There's nothing quite like seeing a 👀 pop up in your email inbox. We love to see it. You love to see it. Because it can only mean one thing: mistake fare!
If you've been around all this year, you were in for a treat. We saw a record-breaking 16-yes, sixteen-mistake fares. For reference, we saw 6 in 2024, 9 in 2023, and 7 in 2022.
Why did we see so many mistake fares this year? It's difficult to say with absolute certainty in every case. But here are a couple of potential reasons.
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AI and dynamic pricing glitches: As airlines lean more on AI to automate pricing, we're likely seeing more mismatches, especially when fares sync with OTAs or budget carriers show unbundled fares.
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New airline partnerships: Roughly half of this year's mistake fares stemmed from newly formed partnerships, where one airline priced a roundtrip itinerary at a one-way fare, while the operating carrier maintained standard pricing.
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More premium fare mistakes: At least 4 of the 16 involved business-class seats, suggesting some airlines may be struggling to correctly price newer or expanded premium cabin inventory.
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International carrier IT issues: About 12 of the 16 mistake fares came from non-US airlines. Many of these carriers may have less robust IT systems or fewer guardrails in place.
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Intentional pricing: Some of these deals may not be errors at all, but strategic fare drops from airlines looking to fill excess capacity on certain routes.
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Here's a look at 2025's mistake fares. Want the skinny on how to find these on your own, or tips for how to snag one when we send you the push notification (ahem, 24-hour rule)? Check out our guide! |
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Heads up! Mistake fares are only available for Going Premium or Elite members. Want to catch all the ultra-low fares that roll through in 2026? Upgrade now!
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Europe - $250-$310 roundtrip |
Regular price: $800 roundtrip (up to 69% off)
Departure city: New York City (JFK)
Travel period: Jan 2026
We were about to push send on this email, highlighting our 15 mistake fares of 2025, when this bad boy rolled in-bringing us to 16. Sigh. We love a good mistake fare in the bottom of the ninth. Hope all you cheap-flight lovers have a blissful time in Vienna, Prague, Hamburg, Munich, Zurich, or Berlin if you snagged the deal! (Bonus: This mistake fare also included premium economy seats in the $420-$500 range.)
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South Korea - $359 roundtrip |
Regular price: $1,200 roundtrip (70% off)
Departure city: Seattle (SEA)
Travel period: Apr-Aug 2026
Days before Thanksgiving, we gave thanks to Alaska Airlines for this sub-$400 roundtrip fare to Seoul (one of our Where To Go in 2026 picks).
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Mongolia - $681 roundtrip |
Regular price: $1,500 roundtrip (55% off)
Departure city: New York City (JFK)
Travel period: Mar 2026, Sept 2026
Something must've been in the water, because just a day before the South Korea mistake fare dropped, we sent this one-the cheapest we've ever seen from anywhere in the US to Mongolia. Available through Asiana.
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India - $458-$574 roundtrip |
Regular price: $1,200 roundtrip (up to 62% off)
Departure cities: Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), New York City (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), Washington (IAD)
Travel period: Dec 2025-Mar 2026 (depending on departure airport)
A mistake fare from not one, not two, but seven airports on both coasts plus the Midwest? What a gem. If you were itching to get to New Delhi, or open to using it as a jumping-off point for deeper India travel, this was a no-brainer.
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Regular price: $800 roundtrip (70% off)
Departure cities: Boston (BOS), Newark (EWR), New York City (JFK)
Travel period: Nov 2025-May 2026
Get a load of this. We first sourced this deal from JFK to Dublin at $239. A few members snagged it. Within 30 minutes, Aer Lingus caught its mistake and began wiping it. Fares jumped to about $350 roundtrip (still not bad). The next day, the mistake fare was back, at the $239 price point and with additional departures from Boston and Newark. It was a marathon 24 hours at Going, but to all you members who snagged the deal, we say: Sláinte!
