Airline mistakenly sells tickets for as little as $1.30 due to glitch and decided to honor the deal

Following a technical glitch last year, a Chinese air carrier sold tickets for three-hour long flights at bin bargain prices. During a two-hour glitch on its mobile app and some ticket-booking platforms, China Southern Airlines sold tickets for as little as 10 yuan (~$1.30 at the time). While lucky travelers expected the deal to be canceled, the airlines chose to honor the deal and allow all ticket holders to fly, Reuters reported. The incident occurred right before China’s busiest online shopping period, 'Singles Day', which is often referred to as an equivalent of America's Black Friday. 

The Deal of a lifetime

During the glitch, tickets to the southwestern city of Chengdu, which is nearly three hours away from the Chinese capital, Beijing, were offered at slashed prices of 10, 20, or 30 yuan (~$1.37 to $4.12 at the time. The problem occurred across the airline's app and some booking platforms including the market leader, Trip.com.

The deal of a lifetime started circulating on Chinese social media with consumers spreading the news. According to Business Insider,  the cheapest tickets that were sold for 10 yuan usually cost at least 400 to 500 yuan.

Consumers began reporting on Chinese social media that many flights to and from the southwest metropolis of Chengdu were available on China Southern's app. One screenshot circulating online showed a ticket from Chengdu to Beijing priced at only 10 yuan, compared to the normal minimum price of 400 to 500 yuan (~$56 to $70). It was unclear how many tickets were sold by the Chinese carrier at the low price. 

Despite the glitch, China Southern Airlines posted on its official Weibo (Chinese social media platform) that it will honor the deal. The airline stated that the tickets issued and paid for during the system glitch will be valid and travellers can use them normally. The airline also took the opportunity to promote their official deals during the 'Singles Day' promotion. While it took the lucky Chinese flyers a system glitch to book cheap flights, one American couple suggests that it can be done without it as well.

Here's how to book cheap flights without a glitch

TikTok couple, Kee and Dass (@keeanddass), went viral after sharing how they booked two flight tickets to Miami for just 2 cents. The couple claimed that there was a hack to booking penny flights, which is to simply go down to the counter and ask for the deals. The couple said they booked the tickets from Spirit Airlines and paid $30 in total after taxes on the 2 cents airfare. 

In a follow-up video, the couple said that this may be the only trick to booking penny flights but it doesn't work every time. They said they had tried it in the past and it luckily worked this time.

However, they clarified that usually, tickets purchased from the counter are cheaper than online. They claimed they travelers can book tickets for a little less or at half the price of what's shown online, simply by being polite at the counter.