What are error fares?
Sometimes airlines will have glitches in their prices either caused by system malfunctions or human error. This can result in flight prices being abnormally low or high, and can offer tremendous savings if booked at the right time. Quite often, airlines honor these fares if they are booked before the mistakes are corrected.
Causes of Airline Pricing Glitches
- An airline pricing glitch can occur when someone who works for the airline accidentally enters fare information incorrectly. A new employee at the airline or a worker who is negligent about entering price information can make mistakes that equate to huge savings for passengers.
- Currency converters used by international airlines may also be erroneous and miscalculate airfare. This is particularly common when euros are converted to U.S. dollars and vice versa. The ever-changing exchange rates provide additional room for error.
- Fuel surcharges and additional fees may also not be accounted for when ticket pricing information is entered into a system. Other fees that may accidentally be omitted include security taxes, baggage fees and seat selection charges.
- Computer glitches can also cause fares to drop unbeknownst to the airline. System updates, viruses and other factors can cause reservation systems to malfunction and post unbelievably low ticket prices.
Error Fare Flight Examples
You will likely be shocked to see some of the mistake fares that were honored by airlines. According to Atlas Obscura, examples of these fares include:
• $282 round-trip from New York to Barcelona
• $79 first-class round-trip from London to any city in the U.S.
• $250 one-way from New York to Milan
How to Find Error Fares
We highly recommend setting a price alert on your desired route so you will be notified immediately when the price drops. This is a great way to snag the error fare quickly and increase your chances of the airline honoring the flight price.
One of the best ways to find error fares is to sign up with a reputable flight watchdog service and receive notifications as soon as these fares are posted. The best price glitch finder services are also able to seek out mistake fares on hotels and attractions.
You can also try to perform a broad search on Skyscanner that will show you airfare on certain days over an entire month. You can look for unusually low ticket prices that may be the result of an error and snag these deals before they are corrected.
Are Error Fares Always Honored by Airlines?
Airlines are not usually obligated to honor glitch fares, but some choose to do so as a courtesy to their customers. An airline will likely not honor any glitches that were caused by customers who misused or manipulated the reservation system to score better deals. Some airlines also will not honor fares that were priced unbelievably low and should not have been booked due to common sense. However, it may sometimes be difficult for airlines to avoid honoring these error fares because of government regulations that prohibit false advertising and post-purchase price increases.
It’s also possible that flights with error fares will be canceled entirely. In these cases, airlines will typically give you your money back, so you have no risk of losing it.
Travel Hacks and Tips to save you money
Find Top Airline Deals
Month Search for the cheapest flights during the year
If you are in search of a last minute flight deal that meets your budget needs, then you should be flexible. This could mean choosing flight times that correspond to quiet periods at airports. Skyscanner can help find that best time to fly with the MONTH SEARCH Tool
Everywhere Search for the cheapest flights anywhere
Another way to grab cheap flights is by being flexible with your destination, and the airport you’re flying from or to. Besides the price savings, you also get to explore a greater variety of destinations around the world without busting your budget. Check out our EVERYWHERE SEARCH feature to find the cheapest route.
Price Alerts for the best time to book
Signing up for price alerts is another great way to book cheap last minute flights to your preferred airport destination. Set up price alerts for these great weekly deals by following our step-by-step-guide
Multi City Search – Book up to 6 destinations on the same trip!
Looking for more ways to save with Skyscanner’s search features? Check out how to search for multi-destination flights, with our Multi City Search Tool so you can check off more than one destination during your trip, while still saving big time.
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