Rare brazilgirl Posted September 14, 2013 #1 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Sad I missed it! United will be honoring the $0 airfares issued Thursday due to a glitch. http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/United-Glitch-Results-in-Dirt-Cheap-Plane-Tickets-223552761.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suspaul Posted September 14, 2013 #2 Share Posted September 14, 2013 You're not alone, I missed it too :( Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted September 14, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted September 14, 2013 You're not alone, I missed it too :( Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app But I do feel for them ( as a business owner myself). Not easy to lose that kind of revenue due to a glitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitsugirly Posted September 14, 2013 #4 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Wasn't a glitch, I heard it was human error. I wonder what human is out there without a job now. Ouch. :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notentirelynormal Posted September 14, 2013 #5 Share Posted September 14, 2013 And it was only a 15 minute window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitsugirly Posted September 14, 2013 #6 Share Posted September 14, 2013 What really sucks is I booked flight tickets on Thursday, but I was only checking with Southwest because that's who we always fly with. I'm now kicking myself. :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunterke Posted September 14, 2013 #7 Share Posted September 14, 2013 The Israelian airline El Al had a similar problem a little more then a year ago http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/08/08/website-glitch-offers-travelers-a-big-airfare-bargain/ I don't get it... I'm out there checking prices but I never encounter something like this :( :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith1010 Posted September 14, 2013 #8 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Sound like a great deal. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenish Posted September 14, 2013 #9 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I'd be interested to know the lost revenue (or the number of freebie fares) involved, but it will probably never be divulged. A silver lining is UA gets ancillary revenue (bag fees, food for purchase, etc) and maybe increased customer loyalty for future travel. But UA had to shut down their website and phone reservations for a few hours...anyone who went to another airline during the shutdown adds to the lost revenue. A friend was at an annual trade show last week. Part of the recognition/awards banquet was a comedian. She was pretty raunchy, and some of her "jokes" were rather racist and insulting to companies in attendance. Quite a few attendees walked out and companies filed formal complaints to the trade group. I told my friend the person who picked the comedian was no doubt in line behind the person at UA at the unemployment office! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted September 14, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted September 14, 2013 And it was only a 15 minute window. Actually , several articles state it was a 2 hour window.... http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MT2UJP6S972N01-3KRK6A1KTVITT7TMUV9TVFQNVG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notentirelynormal Posted September 14, 2013 #11 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Actually , several articles state it was a 2 hour window.... http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-MT2UJP6S972N01-3KRK6A1KTVITT7TMUV9TVFQNVG I guess my local news radio station got it wrong then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greatam Posted September 15, 2013 #12 Share Posted September 15, 2013 If I am not mistaken, according to my two airline dispatchers in our NYC office, the glitch lasted just about an hour total-from the time someone discovered it until United stopped it. It had actually been around for about 40 minutes before Fat Wallet put out a tweet, sent it to Facebook and all h*** broke loose. According to my dispatchers, it was kept pretty darn quiet on Flyertalk to make the deal last as long as possible. But once it makes it to Fat Wallet, these glitch deals are over pretty quick. You have a lot of high school and college kids just grabbing, grabbing, grabbing more for bragging rights than being able to actually use the ticket. We flew to Fiji for $61 (Travelocity glitch they honored). Everyone who got a ticket got a personal email from Michelle Peluso, CEO, advising the tickets would be honored and to please remember Travelocity for future bookings. It was estimated the Fiji glitch cost Travelocity about $900,000 BUT it was also estimated they got $200,000 of it back in hotel bookings, tours and rental cars for the Fiji deal and future good will and bookings actually resulted in their mistake being pretty cheap advertising. DH and buddies flew to Iceland for $60 (this was supposed to be a BOGO type companion fare but they forgot to make the companion ticket available) and BA had $20 flights to Europe about 6 years ago on New Years day (according to Flyertalk legend, someone forgot to change the date to the new year) and it messed up the computers somehow and allowed tickets to be sold for $20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted September 15, 2013 Author #13 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Ohh the Fiji ticket sounds nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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