United Says They WIll Not Honor Yesterday’s Mistake Fares

The news came out last night from United that they would not honor those incredible sub-$100 fares in Business and First class from Europe to the US and beyond.  Here’s the text of the note United is sending to people who booked those tickets:

We have discovered an error with a vendor’s currency exchange rates that temporarily allowed customers to book reservations through the Danish version of united.com at prices that were incorrect, despite United having filed the fares properly. We have suspended sales from our Danish website until the issue is corrected.

You purchased tickets through the Danish version of united.com during the time when the prices were incorrect. As a result, we are not able to honor your tickets at the price that you paid. We have voided your reservations and will not process your payment.

What does that mean?

Well, if you booked one of these flights, you definitely don’t have a reservation today.  But, I wouldn’t push the confirmation number through the shredder just yet.  There are going to be a bunch of folks who file DOT claims trying to get United to honor these fares.  That process isn’t going to happen overnight, and there’s likely to be more information about the issue over the days and weeks to come.

At this point, you definitely should not book positioning flights, hotel rooms, etc. unless they are 100% refundable.  But, I still think there’s a better than zero chance some or all of these reservations will be honored.  It’s clear United has come out strongly against them right now, and I applaud them for making a quick decision so most folks weren’t left hanging.  But, the DOT has had some unpredictable answers on such things over the years.

It also means that we’ll have the “Denmark tickets” to talk about in the future along with the 4 mile tickets and the free tickets United offered last year.

I wouldn’t buy a big bucket of popcorn, but if your first one is empty, I might make my way to the counter for a snack to tide you over.  And, if you have free time, read some more of the immense FlyerTalk thread.  It’s worth a good chuckle.

The post United Says It Will Not Honor Yesterday’s Mistake Fares was published first on Pizza In Motion.

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