Cathay Pacific has announced it will honour first and business-class tickets worth up to US$16,000 that were sold for $675 in error.
The incorrect fares were displayed for a short time for August flights from Vietnam to New York. It was reported by travel bloggers on 31 December and the airline quickly fixed the issue. It is unclear how many passengers were able to buy tickets at the lower price.
Although Cathay Pacific has admitted the mistake and is under no obligation to honour the lower prices, the airline said on Twitter this morning that it would not require customers to pay the correct fare and was ‘looking forward to welcoming’ them on board.
The move has been commended by social media users and those who managed to buy the lower-price tickets, with many praising Cathay Pacific for ‘owning up’ to the mistake and giving customers a ‘nice surprise’.
The outpouring of support is likely to be welcomed by Cathay Pacific, which suffered its first ever consecutive year of losses for 2017. The airline also announced in October that its system had been targeted in a cyber attack that may have involved the data of up to 9.4 million passengers.