# Aer Lingus cancelled booking - what to do?



## Chim

We have just been informed by Aer Lingus that they are cancelling our booking (flights to the US in their Summer sale) as they made a mistake putting the prices up on their website.

They are offering a refund but that won't cover the cost of rebooking the flights as they've upped all the prices now. The difference will be around €600!

The ODCA won't give us a clear answer on whether we're entitled to insist on a replacement ticket rather than the refund.

Anyone have any advice? Is there anything we can do?


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## ShaneMc

I'd would kick up a fuss.

Their website says all fare's are non refundable so how they they choose to refund you. It is a disgrace, if they put them up in error its their fault not yours.

I'm sure they have somethign hidden in the T&C's to cover this but sounds disgraceful to me.


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## z105

We had booked flights to the USA last Sept for March of this year, about 3 weeks beforehand AL e-mailed us to tell us that the flight times had changed and it would have meant an additional stop for us on the way out, which is what we were seeking to avoid in the first place.

When I called them they said we could have a full refund so I told them (!) there was a direct flight 2 days later and to move us to that, it was dearer online for those flights but they mentioned nothing of the extra cost (they could have tried !!). Incidentally, even thought they changed the routing/flight times they also had the audacity to change our seat numbers to much more ridiculous ones down the back of the plane without asking us !!

OP - Have you not got a contract with AL and are they not honoring it ? Offer/Acceptance, Consideration being payment, I'm not sure if they are legally able to just tell you they are cancelling their contract with you (i.e. cancelling the booking) and then expect you to re-book at the higher rates ?? Worth reading the T&C though.


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## divadsnilloc

I would say you are entitled to travel at the original price quoted. All retailers (Aer Lingus is essentially a retailer as well as an airline, they sell flights) price and advertise their goods and by doing this they are inviting you to buy their product at the advertised price. 

In view of the amount of money involved, a trip to the small claims court may be appropriate.


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## bacchus

Havealaugh said:


> Incidentally, even thought they changed the routing/flight times they also had the audacity to change our seat numbers to much more ridiculous ones down the back of the plane without asking us !!


 
Could it simply be that the flight was already almost full, hence not much choice?


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## Chim

Thanks *Shane*. There's nothing in the T&C's about contracts being terminated by them. Only about if you need to cancel etc. And of course there are loads of protections if your _flight_ is cancelled, but that hasn't happened here. They are still running the flight, they just don't want to let us have the seats for the price they sold them to us at.

We are kicking up a fuss - been ringing them and the ODCA over and over. Still haven't gotten it in writing yet that the booking is cancelled. We've asked them to provide their authority for cancelling it, and for refusing to provide anything other than a refund.

So frustrating...


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## Chim

*Thanks everyone!
*
The flights are not full. The line they have spun us is that they made a mistake offering the flights for such a cheap fare, and they are now cancelling the contract.

Yes there was a perfectly valid contract. Credit card was debited and all. Got the confirmation email with booking reference.

They are perfectly entitled to refuse to honour the contract I believe, but they have to provide a remedy. They are insisting on a refund being provided, but we want them to provide a replacement flight.


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## z105

> Could it simply be that the flight was already almost full, hence not much choice?


Not our problem, we had booked last Sept, they should have e-mailed others to tell them they were being moved, as it turned out there were 128, yes 128, seats available !

OP - how about a quick call to a Solicitor (or is that possible ) to get opinion ?


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## Chim

*Havealaugh* - already done (well, a barrister pal!)  Will hear back tonight or in a few days. Pal was on the fence but edging towards optimistic for us. Was hoping someone might have some more advice in the meantime...


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## MugsGame

How long did it take them to realise their "mistake"? If days or weeks had elapsed, your case is stronger. 

Air lines normally honour mistake fares, to avoid bad publicity if nothing else.

If they can cancel the contract, what's to stop an airline adopting this business model - sell out the flight with cheap seats, cancel the cheapest seats on high demand flights and bump up the price, repeat untlil you've maximised the profit per seat.


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## Chim

About five hours had elapsed between the booking, and when we checked the 'manage your booking' page and it said 'booking cancelled'. We then rang them and they said they had made a mistake putting up the prices and were going to send us an email. No email as yet.

I agree with you that it would set an appalling precedent!


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## jhegarty

How cheap were the flights you booked ?

was it something silly like €10


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## Chim

This is from the confirmation email:

RECEIPT:
Fare details:
Category      Fare                        Taxes,Fees,Charges     Subtotal
02 ADULTS       EUR200.00         EUR154.42                          EUR354.42

Total Fees    EUR12.00

GRAND TOTAL   EUR366.42

So they were €100 each plus the charges. They were advertising flights to Orlando for €270 in the promotional email we got, so it didn't seem silly that New York might be on special offer.


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## jhegarty

seems like a fair price , so they could never argue it was an obvious mistake...

Are you sure they charged your credit card , the problem you have it they may have canceled the transaction before it completed, which means a contract did not exist...

if the charge did make it to your card I think you have a good case...


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## Chim

The transaction won't show up on the credit card statement for a couple of days so we don't know if it was debited.

Finally got something in writing from Aer Lingus:

_ Due to a technical error in our reservation system for a brief period today, a small number of bookings were priced incorrectly.  

Unfortunately, yours was one of the bookings affected and this email is to notify you of cancellation of your booking and to advise no funds will be deducted from your account.  We are pleased to advise you that this problem has now been rectified.  _ 

Will have to wait to see if the card was debited and refunded, or never debited at all. Sounds like the former and I guess that puts us in a weaker position?

ETA: Got SO to check the credit card on banking online (hadn't done so before as had assumed would take a couple of days to show up). The credit available has been reduced, so looks like the money came off the card all right. Hmmmm - I think that helps our position?


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## jhegarty

Chim said:


> ETA: Got SO to check the credit card on banking online (hadn't done so before as had assumed would take a couple of days to show up). The credit available has been reduced, so looks like the money came off the card all right. Hmmmm - I think that helps our position?




No , this only means they reserved an amount on your card, they can do that without processing the charge... so you need to wait till it appears on the statement to know for sure....


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## busylizzy

I have had the exact same problem today, booked flights, payment went through, recieved confirmation and then 7 hours later recieve an email to say it was a mistake. The consumers helpdesk said they have had many phone calls about this, not sure about todays thing, but they said think they can break the contract, and offer a refund. Going to fight on though, passengers cant break their contract, why should they be able to? I know other companies carry through their "mistakes", and want to avoid bad press.


