Error Fare
What is Error Fare?
An error fare (also called a mistake fare) is an airfare appearing at an extremely low price due to a technical mistake — a typo in fare loading, a currency conversion error, a software glitch, or an accidental omission of taxes or fees. Error fares are legitimate booked fares, and airlines have historically honoured a significant portion of them, particularly when customers booked in good faith.
Prices can be astonishing: business class flights to Asia for £200, round-the-world fares under £500, premium cabin tickets at economy prices. Airlines are under no legal obligation to honour error fares in most jurisdictions and many will cancel and refund. The key is to book quickly — error fares disappear within hours — not cancel existing plans, and hold off on booking hotels until the airline formally confirms the ticket.
Example of Error Fare
James got an alert from a deal-monitoring website: British Airways had accidentally priced business class tickets from London to Tokyo at £340 return — a glitch in the tax calculation. He booked within 20 minutes. Three days later, BA confirmed: "We have checked the booking and can confirm it is valid." He flew business class to Tokyo for less than most passengers paid for economy.