photo: pixabay
Some of my favorite trips were made possible because of what is often called a mistake fare. Some are legitimate sales and others are truly mistakes. It is often impossible to tell the difference. Let’s call them special fares.
For a short time yesterday, people were able to book round trip flights from Chicago to various cities in Australia via Air New Zealand in business class for under $1,500. I paid a little over that as the flight I booked to Melbourne included a 4-night stop in Auckland. My flight was fully ticketed. Soon thereafter, the same itinerary skyrocketed to $6,500.
And then the waiting began. People sat on pins and needles, especially since the airline has a reputation for canceling special fares (see, e.g. [Mistake Fare] Bye Bye New Zealand – It Was Nice While it Lasted)
And then, I heard rumbling that Air New Zealand was honoring the fare. I sent a direct message to the airline’s Twitter team and receive this confirmation:
Kia ora (translation: hello), thank you for reaching out. For any bookings that have been paid for, confirmed and ticketed, we will be honoring these ‘special’ fares.
OMG!! I am so excited!
Congratulations to everyone who caught this deal!
I guess it’s time to book positioning flights to Chicago, and look for hotel recommendations in Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney!
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
Too bad I am never able to take advantage of these great deals because I fully book my travels a year in advance. Can’t cancel my booked trips to take advantage of surprise deals.
that’s often my situation too. I lucked out this time.
Going in Aug. Excited but also realized it is winter.
me to0! (but I realized it was winter before I booked it and booked it anyway!)
I got in. Excited!
That’s great news. I always try and book directly with the airline to avoid those OTA’s cancelling your tickets and trying to charge full price. With this and Cathay first I’m going to be racking up the miles this year.