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## Hylus83

I too booked flights this morning & being suspicious of the price, i called Aer Lingus straight after I purchased the tickets (and after they had found the "bug" in their system)
The telephone operator said that while it was a glitch in their system, they would be honouring the flights. I also had my colleagues call Aer Lingus to confirm the reservations that they had made. They all got the same reply - they would honour the flights.

Later this afternoon I noticed that when I went to view my booking on the Aer Lingus website, it said my booking reference was invalid. So I called Aer Lingus again, this time I was informed that the booking was cancelled due to the technical glitch in their system.

I asked for the manager on duty in the call centre & was told that they would just tell me the same thing. About 10 minutes later I got a call informing me that the manager on duty would call me in about 15 minutes. When I heard nothing, i called them up again.

This time i got through to the manager. She said that because Aer Lingus did not intend to sell the flights at those fares, there was no "intent to sell" therefore the contract between Aer Lingus & I was void.

The fact that Aer Lingus displayed the fares at the €5 price tag, i would have thought, constituted their intention to sell. And, by sending a confirmation e-mail to me represents their entry into contract. (If they had waited to send the confirmation e-mail & cancelled it before I actually received it, then they would have a better argument)

Nowhere in the T&C's does it say that Aer Lingus has to right to cancel the booking or alter the price of the fare after it has been confirmed. If that is not part of the T&C on the contract that you & Aer Lingus are bound into when you place the booking with them, then they surely can't cancel your booking/change the price, can they?? If it's not in the contract, it can't be part of the contract right?

However, what *is* listed in the T&C's is....
_"No agent, servant or representative of carrier has authority to alter, modify or waive any provision of this contract."_
The citizens advice told me that Aer Lingus have entered into contract with you & that they have to honour the flights otherwise they are in breach of contract. I too told Aer Lingus this & said that i didn't want the refund of money, i wanted the flight. But of course the telephone operator is not empowered to do this.

So do we have any options here? I e-mailed Matt Cooper on TodayFM about this - i suggest that everyone else do the same.
At the end of the day, they could easily turn around & pull the "sorry, this fare was a glitch in our system" line, whenever they like & get away with it.


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## Guest120

If you made a mistake yourself would you expect to be crucified for it? Someone loaded the incorrect prices into a database no doubt and now people are shouting their rights left right and center.

A bit of common sense is needed here, especially where it is clear the prices were large savings.


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## jerjer

I too am one of the affected people. I was on to Newstalk and they are going to feature me on the Brenda Power programme, if not tomorrow morning at 10.30, then on Friday morning. If you can,  listen out and try and ring in. I eventually got through to Aer Lingus at 9.15 this evening and told them, to be fair to them, that I was going to go to the radio about this issue, and I got no response whatsoever.

What really annoys me about the whole situation is that I have been checking EVERY flight operator to the states for the past 2 months for specific dates in June that I want to travel on, in hope of finding a cheap flight, so it's not as if (which I am sure Aer Lingus will say) I jumped on a bandwagon of knowing there was an error with their system. 

I intend to take this issue as far as I can and would encourage everyone else to do the same. I reckon we would have a shot at the Small Claims Court if all else was to fail.
If we were to arrive with our printed e-ticket, they would have to honour it, as is stated in their terms and conditions. The fact that they emailed and texted people about their error, I don't imagine would standup in any court.


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## jerjer

Bluetonic said:


> If you made a mistake yourself would you expect to be crucified for it? Someone loaded the incorrect prices into a database no doubt and now people are shouting their rights left right and center.
> 
> A bit of common sense is needed here, especially where it is clear the prices were large savings.


 
I do believe that Aer Lingus advertise themselves as a low-fare airline and are constantly advertising their fares. When Ryanair advertise 1 cent flights, nobody imagines that it's a glitch with the system, so why should people think any different with another company. As you said, the prices were large savings indeed, and is what is called, using common sense, as a bargain.


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## busylizzy

Bluetonic said:


> If you made a mistake yourself would you expect to be crucified for it? Someone loaded the incorrect prices into a database no doubt and now people are shouting their rights left right and center.
> 
> A bit of common sense is needed here, especially where it is clear the prices were large savings.


 

To be fair, if thats what is advertised, and thats what has gone through the system, and thats what I have paid, and when I have recieved the confirmation email, well yes, i do expect to recieve what i have paid for. 

And yes, people who do make mistakes at work do get into trouble for things, it happens. It doesn't mean that these tickets I have booked and paid for should be taken away from me. It doesn't work the other way round If I decided I put in a wrong date. I can't turn around demanding my money back.


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## Eams

Same happened to my daughter today. This happened before and flights were honoured. Looks to me like Aerlingus cannot cancel contract as no such condition is contained in terms and conditions.


[broken link removed]#


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## busylizzy

That link to that website....very interesting. So this has happened before and the company as honoured the flights, so why not now? I have noticed that the seats that we have booked have now been made available again.


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## JulesB

Hi all, 

I am in the same boat. Booked 2 return flights to Boston for 338 euro yesterday morning and then get the email yesterday evening advising that they will not be honouring the flights. I checked my Visa card as well and the amount is appearing as an unposted transaction but the card limit has been reduced by this amount. I also got my confirmation of the flights after booking so believe this contract should be honored. I called Aer Lingus and they advised me that if I have any complaints that we need to send them in writing to the customer complaints department and they do not take calls or emails. 

Anyone any advice??


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## Chim

Hi all,

So sorry to hear it's happened to more people! At least if we work together on this we might achieve some critical mass eh?

*jhegarty* - to my mind, the hold on the credit card is sufficient to make the contract valid. That hold verified that the funds were available to Aer Lingus, and while that hold was on the funds they were inaccessible to the cardholder. Smells like valid consideration to me.

*Hylus* - I believe either party to a contract is entitled to decide to discharge it. Whichever party breaks the contract must compensate the other party. Usually this is damages but sometimes the injured party can insist on specific performance.

We contacted Matt Cooper yesterday but to no avail. We are going straight to the head of customer relations in Aer Lingus today, sending a letter with our viewpoint and a printout of this thread and of that Sunday Business Post article from '03 (thanks *Eams*!). We'll probably fax all of that through to their legal department and maybe even to Dermot Mannion himself. The Ray D'Arcy show and Liveline are also on our hitlist!

I'd encourage everyone else affected to do the same. Keep hammering home to them that you do not accept a refund, you want a replacement booking on the same flight, and that you have precedent since they honoured an identical mistake in the past. Hopefully we can get some fairness out of them.


