British Airways Will Repay Fliers for Erroneous Ad

British Airways agreed to pay cancellation penalties and other expenses for about 2,200 consumers who responded to an erroneous offer of $40 fares between the U.S. and India, the Transportation Department said.
The fare, which didn’t include taxes and fees, was posted on British Airways’ Web site at about 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2 and was removed within minutes, the department said in a statement today in Washington. The ad remained on other online travel sites for about two hours, the agency said.
The department’s Aviation Enforcement Office had been looking into the matter and reached an agreement with the U.K.- based carrier. The lowest fare prior to the mistaken ad was more than $750 before taxes, the department said.
The faulty fare was the result of a “human typing error,” said John Lampl, a British Airways spokesman. He said he didn’t know how much the reimbursements will cost the carrier.
Bill Mosley, a Transportation Department spokesman, also said he didn’t know what the reimbursements would cost.
British Airways said in a statement on its Web site that it “sincerely apologizes” to customers who booked flights Oct. 2 and then were notified their flights were canceled because of the error.
30/11/09 John Hughes/Bloomberg

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Categories: Foreign Dec 2009