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Regular price: $1,000 (76% off)
Departure city: New York City (JFK)
Travel period: Aug-Nov 2025, Feb-May 2026
We don't usually send one-way fares because we assume people want to get back home. But when we do send them out, they're good. Like this one. This would've been a prime candidate for using points to return home, as you could've booked a Cathay ticket for 38k one-way plus $159 in taxes.
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It's time to cross Alaska off your bucket list.
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Regular price: $1,000 (83% off)
Departure city: New York City (JFK)
Travel period: Aug-Nov 2025, Feb-Apr 2026
Someone must've been snoozin' at the OTA ticket counter in August because two transpacific one-way fares, for less than $250 a pop, in less than 24 hours? Seems like someone needed a summer vacation.
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Manchester - $1,569 roundtrip in business class |
Regular price: $4,000 roundtrip (61% off)
Departure city: New York City (JFK)
Travel period: Jan-Mar 2026
A day when we find fancy, lie-flat seats to the UK for barely more than the cost of a roundtrip economy ticket is a good day. Google Flights tried to pull a fast one over on us, displaying prices in the $2,900 range, but once you clicked through to book with Aer Lingus, those $1,569 roundtrip fares were just a click away.
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New Zealand - $605 roundtrip |
Regular price: $1,500 roundtrip (60% off)
Departure city: Raleigh (RDU)
Travel period: Nov-Mar 2026
Peak New Zealand summer at the cheapest prices we'd ever seen from the East Coast? This is what dreams were made of. One of our members who booked the deal said it best: At this price, you couldn't afford not to go.
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Manchester - $1,351-$1,373 roundtrip in business class |
Regular price: $4,000 roundtrip (up to 66% off)
Departure cities: New York City (JFK), Orlando (MCO)
Travel period: Dec 2025
Lie-flat business class to UK Christmas markets at a fraction of the usual cost. Need we say more?
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Regular price: $1,000 roundtrip (55% off)
Departure city: San Francisco (SFO)
Travel period: Aug-Sept 2025
This was an all-time-low fare from SF to India, even lower than some of the ridiculous deals we saw in 2020. Plus, a long layover in Bengaluru on the return leg meant you could stretch your legs.
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Europe - from $866 roundtrip in business class |
Regular price: $4,000 roundtrip (up to 78% off)
Departure cities: Dallas (DFW), Miami (MIA), Philadelphia (PHL)
Travel period: Jul 2025-Feb 2026 (depending on departure and arrival airport)
Vienna, Prague, Copenhagen, Paris, Milan, Malta, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Sweden, Norway, Madrid, Zurich. Take your pick. Business class to Europe in the summer for cheaper than you'd find in economy? Yeah, we did that.
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Puerto Rico - $98 roundtrip |
Regular price: $500 roundtrip (80% off)
Departure city: Providence (PVD)
Travel period: Apr-May 2025
This mistake fare was for anyone who's ever been burned by small-airport pricing. Providence, you earned it. And on full-service JetBlue to boot!
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Regular price: $1,000 roundtrip (71% off)
Departure city: Atlanta (ATL)
Travel period: Apr-Jun 2025
All-time-low fares on Copa. 10/10. No notes.
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Regular price: $1,000 roundtrip (67% off)
Departure city: Dallas (DFW)
Travel period: Feb-Mar 2025, Sept-Nov 2025
United, United, United. We expected more from you than these all-time-low fares from DFW to São Paulo... but we sure were glad to see it.
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Madrid - $603 roundtrip in premium economy |
Regular price: $2,500 roundtrip (76% off)
Departure cities: Cleveland (CLE), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Miami (MIA), Orlando (MCO), New Orleans (MSY), Philadelphia (PHL), Raleigh (RDU), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), St. Louis (STL), West Palm Beach (PBI)
Travel period: Jan-Apr, Aug, Nov 2025 (depending on departure airport)
We kicked off 2025 in style. Sent January 7, in premium economy, from nearly a dozen airports, to Europe. Boom. Happy New Year.
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