Qantas Airways has sold hundreds of first-class seats on flights between the United States and Australia at 85 percent off the regular price, the airline said on Monday.
Australian airlines claim a coding error was what allowed 300 passengers to secure discounted tickets within eight hours last Thursday.
Instead of paying the regular fare (which can range from $13,000 to $20,000), the lucky travelers paid just $3,390 for a round-trip fare.
But the airline said those passengers would not be able to keep their first-class seats.
Customers will be upgraded to business class but still save about 65% off the regular fare, or be eligible for a refund.
“This was a case where the fare was actually unbelievably cheap,” Qantas said in a statement.
The airline, which is not legally obligated to honour incorrect fares, said the rebooking was a “sign of goodwill”.
Australia’s national airline has been plagued by a series of controversies in recent years, culminating in the resignation of CEO Alan Joyce last September.
Earlier this year, Qantas agreed to pay a $79 million fine and compensate passengers after selling tickets for thousands of flights that had already been cancelled.
Qantas also investigated a data breach in May that gave users of its app access to travel information and other passenger personal information.
The airline has also come under fire for frequent flight delays, poor customer service, lost baggage and allegations of underpaying some employees.