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## Chim

It's being covered on the Ray D'Arcy show now. Jason, whoever you are, thank you!


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## aidan119

This was a similar type incident as few years ago in the UK.
The key is whether the price was so wrong that the customer should have known it was a genuine error. If they were economy class seats you would have a better argument.





*Argos makes no mistake with 49p TV*


OUT-LAW News, 02/09/2005

It was déjà vu for Argos this week when a £349.99 television appeared on its website priced at 49p. It made a similar error six years ago, sparking the legal debate on website pricing errors. But unlike other e-tailers, Argos was safe in rejecting the orders.

[broken link removed]The Bush 28in integrated digital TV with DVD recorder and stand appeared for £0.49 on the Homebase.co.uk and Argos.co.uk websites, both part of Argos Retail Group. Thousands of orders were placed, one person seeking as many as 80 sets. But the orders have been rejected and refunds are being given.
The company has sent emails to those who placed orders explaining that there was "an accidental error on the price shown" during the period from midnight on 27th August to 07:00 on 28th August.
According to Struan Robertson, editor of OUT-LAW.COM and a technology lawyer with Pinsent Masons, Argos got it right. "Pricing errors will happen from time to time," he said, "but companies can protect themselves against potentially huge losses with a good e-commerce process."
The key is to address pricing errors in the terms and conditions, to make sure these conditions are accepted by customers when they order and to send an order acknowledgement that doesn't undermine that protection, according to Robertson. And this is what Argos did.
Its terms and conditions (taken from Homebase.co.uk but very similar to those on Argos.co.uk) include the following provision:
"While we try and ensure that all prices on our website are accurate, errors may occur. If we discover an error in the price of goods you have ordered we will inform you as soon as possible and give you the option of reconfirming your order at the correct price or cancelling it. If we are unable to contact you we will treat the order as cancelled. If you cancel and you have already paid for the goods, you will receive a full refund."
The payment page of the Homebase website includes a checkbox and the words: "I have read and agree to the terms and conditions of this purchase."
This is sufficient for Homebase to incorporate its terms and conditions in the sale, whether or not a customer actually reads them. Many sites get this wrong: the terms and conditions exist, but if they are difficult to find, the company may be unable to rely on them.
When the payment is complete, an email goes to the customer headed "Thank you for your order". It includes an order number and, importantly, it states: "This email is only an acknowledgement of receipt of your order which has been passed to our team to be processed."
So the customer knows his order has been placed; but at this stage, no contract has been formed with the customer. This is crucial to avoiding liability for pricing errors. The terms and conditions also contain these words:
"Acceptance of your order and the completion of the contract between you and us will take place on dispatch to you of the products ordered unless we have notified you that we do not accept your order or you have cancelled it (please refer to Returns and refunds)."
Accordingly Argos has an opportunity to spot pricing errors – perhaps flagged-up by a surge in orders for a particular product – and to politely decline orders. Emails went to customers on 31st August explaining why the company "had to reject all orders placed at the incorrect price" with reference to the relevant sections of its conditions. The email included an apology.
In 1999, Argos.co.uk offered Sony Nicam TVs for £2.99 each, instead of £300. Its subsequent refusal to fulfil orders – albeit supported by its e-commerce process even then – made Argos a whipping boy for bargain hunters who thought that a contract is formed when card details are taken online. In fact the laws on e-commerce give retailers flexibility to decide when a contract is formed.
But others are less savvy than Argos. Robertson says: "Recently we learned of a large site trying to cancel orders for Sony Vaio laptops priced under £2 each.  The site had done everything wrong – its conditions were awful – and customers had strong grounds for challenging the refusal to fulfil their orders."
The BBC quotes a solicitor saying that all transactions would be void because "if the deal is too good to be true, it is”. Robertson disagrees. "That is a very flaky defence for any website that has concluded a contract. It has never been tested in court and it is not a legal ground that Argos needs to rely upon."
Robertson concluded: "Retailers must not take comfort from their prices being obviously wrong. It makes much more sense and it's also much easier to get the e-commerce process right."


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## Chim

Well in our case we didn't select premier seats. We selected regular seats as normal and it was only when SO's friend told him to double-check the booking that we realised they were premier seats. I don't think a price of almost €400 all told is "too good to be true"?

Also, I can't find anything on the Aer Lingus site reserving the right to cancel bookings as a result of a price error on their part. Maybe it's there and I just can't find it? Anyone help with this?


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## JimmyO

aidan119 said:


> This was a similar type incident as few years ago in the UK.
> The key is whether the price was so wrong that the customer should have known it was a genuine error. If they were economy class seats you would have a better argument."


 
I admit I was amazed at the price when I saw it but if Ryanair can fly me to Paris for €0.01 (as they often offer) then why can't Aer Lingus fly me to New York for €5?  I haven't measured the distances but you get my point.

As for seats, well it wasn't until I went into the Manage Booking page that it was made apparent they were Premier Class seats.


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## avantarklu

My understanding of a "mistake" and the the opportunity to rescind a contract as a result of this is only relevant where the other party was aware of the mistake and attempted to benefit from it.

This "technical error" arose on flights to the US during Aer Lingus's heavily promoted 'US Summer Sale' week at a time when free \ cheap flights are the norm.

In my opinion, it would be near impossible for AL to legally cancel the contract claiming mistake given the above. I genuinely believe that those people who managed to secure a booking thought they had genuinely grabbed a bargain. Keep the pressure on AL to honour their contractual obligations.


Do the math:
Technical Error = 100 bookings @ €3,500 loss each = €350,000 Loss

Issue a non-specific email cancelling bookings & half those affected walk away = Loss is reduced to €175,000

Deal with the less well-informed who decide to challenge this and convince half of these with lawyer-speak that AL are entitled to cancel the bookings = Reduce the loss to €87,500

and so on and so on until the loss is reduced to a more palatible amount.

If the T's & C's contained a get-out clause or there was a specific legal point which Aer Lingus were relying on when they cancelled these bookings, you can be sure they would have quoted these chapter and verse in the cancellation email.


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## closifer

Exact same problem here guys. I booked flights to America yesterday and they were just so rude to me. They said that i couldnt and would never be able to speak to a manager or anyone in a supervisory capacity, that they wouldnt speak to us. How can they treat us like that? This was after them telling me previously that a maanger would be calling me back. I am disgusted.


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## Chim

avantarklu said:


> If the T's & C's contained a get-out clause or there was a specific legal point which Aer Lingus were relying on when they cancelled these bookings, you can be sure they would have quoted these chapter and verse in the cancellation email.



