Thread: Air Fare Mistake?

My first post so here goes.

I was searching for an airline fare and quite by accident managed to buy two Business Class tickets on a very well known airline's website for about 5% of their real value which is about £4000.
This happened about two weeks ago and I have been issued with Electronic tickets and my credit card has been charged for the "discount" price.
I decided to wait and see what happened as the flights are not till the autumn but so far nothing has - my booking still shows up on their site and seats allocated in Business Class.
Can anyone advise me on the likely outcome of this? Can they refuse travel on the day of departure or do you think anyone will notice as it has all been carried out electronically? Or, are they obliged to honour the fare as tickets have been issued?

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How do you know that by booking that far in advance theyre not giving you a huge discount or special offer, IMHO seeing as they have issued you with electronic tickets AND debited your card I would say they have entered the contract now but i'm no authority on this kinda thing but the fact theyve done what theyve done has to be good for your side of the case should it come to it

A lot of the Arlrines such as BA are selling bargain bucket seats on selected flights and dates.

Looks like you got lucky and got one of those seats.

Ryanair did something similar with seats going for a £1

Paul

If they have accepted your offer by sending you the E Tickets it sounds like you have a deal. In most cases they only send out an email to say it's being processed and that they will confirm the contract later. However, the law on e-contacts is fairly complex. It should state in their Ts&Cs when the contract is formed these days. have a read and see if you have a binding contract, if you do they cant do anything about it.

Thanks for all your thoughts.

It was definately a mistake fare - ( I gather the currency rate exchange had been entered wrongly on their reservation system), the flight originates in Europe with another change before heading to South America.
My wife and I have to travel to mainland Europe to start the journey that's why I was wondering about them honouring it, don't want to travel to start the trip only to be told we were going to be denied boarding.

Had a look at the T&Cs but none the wiser really, I am banking on the fact that I have the tickets and payment has been taken.

If you have the tickets and payment has been taken then the contact has been concluded. If they were to breach that contract by revoking the tickets you could potently sue them for the higher priced tickets you would have to buy.

PS – this is based on the assumption that the laws of England and Wales apply!

Originally Posted by artoo

If you have the tickets and payment has been taken then the contact has been concluded. If they were to breach that contract by revoking the tickets you could potently sue them for the higher priced tickets you would have to buy.

PS – this is based on the assumption that the laws of England and Wales apply!

Thanks for that artoo.

As it was purchased through their UK website I guess it would come under UK law.

Have a look at this site - FlyerTalk - The world's most popular frequent flyer community this kind of thing happens all the time. As soon as the card is debited and the e-ticket issued they have to honour the tickets.