Cathay Pacific sells first-class tickets at economy prices again in new blunder

First-class tickets from Lisbon to Hong Kong were sold for $1,512

Cathay Pacific's system has been breached (Getty Images)

Cathay Pacific has sold first-class seats from Portugal to Hong Kong for a fraction of the usual price, just two weeks after a similar fare blunder.

Over the weekend, the airline sold first-class fares from Lisbon to Hong Kong for just $1,512 (£1,178) rather than the usual $16,000.

The airline said once again that it would honour the “mistake” fares, sold for a tenth of the original price.

A return flight in economy from Lisbon to Hong Kong, leaving on 14 January and returning a week later, is currently selling for €9,981 (£8,923) on Cathay Pacific’s website.

The price of an economy flight from Lisbon to Hong Kong today is almost £10,000

Cathay Pacific doesn’t fly from Lisbon to Hong Kong direct. The route involves a stopover in London, Zurich or Frankfurt.

In a statement, the airline said it was “aware of an error on some fares from Europe”, blaming an “input issue”. The sale of the mistake fares was stopped immediately, the airline said.

“We are looking into the root cause of this incident both internally and externally with our vendors,” Cathay Pacific said.

“For the very small number of customers who have purchased these tickets, we look forward to welcoming you on board to enjoy our premium services.”

This latest blunder follows an incident just two weeks ago where the carrier sold first-class tickets from Vietnam to New York for a fraction of the usual price. Seats on the 8,507 mile journey went for just £1,300 rather than a typical £15,000. Cathay Pacific said it would honour the mistake fares.