Qantas flight lands with damaged tyre & wing; Accidentally sells business class tickets at 85% discount

Passengers and pilots aboard a Qantas flight from Rome experienced an unexpected incident involving tyre damage. On August 24, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport heading to the West Coast of Australia. During the take-off, a piece of the plane’s tyre tread separated and punctured the right wing. Despite the damage, the plane landed safely in Perth after nearly 16 hours of flight. The damage was only discovered after landing.

Qantas Airways Ltd. has apologized for the inconvenience caused and thanked the passengers for their understanding. A spokesperson stated, “We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience and thank them for their understanding.”

Ticket Pricing Error

In a separate issue, Qantas faced a ticket pricing error that led to a significant discount on first-class return tickets between the US and Australia. On August 22, the airline accidentally sold these tickets for less than A$5,000 ($3,390), which is about 85% off the usual premium fare. This error, attributed to a coding mistake, allowed 300 tickets to be purchased within eight hours.

Qantas is rebooking these customers into business class, offering a saving of about 65% off the normal fare. The airline has decided to absorb the costs associated with this mistake rather than cancel the bookings, as it seeks to improve its reputation following recent issues with cancellations and lost luggage.

“This is a case where the fare was actually too good to be true,” Qantas stated. The airline described the rebookings as “a gesture of goodwill” and offered customers the option of a full refund. Earlier this year, Qantas agreed to pay a A$100 million penalty and provide compensation for selling tickets on flights that were already canceled.