Bingo!


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## ubiquitous

I can't help thinking that Aer Lingus are on a massive loser with this one - they need to hire Ryanair's PR chief


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## Chim

closifer said:


> Exact same problem here guys. I booked flights to America yesterday and they were just so rude to me. They said that i couldnt and would never be able to speak to a manager or anyone in a supervisory capacity, that they wouldnt speak to us. How can they treat us like that? This was after them telling me previously that a maanger would be calling me back. I am disgusted.





*closifer* don't accept that! If they won't talk to you on the phone, send a letter straight away to Customer Relations and put it in the fax as well. 

Here are the details (got them here: http://www.suetheairlines.org/international_air/aer_lingus.htm):
  Joan Keating
  Aer Lingus Customer Care Unit
  Aer Lingus Head Office
  Dublin Airport 
  Dublin 
  Ireland 
  Phone: (353) 1886-3705 
  Fax: (353) 1886-385, (353) 1886-3832


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## closifer

I cant beleiive they didnt neven ring...just an automated e-mail. I had accomadation all sorted and time booked off in work. I dunno what to do now


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## Chim

Conor Pope on the Ray D'Arcy show now...


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## JimmyO

Chim said:


> *closifer* don't accept that! If they won't talk to you on the phone, send a letter straight away to Customer Relations and put it in the fax as well.
> 
> Here are the details (got them here: http://www.suetheairlines.org/international_air/aer_lingus.htm):
> Joan Keating
> Aer Lingus Customer Care Unit
> Aer Lingus Head Office
> Dublin Airport
> Dublin
> Ireland
> Phone: (353) 1886-3705
> Fax: (353) 1886-385, (353) 1886-3832


 
Done and Done.  I was told that EI only accept complaints in writing.

Emailed Gerry Ryan on it too.


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## Chim

Conor Pope reckons they are within their rights as 'the consumer legislation' says no-one can benefit from a genuine human error?

Just searched the Irish Statute book and can't find the word 'human' in any of the consumer legislation. Anyone help me out?


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## aircobra19

I know that Aer Lingus have honored pricing mistakes in the past. But in general, (and not just airlines) most websites do not honor pricing mistakes. This comes up time and time again on bargain sites. So I don't see why people are surprised at this. According to the Aer Lingus guy on the radio the pricing error was only active for 2 hours and only 100 people grabbed it.


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## moondance

I really don't think Aer Lingus will back down here. But in fairness they really should - it was just over 100 customers so what is the difference in actual fares and promotional fares? How much did the company stand to lose? It's definitely not 100's of thousands as they claim they did a few years ago when they honoured similar prices.


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## theoneill

This is nothing new; does anyone remember the Hoover free flights promotion?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_free_flights_promotion


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## zag

There was a sale on.  Customers can validly expect to get discount fares when there is a sale on.  When you add in all the taxes, surcharges, etc . . . the overall ticket price quoted yesterday wasn't that much discounted compared to full price ones.  I don't have the figures here, but wasn't it something like €200 on sale vs €400-€600 for regular rates.  That's not an abnormal discount for a sale period.

Listening to RTE this morning - EI put up a very poor show.  Aine Lawlor (or whoever it was) asked them "Whatever happened to the nice Aer Lingus ?"

z


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## avantarklu

Chim said:


> Conor Pope reckons they are within their rights as 'the consumer legislation' says no-one can benefit from a genuine human error?



So by Mr Pope's reckoning then, when I make a "genuine human error" making an online booking and enter an incorrect passenger name or date then Aer Lingus cannot benefit by charging me a fee to alter the error. and must correct the "genuine human error" without charge.  And Mr Pope is????


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## Guest120

I can see this thread turning into a worse debacle than the pricing mistake.


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## moondance

avantarklu said:


> So by Mr Pope's reckoning then, when I make a "genuine human error" making an online booking and enter an incorrect passenger name or date then Aer Lingus cannot benefit by charging me a fee to alter the error. and must correct the "genuine human error" without charge.  And Mr Pope is????



I made a genuine human error when booking an Aer Lingus flight for my mother but I entered my own name instead of hers for passenger name. I called them the next day and they changed it without charge.


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## Chim

moondance said:


> I really don't think Aer Lingus will back down here. But in fairness they really should - it was just over 100 customers so what is the difference in actual fares and promotional fares? How much did the company stand to lose? It's definitely not 100's of thousands as they claim they did a few years ago when they honoured similar prices.



Conor Pope said Aer Lingus told him it would cost them €500,000 to honour the contracts. But that's based on giving everyone the premier class seats (€3,000 odd price difference per person). (ETA: wouldn't that work out at €300,000 though???) We specifically chose 'lowest' class seats. If they gave everyone economy seats that would cost them about €40,000 (€335 price difference per person).

I still can't find the authority in the consumer legislation that says they don't have to honour their mistake because it was 'human error'...


Couldn't they just do the decent thing?


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## jhegarty

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0417/aerlingus.html


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## Chim

I don't agree with Enda Corneille that we should have known something was up. We paid almost €400 for what we thought were economy seats. Hardly getting them for nothing! We figured it was an introductory sale offer and we'd just gotten in early.

I like the sound of this Dermot Jewell person though


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## Auntie

Chim said:


> If they gave everyone economy seats that would cost them about €40,000 (€335 price difference per person).
> 
> Couldn't they just do the decent thing?


 
Agreed. 
Why they cannot just honour all the bookings with economy seats, I do not know. Especially as it seems that most people (on here anyway) thought they were booking economy anyway. It seems very simple.

They are just digging their heels in and causing a whole lot of trouble and adverse publicity for themselves. I sometimes wonder what kind of useless PR and legal people these companies employ.


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## avantarklu

A classic from a contributor to another forum which really sums it up.



JimmyO said:


> I actually tried to cancel the flights I got yesterday!!  I booked them as soon as I saw them but when I contacted my mate we realised the dates booked didn't suit.  Contacted Aerlingus and was told I'd only get back €88 of the €330 paid.
> 
> Decided to see if arrangments could be re-worked so as not to loose money.  Spent a lot of time doing it but manged to sort it out so was very excited to by travelling.
> 
> After causing all sorts of hassle for lots of other people EI tell me tough luck?


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## Chim

*avantarklu* would you mind telling us what forum was that on? We intend to alert Aer Lingus to the negative publicity they are getting on consumer forums.


