By COLlive reporter
They should consider making a new domain name extension .glitch.
Eye-popping prices for flights from New York’s JFK Airport to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion had American Jews scrambling to the travel booking websites on Monday.
Word spread at 11:11 AM when the bargain-hunters website DansDeals.com posted “SIZZLING! RUN!!! JFK To Tel Aviv For Just $336.80 Round-Trip With Tax!”
Text messages and emails began circulating the news and Facebook and other social media sites were abuzz over the rare – and almost unbelievable – deal.
While some dismissed it as a scam or were scrabbling to find the funds, many rushed to Orbitz.com and Expedia.com and snatched the opportunity to fly to the Holy Land between October 28, 2012 and March 19, 2013.
The flights were on El Al airlines with routes operated mostly by American Airlines, with a lay over in European cities like Zurich, Paris, London and Madrid.
“This was a dream come true,” said one Lubavitcher who had been planning on traveling to Israel with his family for a while.
“We didn’t have the funds to fly the whole family in. So this was simply amazing! We quickly booked and didn’t even check which dates would be best – as long as we get there!” he told COLlive.com.
As expected, the opportunity was short-lived.
A little while later, the deal was already gone from Orbitz, although other sites still carried the fare. However at around 1:30 PM Eastern Time, single tickets to Israel for the same dates were already $1,000 and over at all travel sites.
Related to this sale or not, the wait time to speak to a customer service representative for travel site Expedia was over 45 minutes after the news of the deal spread, up from 2 minutes wait earlier today. One travel seeker said she called at 1:43 PM and has been on hold for close to an hour.
One clearly agitated El Al representative told a COLlive reporter that “someone will have to pay for this…”
The person said that Israel’s national airline did not offer the deeply discounted deal and that it was “a glitch.”
He said the booking sites “will have to pay for the difference in price or they will not honor the reservations.” He added that it should take a few days to “clear up the issue and (find out) what will be.”
In July 2012, a computer glitch lowered the airfare for a first class flight on United Airlines from New York to Hong Kong to the price of 4 frequent flier miles and $33 in taxes – a price practically free for a seat that regularly sells for $10,250.
United eventually pulled the plug and announced it wasn’t honoring tickets already sold, AP reported. People could get a refund without paying a penalty or have the proper amount of miles deducted.
UPDATE (Aug. 6, 2012 6:02pm):
The official Twitter account of El Al in the USA tweeted the following: “An outside company posted incorrect fares on travel sites, so all tickets sold will indeed by honored.”
first of all i didnt buy one and i know if i did i would probably be so excited but it is such a chilul hashem to the wolrd and the airline.
besides that: number 40 should go back to olei torah himself to learn the abc’s of yiddishkeit
Get ready to greet MOSHIACH TZIDKEINU !GEULAH is
coming swiftly forward HINEI ZEH OIMEID ACHAR
KOISLEINU! Hashem is doing this!!!
Not only is El Al honoring these tickets, they are allowing people to cancel without penalty or to upgrade to a direct flight from NYC to TLV for a $75.00 fee each way. This has become an approved deal by El Al!
This news item was picked up by the global Press and hundreds of articles were published today about how orthodox jews bought all these tickets. As a commenter on a British site wrote: “I hope their religion also encourages them to return these tickets which were sold by error.”
Well done! A global chillul Hashem! A light unto the nations!
61 i like your way of thinking!
Brilliant logic… if Hashem allows it to happen it must be kosher. Totally against Jewish belief but never mind… Three Rabbis met during the week and the conversation turned to fundraising and how they used the money that was collected in pushkas. One Rabbi said, “I draw a small circle in the middle of the room and throw all the coins up in the air. Everything that lands outside of the circle is for G-d, what lands in the circle is for me.” The second Rabbi said, “That’s kind of like what I do. I throw the money up in… Read more »
Names cant be changed on the tickets, period. If anyone is trying to sell it is most likely a scam (especially someone who says they bought 175).
