What not to do during an Error Fare

A friendly reminder of what not to do during an Error Fare…

There were some comments by Secret Flying members saying that they had immediately contacted the airline after booking our Los Angeles to Warsaw Error Fare yesterday.

By alerting airline staff to a mistake fare, you’re essentially killing the deal for everyone else. It can take an airline only minutes from finding out about the mistake to pulling the fare.

Please do NOT contact the airline, especially when the error price is still working. Leave the Error Fare to last as long as possible. Let the airline discover it themselves.

There is no benefit to call the airline as soon as possible. The airline is going to either honour all bookings or cancel all bookings. Quickly speaking to an airline agent doesn’t improve your chances of having your booking honoured.

Even after the deal is dead, it’s strongly recommended to refrain from contacting the airline (unless they publicly announce that they are aware of it).

In case the airline doesn’t publicly announce anything, the best way to know if your Error Fare booking is honoured is to log in to “Manage my booking” on the airline’s website around three weeks after booking. If your ticket is still valid and intact, then there is an extremely good chance it will stay like that.

BONUS TIP: Book using a credit card. If an Error Fare is not honoured, many credit cards have excellent support for getting your money back quickly.

If your ticket is cancelled by the airline or OTA, you are entitled to a full refund of all charges paid in the manner of payment (including credit card fees, but excluding any currency fluctuations).

In case you missed out on yesterday’s Los Angeles to Warsaw Error Fare, sign up for free to receive flight deal alerts straight to your inbox.