Cathay Pacific sells first and business class tickets to North America for economy prices in apparent error – but will airline honour deal?
- Carrier sold business and first class seats from Vietnam for HK$5,300 and HK$6,600 respectively
- Airfares have since been withdrawn from its website
The offer lit up the internet in the new year with frequent fliers and bargain hunters alike buying tickets quickly as word spread across social media and popular flight blogging websites and forums.
The carrier, one of Asia’s leading premium airlines, offered return business and first class seats from Vietnam to North America at the very low prices of HK$5,300 (US$678) and HK$6,600 respectively. The airfares have since been withdrawn from its website.
Attention has turned to whether Cathay will honour the tickets, which typically sell for HK$35,000 in business or HK$55,000 in first class for a return flight. Cathay said it would address the airfare situation on Wednesday.
Last summer, Hong Kong Airlines suffered a similar error, and set the bar high by honouring its mistake. It sold business class tickets for HK$4,600 for return flights from Los Angeles to both Shanghai and Bangkok. The airline was widely praised after it admitted to the error but said it would cover all bookings. As of Tuesday, the same tickets were selling for HK$30,000.