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Azri M.

Pricing error causes $320,000 loss for Malaysia Airlines

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Ha Ha... Told ya to be careful with the website....

Pricing error causes $320,000 loss for Malaysia Airlines

 

Malaysia Airlines has confirmed it is expecting to face losses of up to AUD$320,000 after more than 100 tickets were issued at a special rate due to a pricing error discovered in the GDS system.

 

e-Travel Blackboard broke the news of the incorrect Business class airfare between Bangkok/Phuket and Johannesburg which was loaded at BHT 11,580 (AUD$407), instead of the RRP of BHT 111,580 (AUD$4200) on March 17.

 

Malaysia Airlines’ Regional Manager Australia & New Zealand, Mr Abdul Manaf Harun told e-Travel Blackboard the airline would absorb the expected losses.

 

"We expect slightly more than 100 tickets have been ticketed at the special price, and losses are expected to be in the range of AUD320,000. We will honour air tickets which have been ticketed," he said.

 

It is believed that word of the incorrect airfare spread fast amongst the travel community across Australia, with Queensland accounting for more than 50 per cent of the tickets issued.

 

The airfare has since been withdrawn from sale.

 

I shouldve known about this earlier or I would book already. :p

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Malaysia Airlines’ Regional Manager Australia & New Zealand, Mr Abdul Manaf Harun told e-Travel Blackboard the airline would absorb the expected losses. "We expect slightly more than 100 tickets have been ticketed at the special price, and losses are expected to be in the range of AUD320,000. We will honour air tickets which have been ticketed," he said.

 

Just like that? We will honour the losses just like that? No one is going to be fired because of this? I thought anything relating to write off should get at lease some approvals from the top management. This is a stupid loss of MYR 960,000 we are talking about. Earlier, no action was taken because of the website blunders.

 

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:) :) :)

 

Oh! Perhaps it is OK lah to lose a bit, can always recover later with increases in other money-generating areas and cutbacks in some products and services. For example, I understand that ticketing fee for purchases at local ticket offices have been increased to RM30 from the RM15 introduced earlier. Maybe can increase to RM45.... RM60 ke.... kaya kaya!!

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Lots of Flyertalkers and SQTalkers got in on this one. :D

(sorry I promised not to post it publicly)

 

I didn't take advantage of it because I didn't know what business I'd have in JNB, except maybe take a cheap flight over to CPT to chill out. Though in hindsight (20/20) I should've just issued it anyway as the oneworld RTWs out of South Africa these days are so cheap!

 

Yes they are honouring the fare mistakes - a friend just came back from JNB on the fare without dramas. If they don't, well Flyertalkers have taken airlines and hotels to court and won along the lines of the following arguments:

(i) You found the fare on Expedia. You paid. You received a confirmation and paper ticket. It's a contract. Plus you've incurred expense in reliance on that (eg a non-ref hotel stay or non-ref tickets to other parts of Africa).

 

(ii) You don't know anything about any mistake - the MH J fare cost is in the same ballpark as the cost of legitimate MH J fares over same/longer distances. The price therefore seemed perfectly normal to you at the time of booking. [this doesn't work so well with those crazy 1 dollar mistakes but you could always argue that you thought it's some kind of promotion like Air Asia's free seats deals]

 

If you are keen on fare mistakes like these (my one and only experience with this is the THB1/night rate at Holiday Inn Phuket in 2006 - boy was that a great one :p), head for the Fare Deals forum on Flyertalk. Though a lot of these things are kept under wraps (in private messages, email groups etc) these days because of the number of idiots who choose to call up the airlines asking how to book such fares (HELLO????) and thus notifying them about it.

Edited by Keith T

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BTW this isn't a defect with the website. It's a human error which caused the incorrect fare to be uploaded to the GDS (Global Distribution System). Depending on whose error it was - MH's or the GDS's (eg Gallileo), the airline might be able to recover the losses by getting the GDS to pay for it.

 

Keith, how long did this mistake fare sold for before being discovered?

 

About 2 days or so. Just kicking myself for not taking advantage of it when I could've. :(

 

This one was kept under wraps very well which ensured its longevity. If the TAs haven't discovered it and shouted about it to all and sundry, it'd have been up for a bit longer.

 

Mistakes that get posted on FT are gone within 12-17 hours because airline and hotel employees lurk on FT, and silly people like to call airlines/hotels up asking how to book such rates/fares - doh!

 

I think a certain Marriott hotel in NYC which was taken to court by a Flyertalk class action and was forced to honour mistake rates described us all as 'thieves.' :rofl: But hey you get penalised by the airlines/hotels when you make an omission (eg penalties for changing dates on restrictive fares) so it's only fair.

Edited by Keith T

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I didn't even know this went on to FT.

 

This mistake, although uncommon, happens pretty frequently. Other notable mistakes:

- UA $1,500 C-class ticket from LAX/SFO-AKL (and you get to fly in EK/NZ/QF C from SYD-AKL too!)