Why does someone like number 9 have to book so many tickets so the all the good dates ( chanukah and Purim) get booked? I tried to book tickets for my family but all of those flights were full. If you are buying for yourself and your family/friends, great, if you are just buying up all the tickets and not leaving seats for others, that’s greedy. (And all those tickets just went to waste -See Comment #19-when others could have used them) Oh, and BTW, when we were trying to book, we just thought it was an awesome deal they… Read more »
Hey!
I am not a conspiracy theorist, bechlal. But, what you are saying…..wow! It makes WWWAAAYYYY too much sense.
I’m with you.
It was an ‘Es ratzon’ !! sort of like that time the Rebbe offered great riches to those who wanted and only three were not shy and raised their hands and became very wealthy…!! You have to Chap arein when the opportunity shows itself….
If El-Al chooses to honor the tickets, that means that Hashem is okay with taking advantage of it and it is not Genevah. if elal duzent want 2 honor them, then HaShem is saving you from committing a sin.
got it?
good.
Are u kidding???? why’d u need so much??? should i believe?
Guys, this is a question to a Rov and Mashpia!
It might be Halachicaly permissible…
It might not..
Can anyone get an answer of a Rov who is an expert in Choshen Mishpot?
I’m sorry, but to everyone who got a ticket for that price: It IS STEALING. Yes, “it’s their fault because it was “”their”” glitch” so, imagine a glitch like a open door to someone’s store, because the door is open doesn’t mean you have to take it. Hackers find “glitches” all the time in peoples websites. does that make it right to hack into their site? just because they found a exploit? NO! and yes, someone is going to lose this money. whether or not it will ” bankrupt” them, that doesn’t matter. Those are my 2 cents. if you… Read more »
To the woman who was offended that she was mistaken for a male teen: once a child was accused of scribbling on a wall. Came an adult and said: no, it was not a child, it was me!
agreed 100%…
I wonder how this plays in with oino’oh and mekach to’us
It’s like willy wonka and the chocolate factory. I GOT A TICKET I GOT A TICKET!!!!!!
email me at [email protected]
plz #9 let us know how we can attempt to buy your extra tickets you can e-mail me at [email protected]
please please please let me know
how do we reach #9 to buy his extra tickets??????
So thrilled that I took the initiative and bought a ticket. All of the talk about letting EL AL know and returning tickets is rubbish. This will really benefit millions of people and tourism so its very positive from my standpoint
Most planes fly with a bunch of empty seats anyway, especially that time of year. El Al isn’t losing any money. Most of those who got tickets probably wouldn’t have traveled otherwise. This is all begeder zeh neneh vezeh lo choser.
if anyone doesn’t want their ticket, please write me! [email protected]!!!! will take a bunch!
People keep saying that ElAl will now lose a ton of money or go bankrupt. The fact is, They still have business class or first class on these flights which more than offsets these low fares. Every high end seat nets them at least 3x the regular coach fare. By the time YomTov rolls around they will have more than made up for any losses between that and the exorbitant coach fares for flying in for Yom Tov. Unfortunately I couldn’t get in on it because the price only showed when I tried for my wife and me. As soon… Read more »
I think that people are jumping to the wrong conclusion here. El-Al will not be swallowing this loss. The mistake was made by a third party who failed to publish the fuel surcharge when publishing the fare on various travel booking sites and they are the ones responsible for making up the difference in the prices of the tickets. I don’t have any idea who the third party is, but I know that they are not El-Al and I hope they have insurance.
I did not think there was a glitch or a scam! Just a sale! 6 years ago they had this price direct!!! And we all flew!! I was just getting a bargain…certainly not participating in a scam!
