Over the weekend, a glitch in United Airline's website allowed untold numbers of fliers to purchase round-trip Mileage Plus travel awards tickets to Hong Kong for tens of thousands of miles less than they cost.
Now the company wants those tickets back, a spokesperson told USA Today's Nancy Trejos.
The airline is giving customers two options: Either give up their tickets and have their miles refunded without any penalties, or pay the full sticker price for the flights.
In some cases, customers bought business class tickets that were usually about 120,000 miles for a less than 10 miles and a few extra bucks (one passenger told Trejos he paid $40 in taxes and four miles for his). Chances are they won't be quick to give them up.
And something else might throw a wrench in United's game plan––the new airline regulations that prevent companies from backpedaling and raising cheap fares after they're listed, even if by error.
The Department of Transportation has already fielded some complaints from United customers. If you're interested in adding your voice to the mix, visit this page.
This is the latest in a string of headaches for troubled United. In June, more than 30,000 consumers petitioned against its plans to charge parents for early boarding with children. United is also facing a proposed class action suit filed by frequent fliers who claim it reduced their perks following its 2010 merger with Continental Airlines. A series of website hiccups caused the company to rack up the highest number of consumer complaints of any U.S. airline in March..
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