Fat-finger fares
The ultimate cheap airline tickets
We've all heard the stories: international tickets to Paris for $27.98. Coast-to-coast round-trip fares for $0.88. These ridiculously low airfares, the result of typographical and computer errors, sound too good to be true, but they were real and many of the travellers who spotted them were able to book them.
Can you really fly for free or next-to-nothing?
Sometimes. When an airline posts an unbelievably low fare, it's most likely an error. If you do stumble across such a fare, it may already be too late to jump on it considering most errors are often fixed in a matter of minutes. And even if an airline honours cheap airfare prices of, say, $0, you’ll still have to pay fees and taxes, which can add up.
Do airlines and ticket sellers have to honour the incorrect fares?
Technically, no. Courts have ruled that companies do not have to honour an offer "if a reasonable person would recognize [that] it was a mistake". However some companies will honour the "fat finger" fare as a good-will gesture for their customers.
Getting the best airfare deals
You could spend hours online in the hopes of stumbling upon "fat finger" fares, but there are more reliable ways to save money on airfares. Spend just a few minutes on Cheapflights.ca and you can find the best airfare deals on your route. And to ensure that you don't miss out on the latest deals, sign up for our free Deals Alert e-Newsletter and let the best airfare prices find you!