Air New Zealand glitch sells 1,800 seats at rock-bottom prices
Almost 2,000 people have been refunded after an Air New Zealand glitch saw fares posted for the equivalent of less than $10 AUD. The issue with the airline’s South Korean booking website last week resulted in some trans-Tasman economy fares as far out as September 2025 going for as low as 6,100 Korean won, or under AU$7, while business fares were seen from 12,500 won, or under AU$14. Air New Zealand temporarily suspended the South Korean site while it fixed the issue, with customers who bought the fares refunded and offered reimbursement for “reasonable” non-refundable expenses such as accommodation and transfers.“Last week, we were made aware of an error in our system showing domestic and short-haul flights on our South Korean website at incorrect prices,” said Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty. “This resulted from a glitch in the currency conversion extension used on our South Korean storefront, showing fares for as low as $8. Just over 1,800 bookings were made until we suspended the website to avoid any further purchases of these erroneous fares. As this was an error, we will refund customers who purchased tickets at the incorrect prices. We know this will be disappointing, so we’re offering them the opportunity to rebook the same flights at the lowest fare class available if they still wish to travel. We want to apologise for this genuine error in our system; our teams are working to understand the root cause and ensure this doesn’t occur again in the future. Customers will have received a cancellation notification via email. If they wish to rebook with us at the entry-level rate, we ask that they contact our customer care team.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-10-02/star/air-new-zealand-glitch-sells-1-800-seats-at-rock-bottom-prices
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Air New Zealand glitch sells 1,800 seats at rock-bottom prices
Almost 2,000 people have been refunded after an Air New Zealand glitch saw fares posted for the equivalent of less than $10 AUD. The issue with the airline’s South Korean booking website last week resulted in some trans-Tasman economy fares as far out as September 2025 going for as low as 6,100 Korean won, or under AU$7, while business fares were seen from 12,500 won, or under AU$14. Air New Zealand temporarily suspended the South Korean site while it fixed the issue, with customers who bought the fares refunded and offered reimbursement for “reasonable” non-refundable expenses such as accommodation and transfers.“Last week, we were made aware of an error in our system showing domestic and short-haul flights on our South Korean website at incorrect prices,” said Air New Zealand chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty. “This resulted from a glitch in the currency conversion extension used on our South Korean storefront, showing fares for as low as $8. Just over 1,800 bookings were made until we suspended the website to avoid any further purchases of these erroneous fares. As this was an error, we will refund customers who purchased tickets at the incorrect prices. We know this will be disappointing, so we’re offering them the opportunity to rebook the same flights at the lowest fare class available if they still wish to travel. We want to apologise for this genuine error in our system; our teams are working to understand the root cause and ensure this doesn’t occur again in the future. Customers will have received a cancellation notification via email. If they wish to rebook with us at the entry-level rate, we ask that they contact our customer care team.”<br/>