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## avantarklu

Boards.ie

Thread started out promoting their sale...
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=55686981#post55686981

and a second thread specifically about the "mistake"

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055276293


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## Hoppo

Good morning all. I just wanted to add to this thread that I am also affected by this too. From reading as much as I can about the issue, I am still of the impression that I entered into a contract with the airline. Human error, trying to pull a fast one, 'I should have known', technical glitch and the rest - non of those excuses wash with me. 
They offered the flights for sale (during an actual seat sale), I accepted their offer after reading their T&Cs, they accepted my payment after checking I had the necessary funds, allocated me my seat, issued me with a receipt, and an electronic ticket. Nowhere that I could find in their T&Cs does it say that they can cancel individual bookings. 
Perhaps if the flight had been cancelled, but in that case I believe I am entitled to and alternative flight, or a refund. My choice. These flights weren't cancelled. If the problem is with the scheduling as per the subject of their email then, again, offer a different flight. Problem with the seating been overbooked or whatever - offer me a different seat on that flight, or a seat on a different flight, or a refund. Don't just cancel the booking.


----------



## Chim

Thanks *avantklaru*, appreciate that.


----------



## Berlin

Contracts can be affected by mistake and misrepresentation so that if a party enters into a contract under the influence of a mistake of fact or law or due to a misrepresentation the contract may subsequently be rescinded (annulled) even if the contract would otherwise be enforceable.


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## Bronte

Berlin - does that mean if I make a mistake when booking my dates online I can rescind the contract and get my money back?  All those of you who booked the cheap tickets yesterday, does it not say if they were economy or business class?  I ask as it seems they were business class tickets which are normally 2K.


----------



## JimmyO

Bronte said:


> Berlin - does that mean if I make a mistake when booking my dates online I can rescind the contract and get my money back? All those of you who booked the cheap tickets yesterday, does it not say if they were economy or business class? I ask as it seems they were business class tickets which are normally 2K.


 
There was no indication that they were business class tickets until I received the Email Confirmation.  And that was only after looking really closely at it!


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## Bronte

I just checked the Aer Lingus website, if you book you have a choice of lowest or business, I did it for both and they showed completely different prices, I would never touch the business tab so I guess the same must have happened with the people booking yesterday - found this from their website front page which is interesting though 
"*Price Guarantee: *Availability or price is not guaranteed until you receive a booking confirmation. "
I have a feeling A L will have to honour the flights unless there is a get out clause in the small print.


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## Chim

*Bronte* - thank you! That's exactly the clause I was searching for and stupid me I couldn't find it. It helps our position because we _did_ receive a booking confirmation.


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## JimmyO

NCA say Aer Lingus are in Breach:

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Ne...gus_fares.html


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## busylizzy

This is going to be covered again on RADIO 1 this afternoon, think its Gerry Ryan show, people who have been affected are ringing in. Should be interesting


----------



## Hoppo

"*Price Guarantee: *Availability or price is not guaranteed until you receive a booking confirmation. "

That does help our cause no end.


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## Chim

So I did a bit of revision on mistake and misrep and I don't believe Aer Lingus can rely on either.

On misrep - misrep only applies to untrue statements that don't form part of the contract but that influenced the decision to enter into the contract. The price was certainly a part of the contract!

On mistake
- where a common mistake of fact has occurred (both parties mistaken) the contract can only be rescinded if that mistake is fundamental to the performance of the contract. The fact that they are still running the flights in question shows the mistake wasn't fundamental and the contract is still capable of being performed. The mistake must render the contract's subject matter 'radically different'. Seems to me the subject matter stayed the same - flights to the US. Only thing that varied was the price. Mistake isn't available just to get out of a bad bargain.
- where a unilateral mistake of fact has occurred (only one party mistaken), the contract is void if one party knew of the other's mistake and took advantage of it. In this instance we certainly didn't realise Aer Lingus had been mistaken, we just though they were doing an introductory offer on their Summer sale.

*BusyLizzy* do you mean Joe Duffy?

ETA - it's on Joe Duffy now! Good woman Mary!


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## Bronte

Could all of those who are going to bring a case print out the terms and conditions and all web pages in relation to bookings on A L *now.*  These things can be changed at the flick of a button.  No pun intended.


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## Chim

*Bronte* can you post the link to the 'price guarantee' clause you found? Good advice to print the pages out.

ETA - got it! To anyone else who's a bit slow like me, put in your destination and dates on the front page and hit 'search'. The price guarantee will be at the bottom of the next page.


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## aircobra19

Apple did this last year with a DSLR. Lots of people on the boards.ie ordered it, then Apple cancelled all the orders.


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## tosullivan

Chim said:


> Yes there was a perfectly valid contract. Credit card was debited and all. Got the confirmation email with booking reference.


what I was told is the contract of booking a flight doesn't come into effect until your credit card is debited.  You have this on your side.  You are not the only one that jumped on these cheap flights and got bumped


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## Chim

The National Consumer Agency appear to be coming out fighting. There's hope yet!


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## GoldCircle

At its simplist, the contract is deemed to come in to effect once "consideration" has been made. In this case payment by credit card.

If payment is actually deducted, not just a "hold" on funds, then I think it is safe to argue that consideration has been made and a contract is in force - and cannot be unilaterally changed. This will also include cases of debit and re-credit. And fairly sure about pre-approval.

I haven't taken the time to review the T&Cs on aerlingus.com, but it would be sound practise, as suggested, to print them off in their entirety, to avoid ambiguities at a later stage in the process.


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## sam h

Just to wish you all best of luck & hope you all get your tickets/flights. I reckon this is very bad PR for AL and I reckon legally you have a good case as there seems to have been offer, acceptance & consideration. (not a legal eagle!)

I'm just raging I didn't manage to book.

Print EVERYTHING...T&C, booking confirmation, any relavant websites you get directed to as it's amazing how these things can disappear!


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## Chim

Advice heeded *Sam h*, thank you!

Credit card company has confirmed the card was debited *GoldCircle*. One more check in our favour.

Hopefully the momentum doesn't run out of it now.

ETA - Ryanair are onto it already: [broken link removed]


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## Megan

Another link that might be of help:
[broken link removed]

I think aer Lingus will be shooting themselves in the foot (or two feet) if they don't do something for the approx 100 bookers.


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## Chim

Here's the Ryanair blurb ([broken link removed])

Ryanair News       
News Release     17.04.08​ *Beware of Aer Lingus Fakes! Only Ryanair Guarantees the Lowest Fares*

*100,000 €5 SEATS ON **WWW.RYANAIR.COM*​ 


 Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (17th Apr) announced that it will give away 100,000 €5 seats (including taxes and charges) on www.ryanair.com for travel in May and June and unlike Aer Lingus’ phantom €5 seats, Ryanair will honour them.

