Error fares, also known as mistake airfares or airline price glitches are really just super cheap flight tickets. Mistakes are inevitable and happen in all businesses, including airline companies. The most common reason for error fares are human errors, but errors can also be caused by currently conversion errors, technical issue or simply a communication error. Remember, if you find an error fare, DO NOT call the airline to notify them!
How can I find an error fares?
The first most important lesson…if you find one, book it immediately. Most error fares are up without notice for minutes. We live by the 24 hour rule. If I see an error fare, I book it knowing that most airlines will allow me to cancel without penalty within the first 24 hours. It’s worth the risk. For example, I flew from Detroit, MI to Ft. Myers, FL on a $29 error fare!
Search Engine Pricing Graphs
When using meta search engine websites, I am able to explore and compare prices from different airlines, while also offering useful tools such as price forecasting, search results filtering, e-mail alerts, etc.
If you are hunting for error fares, it is best to do a wide search. You can select an entire month for your departure date and in this way you will easily detect any unusual price variations.
If I am just up for a vacation, I will use sites like momondo.com or googleflights.com, select my dates, select my departure city and leave the “where to” section empty on google flights or select “to anywhere” on momondo. I then put in my budget, in this case…I was looking for round trip tickets under $100, I think Ft. Myers sounds pretty nice right now, and for $97 round trip, I’ll take it!
Our favorite meta search engines for flights
A meta search engine is an online search engine where multiple OTA’s (online travel agencies) can be compared at the same time.
