Passenger gets a billion-dollar bill for extra legroom upgrade

Saturday, 20 Apr, 2021 0

Airlines around the world have posted huge losses for more than a year now and many remain in serious financial peril.

Still it’s a bit rich for an airline to rely on a single passenger to help them get out of a financial hole.

Comedian Dave O’Neil saw the funny side when a Qantas booking glitch left him on the hook for nearly a billion dollars.

O’Neil booked an extra legroom upgrade for his scheduled flight from Melbourne to Perth and was presented with request for extra payment of A$987,999,999.

He took to social media to bring it to the airline’s attention.

"Hey Qantas, all I wanted was extra leg room on my flight to Perth, very happy to pay for it but this seems a bit expensive," O’Neil tweeted along with a screenshot of the payment page.

Qantas was quick to respond, saying they would investigate.

The airline also saw the funny side.

"While we know that customers really value extra leg room, the price displayed was definitely a bit of a stretch," a Qantas spokesperson said.

"We can confirm the passenger was charged the correct amount of $70 per sector for the extra legroom and we’re investigating what caused the incorrect amount to be displayed."

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TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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