Thai Airways refusal to honor its 55 pound first class fare gets some coverage.

“It is not uncommon to hunt out a bargain on the web, and cheap airfares are just one example. To find out my reservation will not be fulfilled, despite receiving an email confirmation, left me feeling thoroughly disappointed,” said Evershed.



“Yes, it seemed that I was getting a good deal but the very nature of online offers is to find the bargains,” she added.



Certainly many short-haul budget airlines have offered ‘all you pay is the tax’ style fares, and many industry watches have suggested it is only a matter of time before a long-haul flight is offered on similar grounds. But this was not that time.



However, Evershed received an email, seen by silicon.com, from Thai Airways, confirming her reservation. Receipt of this email makes the airline’s decision to renege on the offer a controversial one.



A second email from Thai Airways to customers who had booked the bargain flights said: “On 23rd April 2003, the prices shown on Thai Airways International’s website for flights on the London to Bangkok route contained an error… Although you have sought to make a booking, I regret to inform you that the nature of this unfortunate but obvious mistake was such that Thai Airways International is unable to issue you with tickets.”



In past cases lawyers have offered opposing opinion on consumers’ rights in these issues, particularly when an automated confirmation email confuses matters.