The offer appeared instantly on price comparison websites that partner with BA and news of the deal spread across travel forums as the unbelievably cheap tickets were snapped up in hundreds.
A computer glitch on the British Airways website flashed fares from the US to India marked down dramatically at just $40 (Rs1,840) last Friday, sparking a mad scramble in online bookings for flights to India. Naturally, Indians living in the US felt BA was treating them to a Diwali bonanza.
The offer appeared instantly on price comparison websites that partner with BA and news of the deal spread across travel forums as the unbelievably cheap tickets were snapped up in hundreds.
The gift soon unravelled. A BA spokeswoman said the problem arose when it tried to increase fares by $40. Somewhere along the line, a ‘plus’ sign got eliminated when the new information was being entered. Although BA became aware of the error last Friday, it took hours to correct information on its website. It waited for two days before deciding not to honour the $40 bookings, saying customers would understand it was an “obvious mistake” as they were paying only a few dollars for tickets that are typically $1,200.
“On Monday, we cancelled the bookings because these fares were so clearly below the normal price,” the BA spokeswoman said. Not everyone has accepted the explanation. The US department of transportation is now looking into the matter because it has been swamped with complaints. It is sitting on a pile of 163 letters from customers alleging BA hasn’t treated them with fairness. Some may even be willing to sue BA over what they see as a breach of contract.
“The airlines are very careful to hold consumers strictly to the letter of the law. If you make a mistake in your booking, say, by transposing two letters in your name, you can face a $150 to $250 changing fee, even if you call them back within an hour,” Charlie Leocha of the Consumer Travel Alliance, representing passengers, told The Times, London.
“If they are going to hold passengers to such strict compliance, they should be held to the same levels of compliance,” he said. Illness, family emergencies, rescheduled meetings — these are big business for airlines and they make at least $2 billion a year by charging hapless customers ‘change fees’ and other penalties for not reading the fine print about everything from hand baggage and overweight bags to seat assignments.
“The airlines industry has unforgiving ticket penalties. Customers pay real money for every oversight. Now the shoe is on the other foot,” said New York travel agent Sunil Arora.
Some industry experts estimate BA might lose roughly $4 million if it honours the bookings.
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