Malaysians Say The Darndest Things!

MAS’ Data Entry Cockup: RM900K Gone

March 31, 2008

I remember the days when I was a poor college student. In the true spirit of American consumerism, I was always trolling the Fatwallet forums for deals on stuff I absolutely didn’t need, but absolutely needed to get. Among the best deals were when online retailers accidentally posted an item for sale with a dramatically reduced price, due to a data entry error. Think of a $400.00 item suddenly on sale for $40.00, and you get the idea of how much the online retailer stood to lose.

This type of incident is not limited to American online retailers, as the recent cockup by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), our national carrier, has proved:

Malaysia Airlines has confirmed it is expecting to face losses of up to AUD$320,000 after more than 100 tickets were issued at a special rate due to a pricing error discovered in the GDS system.

e-Travel Blackboard broke the news of the incorrect Business class airfare between Bangkok/Phuket and Johannesburg which was loaded at BHT 11,580 (AUD$407), instead of the RRP of BHT 111,580 (AUD$4200)  on March 17.

Malaysia Airlines’ Regional Manager Australia & New Zealand, Mr Abdul Manaf Harun told e-Travel Blackboard the airline would absorb the expected losses.

“We expect slightly more than 100 tickets have been ticketed at the special price, and losses are expected to be in the range of AUD320,000. We will honour air tickets which have been ticketed,” he said.

It is believed that word of the incorrect airfare spread fast amongst the travel community across Australia, with Queensland accounting for more than 50 per cent of the tickets issued.

The airfare has since been withdrawn from sale.

— e-Travel Blackboard

Honoring the mistake on the prices was the right thing to do, but I wonder what happened to the person who uploaded the price online. Let me know if you see any other mistakes like this

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