Israeli carrier El Al has not yet decided whether it will honor New York-Tel Aviv tickets that it mistakenly sold for just $330 to $400 round trip. Such tickets typically run anywhere from $1,000 to $1,600 for coach-class seats.
The airline said it sold at least 5,000 tickets at the mistakenly discounted fare, according to
The Associated Press.
The
New York Post says sales apparently escalated after word of the unintended bargain began to spread through New York's Orthodox Jewish community thanks to a Twitter alert from
Dan's Deals, a bargain-tracking
website.
The
Post described the buying frenzy in its typically colorful tabloid style, writing:
It was every Hasid for himself as news of a bargain of biblical proportions swept through communities like Crown Heights, Borough Park and Williamsburg.
Orthodox Jews frantically tried to score tickets for all members of their traditionally large families, from children to grandchildren to aunts, uncles and cousins.
Some pregnant women even tried to book future flights for their unborn children.
El Al blamed the $400 fare on a glitch by a contractor, and said it will decide this week whether it will honor the fares.
If El Al does not opt to honor the tickets, it will be interesting to see the response from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The agency's recently enacted passenger-rights legislation would appear give buyer's the mistake fares some protection, though it's uncertain on how the agency would rule on something that's an apparent mistake.
ALSO ONLINE: United: Forget the cheap ticket to Hong Kong, we goofed
Last month, United mistakenly offered frequent-flier tickets to Hong Kong for just four miles. The four-mile glitch included seats in first and business class, which normally require at least 120,000 miles or can cost upwards of $12,000.
United, which would not disclose how many of those tickets were booked, ultimately canceled the tickets. The airline noted that -- initially -- its booking engine displayed the correct amount of miles and reverted only to the four-mile figure at the end of the booking process. United contended that meant the fare was an obvious mistake and that it did not run afoul of DOT fare-display rules.
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