BA cancels passengers' cheap flights after discovering pricing 'error'




British Airways has cancelled the tickets of passengers who managed to buy cheap flights after a glitch on the airline’s booking system.航空チケット

A number of customers bought heavily reduced fares, many to Tel Aviv, including a £167 return ticket, from third-party agents, but BA voided the tickets when it discovered the wrong fares had been published.

Ash Dubbay, from London, paid £195 through agent Travel Up for return flights to the Israeli city, but now has to pay as much as £1,000. A spot-check on flight comparison website Skyscanner for travel next month shows return flights to Tel Aviv costing from £307 with Easyjet, £567 with Turkish Airlines and £1,144 with British Airways. On the BA website, flights start from £351 return in the summer and £291 later in the year.
BA has apologised for cancelling the tickets and offered full refunds and a £100 voucher, but Mr Dubbay said it was “no help” because of how expensive the new flights were.

“I’m very disappointed and let down by British Airways,” he told the BBC. “If I wanted to cancel my tickets I wouldn't have been able to but it seems like they can just do what they want."

Another customer, Esther Vadia, had six tickets to Tel Aviv, bought at £167 each, cancelled by the airline. She said she will now lose £1,000 on non-refundable accommodation.
If go to a supermarket and buy something for cheap, they cannot come after you later and say you have to give it back,” she said.

"So how can an airline do that? Besides, I don't think the tickets were so cheap as to be unbelievable."

Such pricing errors are known as “mistake fares” and are not uncommon. Human error or IT mishaps can drop the price of flights by up to 99 per cent, with long-haul tickets being sold for less than £5.