From #39, not #35, Firstly, I did not get “in” on the deal. I am not travelling at all to Israel, though I did let family members know about it when it was on sale. I just can’t stand it when holier than thou posters pass judgement and decide how everyone here is sinning for buying these tickets at the price they paid. Its not always clear that these things are glitches. I could understand if the price was $5.00, a person would intuit that it was a glitch. But occasionally, there are super deals from NYC to Israel and… Read more »
You are so far off the mark, its sad.
Do you really think El Al would make such a mistake? And if they did, do you think they would let it go for a few hours so that thousands of tickets would be bought??? No there are 2 plausible explanations: 1. All these tickets are paid for upfront and flights will only be used in 4 months or more – great for their cash flow or share/stock prices 2. There are rumors about major violence brewing in September, attacking Iran etc and such events cause tourism to drop drastically which really hurts the economy. Here you have the perfect… Read more »
what is your email numero 9 let us know
To 35 and 39: Thankfully, it appears that you are the same person posting again and again that gaming the system is a mitzvah. I was worried that this was a widespread among COL readers. Hopefully you are an isolated case, mistama in your early teens still excited that you were able to rent a car with a provisional from Brazil. My advice to you is to go back to Oholei Torah and demand a complete refund from Rabbi Rosenfeld, since you clearly did not learn the ABC’s of Judaism. You are probably a very friendly, nice guy (chessed is… Read more »
To all you naysayers, Airline tickets constantly fluctuate and go on sale all the time. Sometimes they are $1200.00, sometimes $700.00, and rarely, but occasionally, they are $300-$500. This happened to be an internet pricing glitch. The glitch in this case is that they left off the fuel surcharge that airlines love to charge when they published the fares on various travel sites. While it may have been a mistake, El-Al is being awesome and honoring the tickets, ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty. I believe that a lot of people will remain loyal to them because of this and will… Read more »
The airline is free to charge whatever they like. If you don’t find the prices reasonable, don’t fly. The airline did not charge you $400, that was not their intent. For anyone who is still uncertain, they made that abundantly clear. The $400 price came about from a computer glitch that was unintentional. If the local grocery store sells kosher meat for a very high price, that does not justify taking advantage of a mistaken price tag or register glitch, all the while knowing that the store owner could not possibly afford to sell you the meat for a 3rd… Read more »
I really think its some hacker that are creating this fare to make Israeli company loss money
i want to buy a few tickets as well!
So when they charge $2000+ a ticket in high season (succos, etc) that’s ok.. but when you buy for $400 that’s genaiva????
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
I find myself agreeing with #20. Unfortunately, ethics are not emphasized enough in our education system. Just because something is “legal” does not make it right. Gaming the system and taking advantage of inevitable human/systems errors — all the while knowing that the airline did not intend to set such a low price– is not something to be proud of. A chosid needs to live like a chosid, not just dress like one. In life, nothing comes for free. The airline/travel agency will just pass the loss onto future customers. As the old maxim goes: do unto others as you… Read more »
I HOPE YOUR NOT JOKING BEACUSE I WOULD LOVE TO BUY 4 OF THEM!!!!!!!!!!!POST ON COLLIVE.COM THAT YOUR SELLING TICKETS!!!{write your phone number to!}
lol.
If El Al is asked to negate a transaction where customer made a mistake, would they honor it?
you can’t make money off of other peoples mistakes. So for example if a peice of metal falls off a weight scale and it makes the eg. flour half the price. you are still obligated to return it or pay the fair price since the seller did not have in mind to sell it at that price as does not agree to part with the object. same reason gambling is ussur. Both parties must agree to the transfer in their heart. ask a rav first.
Glitch No Glitch….Right/Wrong….Bad/Good I was sent a flash from Travelzoo, reacted quickly and have secured a ticket to visit The Holy Land with one of my Life Long Friends….I am a Christian amongst Jews….and I am PUMPED to see the Birthplace of Civilization. AND On a cheap ride…there is a G%@ Thank you ELAL for your integrity….and of course whomever is ultimately responsible for this good deed/”Glitch”!
