Do you sometimes get the feeling that some of your friends or people you follow on Instagram are constantly on vacation? Let me tell you a little secret – they are definitely experts on booking error flights.
If you have never heard of error flights before, you might be thinking that ‘error’ stands for a technical problem with a plane or maybe that the destination you should be flying to changes when you’re your way. What the term “error flight” actually refers to is ridiculously cheap flight deals. How cheap? For example:
Spain to New York return – 291 EUR
Cologne to Corfu return – 30 EUR
Rome to London return – 7 EUR
How do error fares happen?
The travel industry is extremely busy, and error fares usually happen due to three common mistakes:
- human error
- a computer mistake in a currency conversion
- accidental omission of fuel surcharges and fees
On the far side of every complicated computer system is usually a human who makes mistakes. He or she might forget to add up fuel surcharges or airport taxes, or mess up a conversion due to the constant changes in currencies. Once the price is set and live there is nothing airlines can do about it, because it is too time-consuming and costly for airlines to try to correct every single price mishap.
How do you find error fares?
Few years ago you had to spend a lot of time to find them, but the number of websites and Facebook pages that publish error fares daily is growing faster than ever.
Flightdeal is one of the many pages on Facebook that posts only error fares from all around the world, and they sometimes post a few times a day.
Fly4Free publishes error fares faster than CNN publishes the latest news, and you can also subscribe to their newsletter.
CheapFlightsLab customizes your search so you can focus your search on the region you want and on the most relevant flights for you.
SecretFlying is another Facebook page that publishes low fares, and by liking the page you might as well never be at home anymore.
Things you have to know before booking an error fare
You have to keep in mind that if you are booking the error fare, you have to be time flexible as they are valid just for certain dates. Apart from that you have to be extremely fast at booking, as there are probably plenty of other people online who are looking at the same fare and already holding their credit cards in their hands. As for all the other plane tickets, the amount of seats on a plane is limited, so you might be obliged to book a ticket before you even ask your boss if you can take a vacation.
Time is money! If you are flying to the other side of the world you probably won’t be flying directly, but you will have to change planes along the way. The layover can sometimes be up to 15 hours long, and you can be stuck on the airport for ages. Make sure you check the layovers before you book a ticket and realize too late that you’ll spend a fortune at the airport eating three meals while you wait.
But don’t let that stop you – be wise, fast, and ready to fly to all the places you have always dreamt about!
Photo: Shutterstock
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