Qantas mistakenly sold hundreds of discounted first-class airfares to customers offering flights on a popular international route for less than $5,000.
The national carrier began selling low-cost tickets for round-trip flights between Australia and the United States on August 22.
Around 300 customers made bookings during the eight hours the tickets were listed on the Qantas website.
Flights from Sydney to Los Angeles were advertised for $2,191, while flights from Los Angeles to Sydney were available from $2,108.
Airfares were offered for January 10, 2025 and January 30, 2025.
Daily Mail Australia understands the first class tickets were sold due to a coding error.
Advertised fares were up to 85 percent lower than the normal cost of first-class tickets.
The discounted prices were also around 65 percent lower than the usual cost of business class flights.
The national airline sold low-cost tickets for round-trip flights between Australia and the United States on August 22 (pictured)
Flights from Sydney to Los Angeles were advertised for $2,191, while flights from Los Angeles to Sydney were available from $2,108.
The rates were quickly shared online, including on popular discount website OzBargain.
One customer who posted urged travellers to book while they could, although he admitted the sale appeared to be “clearly a mistake”.
“There is no guarantee that Qantas will honour this, but it is worth a try,” they wrote.
The publication said flights could be booked from September 2024 to June 2025, including dates during the busy Christmas holiday period.
Social media users said they had managed to secure seats on some of the flights.
“I booked two and one has already been approved. See you at LAX,” one person wrote.
“Amazing. I just tried a dummy booking for April and the cheap fare is correct,” wrote another person.
“Thanks, I bought 10,” wrote a third.
A Qantas spokeswoman confirmed the airfares were created by a system error and told Daily Mail Australia that staff are assisting customers affected by the sale.
“Unfortunately, this is a case where the rate was too good to be true,” the spokeswoman said.
“As a gesture of goodwill, we are re-accommodating customers to Business Class at no additional cost. Customers also have the option of a full refund.”
The latest issue comes after Qantas was ordered to pay $120 million in fines and compensation for misleading thousands of customers about flight cancellations.
Qantas has confirmed the airfares were created by a system-generated error and staff are assisting customers affected by the sale (file image)
Some 86,000 customers were sold tickets for flights that had already been cancelled between May 2021 and August 2023.
The airline also agreed to pay $100 million to the ACCC for breaching Australian Consumer Law.
New chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the airline would work hard to revive its battered reputation.
The airline illegally laid off nearly 1,700 workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and hit customers with expensive airfares.
Ms Hudson, who replaced Alan Joyce after he resigned in September last year, apologised for letting customers down.
“We have not delivered as we should have and have often been difficult to deal with,” he said.
“We understand why you are frustrated and why some of you have lost confidence in us.”
