Cathay Pacific to guarantee thousands of flights mistakenly sold at huge discounts
Cathay Pacific Airways said it would guarantee thousands of first and business-class flights sold at huge discounts after a ticketing error, calling the mistake a surprise special on New Years Day. The Hong Kong-based carrier acknowledged the error on its Twitter feed on Wednesday, stating "we made a mistake but we look forward to welcoming you on board with your ticket issued.
Hope this will make your 2019 special too!" The tickets are for flights from Vietnam to New York on Cathay Pacific for around $675 return instead of about $16,000 normally. With the hashtags "Promisemadepromisekept" and "lessonlearnt" the carrier said it would maintain the economy fares. The fares were not available on Cathay's website on Thursday. Online flight blogs and forums have been active with discussion on the deals since the error, with posts wagering on whether Cathay would honour the ticket fares.
Flyer Talk Evangelist wrote "Nobody here has noticed the hot mistake fare? ... Has been going on for hours. Wanna bet on the odd CX would honour this?" The ticketing error caps a tough year for Cathay. The carrier has come under mounting criticism after it said in October that about 9.4 million passengers' personal data had been accessed without authorisation, seven months after it became aware of the breach. The airline said it has spent over HK$1 billion ($127.7 million) on IT infrastructure and security over the past three years. ($1 = 7.8339 Hong Kong dollars)
(With inputs from agencies.)
ALSO READ
Asia-Pacific LNG market buzzes with activity as Platts JKM hits multiyear low: S&P GCI
Jaishankar discusses Indo-Pacific, contemporary regional and global issues with South Korea's national security adviser
Jaishankar discusses Indo-Pacific, contemporary regional and global issues with South Korea's national security adviser
Delhi Police file charge sheet against alleged Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist
Berkshire's PacifiCorp ordered to pay $29.2 million to homeowners, summer camp for 2020 Oregon wildfire damage