US Air glitch had them selling roundtrips for $2 over the weekend.
 

I got a kick out of the article in my local paper today about a computer glitch at US Air that had them selling roundtrip airfares over the internet on a few routes for $2. We travelers should continually check fares!!

Buongiorno:

I live near Pittsburgh so all the local stations carried the news. The flights seemed to all be commuters between the smaller cities, but the funniest part was that USAir figured out the glitch when they realized that all the flights were sold out in one day!

Hmmmm..wonder if any of those flights will suddenly get cancelled "due to circumstances beyond our control" or because of "mechanical difficulties."

But would that accomplish anything? If a purchased flight was cancelled, wouldn't they have to honor the ticket for another flight?

Would we all also &quot;get a kick out of it&quot; if a storm broke a window out of a bank, and a thousand 100-dollar bills flew out the window? and the awaiting throng outside that window gleefully carried the money away, rather than back into the bank, proclaiming... &quot;well, of course, I am <i><b>entitled</b></i> to this <i>good fortune</i>!&quot;?

Why do the rest of us not wince at anything that threatens the ongoing financial survial of our airlines?

No law firm, no restaurant, no Home Depot, no movie theatre, no Circuit City ever provided me with something as much value, for as little money, as the companies that transport me and my family, <i><b>through the air</b></i>... <i>magically</i>... and <i>safely</i> to the places we want to go.

I don't get a &quot;kick out of&quot; their monetary hemorrhages, big or small.

Best wishes,

Rex

Similar goof happened to BA on Thanksgiving Fri, 2002. Their site was selling routes from US to Europe for $40 one way + tax. I wasn't on this board back then so not sure if there was a thread for this. My friend booked one trip to Barcelona and one trip to Milan. BA did honor all tickets. Needless to say, my friend had a blast. Unfortunately, my friend relate this information that day to a CLUELESS relative of mind who did not forward the info to me. Errhhh!!

My friend found out about it from another friend who makes a habit of monitoring &quot;hot hits&quot; sites. Apparently, there are sites that constantly monitor traffic on the internet and reports the busiest sites. Light bulb went on when BA came up with unusually high traffic and this nosy body went investigate. He secured tickets for 10+ family members for a X'mas in London before spreading the word.

What a story!

Rex, have you seen the movie &quot;MILLIONS&quot;? I think you'd really enjoy it.

In all business,in the end it usually plays out as survival of the fittest. These big airlines are like dinosaurs and they can't adapt quickly enough to survive. They will become extinct and the little regional airlines like Southwest will take over. It's a natural evolution; certainly not something to be regretted but to be embraced. I say goodbye to these big Goliaths who have no idea what the other hand is doing like giving away cheap flights....

I wanted to change my USAir flight departure date so I called USAirways this weekend. One agent said I would have to get a new ticket - over $600. Not satisfied, I called back later and was told $110 - 10 for the fare difference and 100 change fee. Sounded better. After I thought about it for a few hours I was ready to purchase the change for $110 so I called back. Lo and behold it was only $35!!!!!! Even the agent couldn't believe it. I told her to hurry up before it changed again! You know I printed that receipt.
USAirways certainly had their hands full this past weekend.
I always check, double and triple check fares before purchasing; you never know.

Ah, if only the world could really be so small, whitey, and we could be so unaffected.
You say that all of the big dinosaurs will go under, and the small regionals will take over? and you're bidding goodbye to the big Goliaths? Do you really think that SW, for example, could handle the monumental amount of air traffic handled by the larger companies, and how long do you really think it would be before SW, too, encounters employee problems, for instance, that will force their costs up, requiring an increase in fares, and so on....welcome, the new Goliaths! (And, if several of the big guys do go under abruptly, think of the bidding war for the few seats around at that time. I don't think you'd see prices staying too low, as the &quot;regionals&quot; realized what they could get for a seat.)
And, by the way, think of all of the employees, active or retired, working for the airlines or at the airports, that you are so cavalierly bidding adieu! (and, no, I don't work for an airline - as a business traveler, I just spend way too much time on them.) I'm with Rex - you get what you pay for; I want safe, efficient travel, and that requires setting a fair value on a ticket. I think I would have been hard pressed to buy one of those obviously mispriced seats.

If a business model isn't working, that business will eventually fail. Why do you think Home Depot and Walmart are expanding like they are. They do it better than the guys they are replacing. Eventually someone will come along and put them out of business unless thay can adapt and continue to be the best. I love the prospect of getting more for my money; in my opinion, after this major airline shakeup is done - we will still have affordable pricing, BUT we will also have much better service.

Oh boy, I didn't expect some of the responses but I'll throw out this question to some that really applies to all money losing airlines.

If an airline loses money are you really paying a fair price for the ticket?

or, asked another way...Would you think an airline ticket is fairly priced only if it's pegged to the company at least breaking even.

Some missed my point. I didn't &quot;get a kick&quot; about the misfortune of the airline but the bonanza for the traveler. As a practical matter, every business has to deal with errors and the cost thereof. It was fair and square!

I want the lowest available price just as much as the next guy - - I just think it ironic that &quot;we&quot; think it &quot;natural&quot; that the credit card companies should protect us from unauthorized purchases (above $50) - - and add it to the cost of doing business. Wouldn't it be equally sensible, that if an airline computer error sells a ticket at a &quot;goof&quot; price like this, then the customer should at least be responsible for the first $50, and pay the airline at least that much? After all, &quot;the rest of us&quot; are paying for that goof - - shouldn't we at least expect that much from the &quot;windfall&quot; passenger?

If you accidentally book the wrong dates on a nonrefundable, nonchangeable ticket, you don't get any leeway (or if you do now and then, it's luck and nothing official). So in a case like this, passengers are giving airlines the same leeway that they get should they make a serious error.

Hi Rex

While I understand your view, I respectfully disagree with it.

The only difference between the airline's mistake and the mistakes all of us pay for as consumers every day is that it was glaring and publicized. I have to deal with my mistakes as a consumer (and as a business owner).

NPR mentioned someone getting a cross country First Class ticket between two smaller communities for $69 including taxes and fees.

Keith

Rex is right, IMO. Taking advantage of what was clearly computer error only contributes to the airlines' ongoing problems, much of which stem from fliers' wanting lower and lower fares despite the rising fuel costs. We're quick to scream UNFAIR when there's a mistake that costs US money.