An error on the Virgin Australia website caused the airline to massively overcharge some customers for around 9 hours on Tuesday. The Virgin pricing glitch resulted in taxes as much as 19 times higher than normal being charged on Velocity Reward Seat bookings.
The Virgin pricing glitch affected domestic Reward Seat bookings made using Velocity points. Although the website still showed the correct number of Velocity points, the taxes being charged were much higher than they should have been. The glitch did not affect international bookings or the price of regular airfares.
This screenshot taken from the Virgin Australia website on Tuesday shows an example of the pricing glitch. The taxes on a Virgin reward flight from Sydney to Darwin are normally $32.86 for both Economy and Business class. Yet, Virgin was charging $621.16 in taxes for a Business reward seat! Similar pricing was seen on other domestic routes.
The Virgin pricing glitch was first noticed by an AFF member shortly after 6am on Tuesday morning. The error was reported and eventually fixed after 3pm that afternoon. Although the incorrect pricing was shown on Virgin’s website during this time, members were still able to access the correct price by calling Virgin.
If you booked a Velocity Reward Seat on the Virgin Australia website last Tuesday, you may wish to check that you were charged the correct amount of taxes. If you believe you were overcharged, contact the Velocity Membership Contact Centre to arrange a refund of the price difference.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Points needed for flight increased?
