Scored nice 1st class ticket on system glitch I assume

[MOXJO7282]

My wife and I decided on taking a short notice vacation to St John late Feb so started looking at direct flights from NYC to STT. We do like to fly 1st class on long flights and sometimes can combine miles and cash to secure 1st class at a good value most of the time. For short flights, unless 1st class is dirt cheap, which it never is, I don't even consider it. Well as I was checking I was not surprised to see 1st class at $2700 and coach around $450. I didn't book because I was considering other carriers than United. The next day I checked again and the 1st class ticket dropped to $365, less than coach! I tried to snag it but when I went to hit final booking it disappeared so I figured it was a glitch. I tried it again. This time it showed the 1st class price as $51!! Of course I tried to secure that but of course that didn't work so I figured the system was just glitching. I made one last effort to see what I could get and the $365 price was showing again. I tried again and this time it worked this time and I got UA 7am Newark to STT 1st class for $365. I announced it on FB hoping others could take advantage. By the next day the pricing was way back up and right now its back to $2700.

I've honestly never seen anything like this. Anyone else score a deal that seemed to good to be true?

 

[davidvel]

Hopefully you didn't tag United in your FB post.

 

[pedro47]

Sometime sound is golden. IMHO

 

[klpca]

During the WestJet strike I bought 1st class tickets on some carrier (either AA or UA, can't remember) through the Chase portal, YYZ to LAX. They were less than $600. The next day the strike settled so I went to cancel within the 1st 24 hours but there was nothing to cancel. Customer service said that the tickets weren't actually purchased, the cc charges were just pending and would drop off, and that the issue was that the airline would not honor the price. I didn't really care since I had my original flight was reinstated, but if I had I would have been mad.

Good luck. And remember, loose lips sink ships.

 

[alwysonvac]

You can find lots of articles if you do a google search on "mistake airfare".

Here's one.

Mistake fares: What are they, and should you book one? - The Points Guy

Mistake fares generate a lot of excitement and can offer excellent value. Here's how to find potential mistake fares and what to know if yours isn't honored.

thepointsguy.com

 

[Patri]

Enjoy the flight!