren't unheard of. In 2019, Etihad Airways mistakenly sold first-class tickets for $900, according to travel site The Points Guy. That same year, Cathay Pacific Airways sold first-class and business-class tickets from Vietnam to the U.S. for less than $700.
