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China Southern Airlines has announced that it will uphold all purchases made for as low as £1.12 (10 yuan) during a technical error on the night of November 9th.
Tickets to Chengdu, a city in the southwest of China that is nearly three hours away from Beijing, were unexpectedly discounted on mobile apps and booking platforms for a limited time of about two hours.
According to Reuters, customers started posting images of discounted flights around 8pm in their respective time zones (12pm GMT). The screenshots reveal prices as low as 10, 20, or 30 yuan (equivalent to £1.12 to £3.37), significantly lower than the typical minimum cost of 400 to 500 yuan (£44 to £56) for these flights.
However, the airline has stated that they will honor the incorrect prices.
China Southern Airlines informed Bloomberg that all flight tickets purchased and processed during the system error will remain valid and can be used by travelers as usual.
I have reached out to China Southern Airlines for additional response, as reported by The Independent.
During China’s annual November event, known as “Singles Day”, the incident occurred. This is the busiest online shopping period in the country and is often compared to Black Friday. According to Reuters, the total amount of goods sold during this time last year was approximately 1.15 trillion yuan (£129bn).
Southern China Airlines has launched a ‘unlimited flying’ program for frequent travelers, which can be used for trips to other Asian countries.
This latest ticket mistake is just one of many instances that have occurred globally. In April, a major Japanese airline, All Nippon Airways, experienced a malfunction on its Vietnam website resulting in a passenger purchasing a £13,000 flight for only £715.
Due to a technical error, an individual was able to purchase tickets worth $250,000 for only $17,000. The airline later announced that they would not honor the mistakenly discounted tickets.
Source: independent.co.uk