 Aer Lingus, the high fares, way worse airline, this morning announced that it had ‘accidentally’ sold €5 fares on its website. Still reeling from the shock of having sold a few low fare flights, Aer Lingus contacted passengers and told them it was all a mistake before cancelling the flights! If Irish passengers are looking for the guaranteed lowest fares, there is only one place to find them and that is www.ryanair.com.

 Speaking today, Ryanair’s Peter Sherrard said;

 “Aer Lingus wouldn’t know a low fare if it jumped up and bit them - they only do high fares and fuel surcharges. On aerlingus.com a low fare is a ‘mistake’, on www.ryanair.com, it is guaranteed. Ryanair is today releasing 100,000 €5 seats on its website and will honour every single last one.  You won’t find cheaper anywhere else, that’s guaranteed”.


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## closifer

[broken link removed]

This article is interesting...


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## Shano

Have these fools got no PR people whatsoever.  What is approx 350,000 to a PLC like them.  Surly the shareholders must be divided on the issue at the very least. If they had just gone public, held up their hands and honoured the flight before the nation realised everyone would be singing their praises.  I am planing to go to Vegas in October and will now fly with BA via London out of principle even if my flight is honoured in full.  AMATURES!!! they havent got a scooby doo.


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## moondance

Shano said:


> Have these fools got no PR people whatsoever.  What is approx 350,000 to a PLC like them.  Surly the shareholders must be divided on the issue at the very least. If they had just gone public, held up their hands and honoured the flight before the nation realised everyone would be singing their praises.  I am planing to go to Vegas in October and will now fly with BA via London out of principle even if my flight is honoured in full.  AMATURES!!! they havent got a scooby doo.



Sorry if this is off topic but I'm also going to Vegas in October and booked though Delta, we're flying Dublin via JFK (4 days in NY) over and via Atlanta back and we got the whole lot for around 600 each including taxes and all that. Just an option you might like to check out!


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## sam h

Love him or loath him....you have to hand it to Michael O'Leary....he is a marketing genius!!


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## The_Banker

Being discussed on Matt Cooper now.


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## Chim

Good woman Ann Fitzgerald!


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## The_Banker

The National Comsumer Association (talking on Matt Cooper) have decided to champion the case of the people who have had there flights cancelled and have promised to issue legel proceedings if AL don't honour the flights.

Looks like AL are in a no win situation.


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## Chim

Looks like it's going to be on the Six One news too. Aer Lingus are still refusing to honour the bookings apparently.


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## Chim

Well if it was him, good on him!


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## z105

> I think JerJer was on the 6 o clock news
> 
> Maybe he will be on the 9 o clock too??



Welcome to AAM

In my opinion font size 3 is adequate to put your point across


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## busylizzy

It's important for people to put it across that we didnt get the whole return flight for 5 euro, thats what some people are believing, we paid for taxes and charges etc on top which brought it up to a much higher price than just 5 euro.


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## busylizzy

It really does boil down to the fact that I do believe people didnt realise that they were booking business class tickets, I know I didnt realise for a good while as the AL website always has the default as the economy flights. AL are arguing that it was an obvious error, yes for business class, but not for economy, and as people believed they were booking economy, that arguement can hardly stand surely? 

Radio 1 covered the article brilliantly this afternoon I felt, previous to that It seemed to be a losing battle. There will be more tomorrow no doubt. COME ON THE CONSUMER AGENCY!

yeah it will be on RTE1 on tv at 9!


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## Chim

Well nothing new in that report!

Will be interesting to see if the NCA manages to get this meeting with Aer Lingus and if anything comes of it.


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## Megan

http://www.independent.ie/national-...irline-over-83645-us-fare-fiasco-1350839.html
This might be of interest to those that had booked the €5 plus taxes flights. Maybe ye could all join together to put preasure on Aer Lingus.


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## busylizzy

Danielle who was on RTE1 yesterday set up an email address for all the people who have been affected to try and get intouch with one voice. 

PROBLEMFLIGHTS@GMAIL.COM

So we could all get together and work out what's the best thing to do. RTE radio1 were just saying they would be surprised if AL don't make some sort of announcment this lunchtime...... fingers crossed.


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## avantarklu

If Aer Lingus are allowed to walk away from this, where does that leave consumer confidence in their main source of revenue i.e. their website? 

From now on, at what point can ever passenger who books online be satisfied that they have a valid booking before proceeding with any other arrangements? 

Do passengers now have to wait a day, a week to be sure that another mistake has not been made and that Aer Lingus will not cancel another booking because of it?

Should every passenger who makes a booking now have to go through another step in booking a flight and perhaps have to contact Aer Lingus by phone or in writing to ensure that the confirmation they have received by email is valid and will be honoured?

If a passenger books a flight for €50, can Aer Lingus cancel the booking saying the passenger should have known better because the price of that flight is normally €100?


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## Chim

Did anyone hear the Ray D'Arcy show this morning? I missed it and was just wondering if he had any explanation for how his 'expert' got this so wrong!

Interesting about those developers going to Mason Hayes & Curran.

Hopefully Aer Lingus will come out of hiding today and make an announcement.


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## aircobra19

Websites do this all the time. The only reason AL should honor them is the negative PR they are getting as a result.


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## Chim

*aircobra* legally they are obliged to honour them. They had no E&OE term in their T&C's. They should have known better. If you read back you'll see that other companies (Argos was mentioned a few pages back) do cover themselves for this situation.

Did anyone else hear that girl from Cork on Liveline? An Aer Lingus rep told her on the phone that it was a great deal and that she didn't think it was a mistake. If _an Aer Lingus rep_ thought it was just a great introductory sale offer, how were we supposed to know it was a mistake?

Just heard the midday news and seems Noel Dempsey has decided to comment and called on Aer Lingus to honour the bookings.


----------



## sly

BusyLizzy,

That mail address for Danielle does not seem to be working.


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## Chim

[broken link removed]

I don't see Conor explaining why he just rolled over online yesterday and accepted the rubbish Aer Lingus sold him?


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## Chim

Breaking news on RTE1, will be covered on Liveline:

Aer Lingus are going to offer all affected customers seats in economy class.

YES!


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## Megan

People power is great. Just heard that Aer Lingus has giving in. They are giving economy flights to all who had booked the so called cheap flights. Hope ye all enjoy your trips to USA.