Truly yours,
Good Goy
el al is not the company loosing here. its the in between company that makes the sales
You must honor it….. If they have sloppy workers who posted it that way they must eat the mistake
if you are selling tikets plzzzzzzzzzzz write ur email or phone number so that ill be able to contact you i beg of you i relly wana go to israel with my family i need 10 tikets plz write how i can contact you asp i need them
Last year they had for 24 hours, tickets going for 3ooEuros, and they were respected, great offer
keep them coming EL AL
the best for Israel
As a frequent flyer if i make an error with a date or name I pay. The airline never calls me and gives me my money back. When they make mistakes they too should pAy. Corporate America is a bunch of thieves who only honor in their benefit.
I am a proud purchaser of this ticket!
i got a ticket!!! yay!!!
To those who are saying how wrong this is or anything wrong for that matter, I’m sorry that you weren’t quick enough to get this great deal and I’m also sorry that you don’t know how to be happy for your fellow yidden who are getting this amazing opportunity to visit their homeland.
The fact that people jumped on this knowing it was a glitch is sad. The fact that commenters here are justifying it (“what’s right is right” “it’s a consumer’s world”) is quite embarassing. Hopefully, these people are joking. If they are serious, our educators must do some introspection. This should be a case study taught in our schools of what Jews and especially chasidim, and especially Chabad chasidim, should NOT do. It is unethical, anti-Torah, anti-Chasidus, anti-Chabad, anti-Rebbe. We just read it in the parsha last Shabbos: V’asisa hayashar v’hatoiv, which means, even if something is “legal,” it doesn’t meant… Read more »
i am #9 spoke to elal they said #1 they believe that most tickets wont be used #2 i cant change the name and they will refund my $ for their benefit.
the el al spokeswomen has stated that the airline will honor all tickets……….. congrats to all the ppl that got it !!!!!!!!!!!!
please post number 9 if /how much you are selling for.
from Elal- “The lady said that there was a glitch, the tickets were published without the normal fuel surcharge, but that they will still be honored at the price paid. I repeat (according to the woman at ElAl taht I spoke to) NO additional fee will be collected at the airport. She said the glitch has been fixed, and any changes made to flights will be charged a fee plus the price difference, which for most people will probably be astronomical. But again, there was some kind of glitch that ElAl will be honoringIn her words- “A lot of our… Read more »
i also got one!
if you are selling please post your email address so you can be contacted!!!!
please let us know how to contact you.
if your really selling please let us know how to get in touch with you.
I missed out on the deal but this unnamed El Al Rep is just talking typical Israeli blah x3 talk. It’s a consumers world and sometimes we over pay ($1500) and sometimes we get a good deal, Remember this wasn’t a $34 flight this was a $400 so it sounds more like a discount then a mistake.
WHats fair is fair if you got a good deal you got it if you snoozed you loose….
It gives us poor people a chance to visit israel..
i booked 175 tickets and i have time to change the names on them. so i will be selling..or i will be flying in my own cabin 🙂 go Kel al
It’s a ploy to get Lubavitchers to Israel so that they can be “zionised”
why is it geneivah?
someone did ppl a favor by publicizing a good price
glitches happen unfortunately and with everything being online and easy access, thats wat happens
will they honor that?
ELAL have to honor the tickets as these were published fares and purchased with $$$
the person at ELAL who is quoted in the above article spoke out of place. As these tickets were published rates and purchased (unlike united) if reservations are cancelled or the airline goes after expedia/ travel agents for the difference they can be reported to the DOT and be fined up to $27,000 per ticket
someone in ELAL fare department is going to be fired over this….
…but in essence this is a bunch of Jewish ppl ‘cashing in’ at the expense of another Jewish person’s/company’s mistake. A big one. I wonder if its even mutar?
This is silly. It was obviously a mistake. If they have to honor it future prices will simply be higher… nobody gains except the greedy people who jumped on their mistake
becuase i just booked 5 tickets…
hope you don’t go bankrupt