Make the most of faulty fares

It happens all the time: An airline or cruise line posts a fare that is clearly in error and consumers seize the opportunity.

Many times, the company honors the faulty fare. Why? Not necessarily because of the written law, but rather the unwritten public relations rule that bad publicity is more expensive than the losses.

But not every situation ends the same way.

USA Today reports Holland America Lines refused to honor a 2006 fare that consumers booked at $849 USD rather than the correct price of $1399. People who had paid and received confirmations were notified that they must pay the difference or be denied boarding.

USA Today also reports the cruise line offered a $100 USD shipboard credit or the opportunity to cancel the reservations without penalty.

Is that adequate? It's likely most budget travelers would say the offer falls short.

As for the cruise line, it faces losses of varying degrees for each decision the consumers make.

n short, no one is happy.

No one can expect to hand out free airfares and survive for very long.

That's why the folks at United Airlines were pretty upset a few years ago when they discovered 143 tickets had sold at fares so low, they were virtually "free".

There was a 55-minute span one day when it paid to be on United's site, surfing for fares.

Among the offerings: San Francisco to Paris round-trip for $24.98 USD!

There were other fares at that same price involving round-trip travel to Hong Kong, too.

United's initial response to all of this angered those lucky buyers. The airline stated the obvious when it claimed the fares were due to "technical errors." It also said the prices would not be honored, and that the buyers should have known the prices were listed in error.

The predictable outrage that followed prompted United to honor the faulty fares for the sake of customer relations. The Associated Press and CNN quoted spokesman Chris Brathwaite: "We've chosen not to make this issue a point of dissatisfaction with our customers." If someone offered you a $24.98 round-trip to Hong Kong, could your schedule be cleared to take advantage of it?.

Spokesman Brathwaite also admonished the lucky buyers to "enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

He's stating the obvious again, but consider that United has been in this position a number of times.

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