Aer Lingus giving J class away.....almost!

[Montague S]

classic stuff up...but EI should be made to fulfil their contractual obligations.


Irish airline Aer Lingus is refusing to honour an online offer which mistakenly sold business class transatlantic flights for five euros (A$8.48), a spokesman said Thursday.

The flights would normally sell for 1775 euros (A$3010) one way, said Enda Corneille, Aer Lingus director of corporate affairs who apologised to the customers concerned.

"It is a genuine mistake, a fundamental mistake on our part. We rectified it as quickly as we could. We have contacted the customers and given them the opportunity to re-book," he told RTE state radio.

"To sell a business class flight for a fiver... that is a genuine mistake, people are going to know that there is something up.

"It is really a case of 'if it looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true'," he added.

Corneille said a "little over 100" customers had booked on Wednesday morning before the offer was withdrawn from the website after less than two hours.

In messages to the customers, the airline said: "Due to a technical error in our reservation system for a brief period a small number of bookings were priced incorrectly.

"Unfortunately yours was one of the bookings affected and this email is to notify you of cancellation of your booking and to advise no funds will be deducted from your account."

However, Irish Consumers' Association spokesman Dermot Jewell said the purchasers had a binding contract

"The offer was made, it was accepted by Aer Lingus. Consumers booked and paid to bind the contract.

"Realistically I think Aer Lingus is going to have to do something to abide by it (the booking) and to help them,' he said.

AFP

http://www.theage.com.au/news/news/8-for-business-class--online-blunder/2008/04/18/1208025430018.html

[Ryan N]

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,23572245-5014090,00.html

Airline backdown over bargain flights bungle
From correspondents in Dublin
April 21, 2008 07:47am

IRISH airline Aer Lingus has partially backed down over its refusal to honour an online offer that mistakenly sold business class transatlantic flights for five euros ($8).
The flights would normally have sold for €1775 and the airline said about 300 bookings were involved, with some of those including multiple seats.

In a statement, the former state airline said it was offering the customers involved in the debacle "the option to travel in economy class at the price of their original booking."

It said that after a full investigation "it appears that some customers may have genuinely believed that they were making a booking in economy class."

"It is regrettable that this technical error occurred and Aer Lingus recognises and accepts that customers were upset and inconvenienced. Aer Lingus apologises unreservedly to all customers," the statement said.

It followed a statement by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey that the government, which is still a shareholder in the airline, would not be intervening directly but advising it should "rectify" the situation.

"Aer Lingus made the mistake," Dempsey told RTE state radio.

The National Consumer Agency said it had had "a very productive meeting" with the airline.

"We think Aer Lingus has made a very reasonable offer which will be acceptable to most consumers," said NCA chief executive Ann Fitzgerald.

"However, the NCA would advise consumers that if they do not wish to accept the compensation now on offer from Aer Lingus, they are entitled in our view to take legal action against the company," Fitzgerald said.