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## JulesB

happy days - Boston here I come!!!!


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## Chim

It sure is! Thank you


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## gnubbit

Pity they didn't offer this from the start of the debacle.  I wasn't affected by it but the hassle they've caused those who were has put me off booking with them in the future.


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## Chim

Too true *gubbit*. I already know of one person who is so irate with the way Aer Lingus handled this that now they are adamant they want the premier class seats. They would probably have taken economy had Aer Lingus held their hands up from the beginning and just 'sorry, mistake, we didn't mean to sell premier seats, can we move you to economy?'


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## Shano

Get in there, Boston here I come 2!!! I'm sure heads will role for this but I don't care, could have all been avoided so easily.


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## bugler

I have very little respect for AL. Their customer service is poor, and they try to maintain some veneer that they are better than the likes of Ryan Air, and they're not. 

I was affected by their strike last summer, which really jeopardised my enjoyment of my holiday. They were very unhelpful. 

The only good thing about them was that they caved spectacularly quickly when I took them to the Small Claims Court.


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## sly

just been on to aerlingus, and seats(2) booked at the original price quoted.Happy Days. Phone them, as there was only limited availability on our flight to boston departing on the 27th June.
Best of Luck and enjoy the USA.


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## busylizzy

Their attitude yesterday was awful, and now they are coming back on the radio saying, "we want to make our customers happy", obviously they were taking legal advice throughout this as the same spiel was coming out over and over again yesterday. If they had only done it straight away, they have made huge problems for themselves, and annoyed alot of people. Looks like they will need a new legal advice team!  I'm hoping the flights are booked out and we have to get an upgrade


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## Chim

I wonder if the people who are going to tough it out for the premier class seats will get them?

We plan to accept the economy seats as that's what we thought we were booking, we didn't realise they were economy until after we got the confirmation email.


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## becky

They are honouring the flights but only economy class.


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## Daddy

So all in return price for 1 person worked out at how much to New York ?


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## Chim

We paid €336.42 for two. So €168.21 each.


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## Megan

The National Comsumer Association is now saying if you are not happy accepting the economy class flights you can go the legal route for the business class. The NCA say you would have a very good case to push for the business class flights. If it were me I would be happy with the economy flights. I wonder could there be a problem with getting the dates you had booked as that flight might be booked up by now. Maybe a call to Aer Lingus might be a good idea and not wait for them to contact you.


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## z105

At the risk of getting slaughtered - Would you all not move on from this now, those seeking Business class flights are chancers in my opinion, AL have honoured the economy class flights so move on.

I have no great love for AL trust me, you can see from previous posts of mine but those of us who did not book flights are sick of listening to it, on national tv and radio, in the newspapers.

It's run its course.

I move to close this thread !!!!!

Have a nice flight, enjoy the USA, but please stop boring the rest of us !! Over and out !


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## Chim

I'm sorry *Havealaugh* but I don't agree that the topic has run its course. And the only post on this thead where you expressed irritation was the one where you picked on a first time poster for using a larger than usual font. I thought that was a bit mean to be honest.

As I said in my post above, when Aer Lingus ring us, the SO and I will accept economy seats on our chosen dates. The National Consumer Agency, however, has stated that those people who wish to push on for premier seats do have a case in law: http://www.nca.ie/eng/Media_Zone/Press%20Releases/Aer_Lingus_deal_agreed.html 
They don't seem to think these people are chancers.

If you are tired of listening to the story, then don't. And don't read the thread. But it has its place as an information resource for those who might wish to pursue further action. If I come across information that might help those who do wish to press on, I'll publicise that. Isn't that the point of the site - "civilised and informed discussion of financial topics"?


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## Megan

Havealaugh said:


> At the risk of getting slaughtered - Would you all not move on from this now, those seeking Business class flights are chancers in my opinion, AL have honoured the economy class flights so move on.
> 
> I have no great love for AL trust me, you can see from previous posts of mine but those of us who did not book flights are sick of listening to it, on national tv and radio, in the newspapers.
> 
> It's run its course.
> 
> I move to close this thread !!!!!
> 
> Have a nice flight, enjoy the USA, but please stop boring the rest of us !! Over and out !



That's a bit much Havealaugh. Are you sure you are not sick that you were not one of the early worms on Wednesday morning to book the cheap flights? 
I think OP has stated her/his case very well right through this post all 6 pages of it. She/He has stated that they are quiet happy to accept to accept the economy flights.


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## z105

> Are you sure you are not sick that you were not one of the early worms on Wednesday morning to book the cheap flights?



 Indeed 

My post wasn't aimed specifically at the OP though he/she likes to take a pop at me, I, for one, am fed up of listening to it on National TV news, National papers, National radio. IMO there are far more important things in the world does one not think ??



> They (the NCA) don't seem to think these people are chancers



The NCA don't know the exact circumstances of each any every booking and should not be commenting so broadly IMO as to the legalities of the bookings.

Of course it is only my opinion.


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## Sim Two

*Here’s my take on this whole issue.*

*An employee of Aer Lingus mistakenly loads wrong price information in the booking engine of the website and for 2 hours or thereabouts, flights are offered to the USA at a substantially reduced yet obviously WRONG price.  *

*Aer Lingus become aware of the mistake and the problem on the website is rectified.  They set about contacting those individuals who booked flights within hours of the error being identified.  *

*Am I alone in thinking that, whatever about the legal rights or wrongs of the situation, morally people should accept that a genuine human error was made in that these flights were never meant to be offered at €5 each.  *

*Maybe people will think I’m being silly here but if I was one of those 300 or so people who got flight(s) at a wrong price in these circumstances and the company notified the error to me within hours, then I would accept the mistake and move on.*

*I listened to various people on radio shows yesterday and today expressing indignation and threatening legal action.  Couldn’t help thinking that it’s a poorer society we live in today …       *


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## bond-007

Morals have no place in a court of law. The law of contract does.

Good luck to anyone that still wants their business class seats.


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## Complainer

Sim Two said:


> *Am I alone in thinking that, whatever about the legal rights or wrongs of the situation, morally people should accept that a genuine human error was made in that these flights were never meant to be offered at €5 each.  *


If a customer makes a genuine human error when making a booking, will AL let the customer off the hook?


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## Purple

Complainer said:


> If a customer makes a genuine human error when making a booking, will AL let the customer off the hook?



I thought Sim Two had a good point 'till I read that. Good point!


