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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Cathay Pacific to honour $16,000 fares sold for $675 | Cathay Pacific to honour $16,000 fares sold for $675 |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Cathay Pacific has said it will honour first-class and business-class tickets that it sold to some lucky passengers for a fraction of the usual price. | Cathay Pacific has said it will honour first-class and business-class tickets that it sold to some lucky passengers for a fraction of the usual price. |
| The Hong Kong-based airline mistakenly sold business-class seats on August flights from Vietnam to New York for about $675 return. | The Hong Kong-based airline mistakenly sold business-class seats on August flights from Vietnam to New York for about $675 return. |
| Prices on the same route in July and September cost $16,000. | Prices on the same route in July and September cost $16,000. |
| The airline admitted that it "made a mistake", but said it would honour the tickets. | The airline admitted that it "made a mistake", but said it would honour the tickets. |
| The fares were reported by travel bloggers on 31 December and later withdrawn by Cathay Pacific. | |
| Mac Jaehnert, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin was alerted to the bargain prices on Twitter and seized the chance to book a first class ticket from Boston to Hong Kong, and an onward flight to Hanoi in business class for a total of $1,220. | |
| He had always dreamed of having a first class ticket, he told the BBC, but as a travel blogger and social media manager for a tech company, he usually travelled in economy class. | |
| "A one way ticket on Cathay, first [class] is like $18,000 and that's quite a bit out of my price range." | |
| "When I did the math, what I paid is at about a 95% discount," he said. | |
| "I thought, this has got to be either a once in a lifetime deal, or possibly a mistaken fare, possibly both." | |
| He was relieved to hear that the airline would be honouring the tickets. | |
| It was not clear how many tickets had been sold and Cathay Pacific did not immediately respond to requests from the BBC. | It was not clear how many tickets had been sold and Cathay Pacific did not immediately respond to requests from the BBC. |
| Difficult year | Difficult year |
| The mistake concludes a challenging 2018 for Cathay Pacific, as it tries to return to profitability after posting its first ever back-to-back annual loss in March. | The mistake concludes a challenging 2018 for Cathay Pacific, as it tries to return to profitability after posting its first ever back-to-back annual loss in March. |
| The airline has struggled against competition, particularly from low-cost Chinese carriers covering Hong Kong, mainland China and South East Asia. | The airline has struggled against competition, particularly from low-cost Chinese carriers covering Hong Kong, mainland China and South East Asia. |
| In October, Cathay Pacific was the subject of a data breach in its IT systems, jeopardising the personal information of up to 9.4 million passengers. | In October, Cathay Pacific was the subject of a data breach in its IT systems, jeopardising the personal information of up to 9.4 million passengers. |
| A month earlier, it had to send one of its planes back to the paint shop after spelling the airline's name "Cathay Paciic" on the side of the jet. | A month earlier, it had to send one of its planes back to the paint shop after spelling the airline's name "Cathay Paciic" on the side of the jet. |
| Airlines often honour tickets sold in error, but practices differ from carrier to carrier and according to circumstances. | Airlines often honour tickets sold in error, but practices differ from carrier to carrier and according to circumstances. |
| Singapore Airlines, for example, honoured tickets sold for less than half price in 2014. | Singapore Airlines, for example, honoured tickets sold for less than half price in 2014. |
| United Airlines cancelled transatlantic tickets sold for less than $100 by a "third party software provider" the following year. | United Airlines cancelled transatlantic tickets sold for less than $100 by a "third party software provider" the following year. |
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