- NW/KL $300 ($0 base fare) from Canada-Bucharest, Romania, booked in "B" (make no difference to me as I am not looking for EQM in NW)

- UA/LH $275 ($0 fuel surcharge) from US to Germany and this "mistake" was active for almost 2 months! Let's just say I have already qualified for *G for 2009, with 1K re-qualification within easy reach after several trans-Atlantic flights. ;)

- TN $51 (base fare) from LAX to Fiji

 

Edited to add: I seriously doubt MH is going to incur almost $1MM in losses due to this fare. It could potentially cost $1MM, but I doubt the figure is even close to that. And kudos to MH for honoring the contract/fare.

Edited by Craig

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I didn't even know this went on to FT.

 

It did not. It did however make it to PMs and offboard chatter. ;)

 

Like I said the reason why this mistake lasted longer than the other ones is because it wasn't posted on FT. This might well mean this mistake could;ve been less costly than other ones, were it not for the fact that the TAs caught on to it.

 

Now if only I can find a mistake that I can actually take advantage of... or be flexible enough to simply plan my holidays around mistake fares. :p

 

These mistakes are common with hotels too. Some notable ones:

- 1 baht per night rate at Holiday Inn Phuket. They'd meant to pull the standard rooms off the system for some post tsunami refurbishment but due to carelessness the rates for standard rooms had been left on as 1 baht (or in some cases 0.01 baht) per night. I'd booked it for 30 nights as I wasn't planning on going to Phuket for a trip to Asia in July 2006, but I canceled the unnecessary nights when my dates had firmed up. Other friends had booked it for months on end and simply came and went as they please on multiple trips to HKT. Even 100 nights = THB100, cheaper than paying rent back home! I got one of the non refurbished rooms they reserved while the refurbishment went on for mistake rate stayers but some people got the new rooms. This mistake was the talk of the town!

 

- Presidential Suite at Conrad Bangkok for US$51/night or some other equally cheapo amount.

 

- Some article a while back about a new upscale hotel in the US that had a 9 cent/night mistake but chose to honour rates and turned it into a good PR campaign for them.

 

Can't remember the rest but there are many others.

Edited by Keith T

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Really sorry but what is FT? :D

 

flyertalk.com

Edited by Keith T

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Kena bash lagi...

 

But seems others also had done the same silly mistake...

 

Surely someone or a few will be the boot or demote or something. I think MH probably just being nice in its press statement. It they mention "... the responsible party/parties will get a hefty consequences...", where's the 'Hospitality' towards the staff then. ehehee...

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no laaaa MAS too rich ... that much money lost wont effect anything to em. for them is little. right MAS? to be honest.. MAS getting bad to worst! i started to lose interest with MAS now.. i dont know of which airlines i would change from MAS. i tried to support as much as i can and that's why i have my A380 livery design by myself as MAS. but they just putting me down all the time.. the more i obsessed with MAS the more they put me DOWN! screw you!

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no laaaa MAS too rich ... that much money lost wont effect anything to em. for them is little. right MAS? to be honest.. MAS getting bad to worst! i started to lose interest with MAS now.. i dont know of which airlines i would change from MAS. i tried to support as much as i can and that's why i have my A380 livery design by myself as MAS. but they just putting me down all the time.. the more i obsessed with MAS the more they put me DOWN! screw you!

 

All I can say is... please calm down...

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no laaaa MAS too rich ... that much money lost wont effect anything to em. for them is little. right MAS? to be honest.. MAS getting bad to worst! i started to lose interest with MAS now.. i dont know of which airlines i would change from MAS. i tried to support as much as i can and that's why i have my A380 livery design by myself as MAS. but they just putting me down all the time.. the more i obsessed with MAS the more they put me DOWN! screw you!

 

 

cool...ANOTHER commando...albeit from the other end of the spectrum. <_>

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Is it an error or just something that is already in the markting budget?

 

It's an error.

Edited by Keith T

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Well, if anyone is interested, there is another "sale" going at BA. $485 USD all-in ($85 base fare plus $400 in taxes!!!) from Chicago to Budapest over summer (extremely cheap if you ask me, since most fares run around $1,000 plus). I'd gone there for 4th of July if I was based in ORD...

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Well, if anyone is interested, there is another "sale" going at BA. $485 USD all-in ($85 base fare plus $400 in taxes!!!) from Chicago to Budapest over summer (extremely cheap if you ask me, since most fares run around $1,000 plus). I'd gone there for 4th of July if I was based in ORD...

 

Interesting. I only got the fare for 04JUL, so I'm assuming this is a genuine sale and not an error?

 

Unfortunately I'm out even if I'm in ORD as BA's transatlantics earn no miles for AAdvantage members. And their cheap fares earn no TPs for BAEC members either.

Edited by Keith T

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