BA accidentally offers $40 return flights from US to India

Early this month, British Airways (BA) had an error appear on their website that was offering return deals to as far afield as India for just $40. The error which is being investigated by the US department of transport led to thousands of travellers booking the once-in-a-life-time deals and there were also trips between US cities for the same incredible low price. It was first spotted on comparison websites like Orbitz and Expedia and quickly spread to travel forums on the internet.

The fares were meant to be increased by $40 on the long-haul flights that normally started at $805 for a return leg. A spokesman on behalf of BA said they are looking into the mistake which appeared to be a computer error. One online company said that it has been an interesting day and there are possibly thousands of bookings that were made across the web in the two hours it was offered up for. BA have stated that they will not honour the bookings as it was obviously a mistake, much to the annoyance of the people that booked the tickets.

The department of transport received a number of complaints about BA not going forth with the deals they had ‘offered’. In response to the number of people that have made their voices heard they said that they would be looking into the situation with BA. If BA is told to honour the deals it could potential lose the firm millions of dollars in lost revenue. One customer who booked a flight wrote on a travel forum his flight details of a return flight from San Francisco to Mumbai via London all for $40. A few people posted comments asking if this low-price was for real.