An error fare is a misfiled ticket being sold at a very low price. How does such an error fare actually arise? There are several possibilities:

Airlines: If the error occurs on the airline’s side, these wrongly priced tickets enter the global distribution system and from there reach ticket sellers. For example, Alitalia once uploaded tickets from Budapest to Seoul and back to Munich for CZK 4,759.
During uploading: A mistake happens while the fare is being uploaded and it likewise reaches the ticket vendors.
At the seller: The error occurs with the seller. Recently, for instance, eDreams sold tickets from Vienna to Mumbai for CZK 4,270. The tickets were flown without any problems.

How does such an error happen?

• Typo. An employee mistypes a decimal point or a zero and—boom—an error fare appears.

• Currency conversion error. Airfare prices often need to be converted into other currencies, and mistakes can occur in that process.

• System error in fare construction. A ticket price consists of several components (fuel surcharge, airport taxes, etc.). Sometimes the fuel surcharge drops out, which in many cases makes up a significant part of the fare.

• Deliberate “error.” Why? It can help marketing, search engine indexing, and so on.

• Promo-code action that’s easy to exploit.

If you come across an error fare, you can fly for a fantastic price!

When you come across Error fare, you can fly at a great price!

What to do when you spot an error fare?

• In the case of a really big mistake—say, a ticket to New York for CZK 1,500 or Dubai with Emirates for CZK 700—buy immediately without hesitation. The deal may only live for 10–20 minutes. In other cases, you still don’t have much time: the lifespan is often tens of minutes to a few hours. Don’t count on the fare still being available the next day.

• Always pay by card. Forget bank transfers or paying at a branch (many have tried to save the card fee and missed out). Card payments authorize within moments, allowing the ticket to be issued shortly after payment.

• Never call the airline or the seller. You don’t want to alert them to the mistake.

• Wait for an email from the airline or seller. Within a few minutes you’ll most likely receive e-tickets (an email showing ticket numbers, itinerary, and a PNR code for managing the booking). But beware: the airline can still cancel even after sending e-tickets, or after charging your card and 5–6 days have passed. Yes, you can argue a contract was formed—but don’t bank on success. Treat it like a sport: sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.

• After you receive e-tickets, all you can do is wait. You may book a hotel, but only with free cancellation! As for how long to wait, it’s hard to say, but we recommend 7 to 14 days.

What if your tickets are canceled?

If the funds are only on hold, the hold is usually released and your money becomes available again. If the money was actually charged, the airline or seller should contact you to confirm a refund. If they don’t, reach out to them. If you get no response or they stall, escalate by filing a chargeback with your bank.

Air tickets and everything around them are practically a science. Don’t get swept up in the hype some cheap-fare sites create—think everything through. Is the ticket truly worth it if you depart from one city and return to another, and must add ground transport costs? And what about the number of connections, which can shorten—or lengthen—your trip by an extra day?