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## Blueberry08

Havealaugh said:


> At the risk of getting slaughtered - Would you all not move on from this now, those seeking Business class flights are chancers in my opinion, AL have honoured the economy class flights so move on.



Completely agree, the ones complaining about _only_ getting economy seats on Liveline today will probably be suing for mental distress next.


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## fredg

take the economy seats i say,
best of luck to the lucy ones who got them.
nothing would've been done about this had it been 
1 or 2 or even 10 people affected,strength in numbers
caused the u-turn.
heard that investigation into the fact that lots of the 
people who booked are AL employees or friends of??
F.


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## bond-007

And they will probably win. As said earlier morals have nothing to do with the courts. The courts are only interested in the law of the land nothing else.
The people looking for their business seats are entitled to sue AL for specific performance of the contract.


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## z105

> The people looking for their business seats are entitled to sue AL for specific performance of the contract.



There is also the law of fundamental mistake which no doubt AL will try to rely on.


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## Chim

Havealaugh said:


> Indeed
> 
> My post wasn't aimed specifically at the OP though he/she likes to take a pop at me



No, not at all Havealaugh. Not having a pop at you. I just said what I thought and I think I did it respectfully.

I don't think they can rely on fundamental mistake as I don't believe the mistake was fundamental (the test is - 'does the mistake render the performance of the contract something that is radically different to what the parties contracted for?'). I posted about this above.

We still haven't had an email, or any other contact, from Aer Lingus. Going to ring them now and find out what the story is!


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## jerjer

Sorry for not writing for so long since my last time!! I was too busy appearing on radio, TV and in the newspaper!!!!!!
I'm a superstar now!! LOL
When I book the flights I never expected them to be premier class seats, so I think that Aer Lingus FINALLY did the right thing. I am quite happy to fly to New York for €169 return and will do so! 
I think that Anne Fitzgerald said it all when she said on Liveline that common sense should prevail on BOTH sides.


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## z105

> Sorry for not writing for so long since my last time!! I was too busy appearing on radio, TV and in the newspaper!!!!!!
> I'm a superstar now!! LOL
> When I book the flights I never expected them to be premier class seats, so I think that Aer Lingus FINALLY did the right thing. I am quite happy to fly to New York for €169 return and will do so!
> I think that Anne Fitzgerald said it all when she said on Liveline that common sense should prevail on BOTH sides


.

Here here ! Any chance of an autograph !?


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## MrKeane

people need to be careful about looking a gifthorse in the mouth. If you push for a business class seat they will probably give it to you but then they might shove you into the worst seat on the plane and tell that its the business class area, much more difficult to fight the business class battle on your own, how exactly is a business class seat defined in the T&C's.

As has already been said it was strength of numbers that won the battle this time, iif it only happened to one or two customers then they would have got nowhere.


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## Blueberry08

Megan said:


> common sense should prevail on BOTH sides.



** Loud applause **

I'd actually throw a whole fiver )) in to Aer Lingus's legal fund if they wanted to fight the creatures _demanding_ they get business class seats - the last thing these people want is a reasonable settlement of the issue, they just want to whinge incessantly.


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## jhegarty

If it was me I would take the offer, but anyone effected has every right to fight for their legal rights....

If Aer Lingus was a business that gave refunds when the customer makes a mistake than I might agree with you , but they are not... are that cuts both ways in my option...


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## bond-007

jhegarty said:


> If it was me I would take the offer, but anyone effected has every right to fight for their legal rights....
> 
> If Aer Lingus was a business that gave refunds when the customer makes a mistake than I might agree with you , but they are not... are that cuts both ways in my option...


I agree 100% with you. It cuts both ways.


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## chum

i booked a return flight from ny to dublin last year, i clicked the wrong return date. my ticket had me arriving in dublin at 5.00 am and returning that morning at 10.00am to ny. i arrived in dublin a week later to fly back to ny however because i had messed up on the online purchase of my ticket aer lingus just said tough luck. i paid 750 euro for a one way flight back to ny.


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## Elitist

Common sense has prevailed..

FYI The flight attendant is not distributing spring rolls using tongs but hot towels

Any other questions fire away

Elitist- International Business Traveller


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## orka

chum said:


> i booked a return flight from ny to dublin last year, i clicked the wrong return date. my ticket had me arriving in dublin at 5.00 am and returning that morning at 10.00am to ny. i arrived in dublin a week later to fly back to ny however because i had messed up on the online purchase of my ticket aer lingus just said tough luck. i paid 750 euro for a one way flight back to ny.


That's not really the same as Aer Lingus's mistake though. If you had noticed your mistake within hours of booking and asked them to change I'm sure they would have - particularly with the absurdity of departing Dublin within 5 hours of arriving. I have made mistakes on bookings before (eg names) and they have been accommodating in fixing things up.

And I agree with everyone saying sense should prevail in accepting economy seats - either you were looking for business class and should have been aware €5 was obviously a mistake OR you were looking for economy and that's what you have got.


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## Chim

Just to let everyone know how it panned out. We never got an email from Aer Lingus so we rang them Saturday morning. They honoured the booking and gave us economy seats on our chosen dates. They even seemed open to the idea of changing the dates as they asked if we were still OK with the chosen dates and times, and they put us on a direct flight instead of having a stopover in Shannon.

The National Consumer Agency rang SO today to see if we were satisfied with the outcome of the whole thing - gotta say we're impressed with that!

All round a happy outcome for us


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## bond-007

Fair play Chim and enjoy your trip.


----------



## Chim

Thank you, and we will!


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## Complainer

I heard today that the reason why AL become aware of the glitch at 9am on that day was because of one customer who rang the call centre trying to change the dates of his €5 flights. The girls in the call centre alerted the relevant authorities, after tipping off their mates to purchase more seats. There is a bit of an inquiry going on in AL to find out how many insiders purchased the cheap seats.


----------



## bond-007

So not an inside job then.


----------



## sam h

That guy posted or was on the radio - basically booked 2 flights for €360, realised the dates were in conflict with something & called to see if he could move the dates.  Was told that he would only get about €80 back.  So held the flight & rescheduled what they needed to, only to get the email to say it was cancelled!  

It would be really interesting to find out if the AL staff called their mates as that was one of the issues the AL-PR staff were saying Joe Public were doing.

I'm still raging I didn't nab one of the flights as I was looking at the flights the day before!!  Best of luck to everyone who nabbed one!!


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## jhegarty

sam h said:


> Was told that he would only get about €80 back.



And that is exactly why I think everyone looking for business class seats are well within their rights....


----------

