Hundreds of Chinese air travelers scored a major bargain when a computer glitch allowed them to buy online tickets from China Eastern Airlines for less than US$3.
The Global Times reported that China’s third-largest carrier last week sold tickets, including some first-class fares, to at least 300 customers for just 20 yuan (US$2.9, NT$94) each.
As a result, flying from Nanchang in the southern province of Jiangxi to Beijing will be cheaper than some crosstown taxi rides in the capital.
One-way first-class tickets from Nanchang to Beijing were listed at around 2,000 yuan on the airline’s Web site on Monday.
The company said it would honor the tickets despite being out of pocket, even though some of them were sold for travel during the peak-demand Lunar New Year holidays in February, when fares normally jump.
“It is a problem caused by our own system. Passengers (holding the cheap tickets) can get on board. Our promise made to them will not be changed,” Luo Zhuping, China Eastern’s spokesman in Shanghai, told AFP.
(AFP)
中國東方航空日前因電腦出錯,讓數百名上網訂票的旅客搶到低於三美元的便宜機票。
據《環球時報》報導,中國第三大航空公司上週售出每張只要人民幣二十元(兩點九美元,新台幣九十四元)的機票,其中包括部份頭等艙機位,至少有三百名消費者搶到便宜。
因此,這些從中國南部江西省南昌市飛往北京的機票,比北京一些跨區計程車費還要便宜。
據週一該航空公司網站標價,一張從南昌到北京的單程頭等艙機票約要價兩千元人民幣。
該公司表示,即使其中有若干開票日期為二月農曆新年、票價通常大幅上漲的尖峰需求時段,但該公司仍將認賠承兌這些機票。
中國東方航空上海發言人羅祝平對法新社表示:「這是我們內部系統的問題。(買到便宜機票的)乘客可以正常登機。我們承諾旅客的服務不會因此改變。」
(法新社╱翻譯:袁星塵)
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