FlySafair is dishing out clapbacks amid backlash to its R12 ticket “birthday sale” this week. The South African airline has come under fire after being accused of “deceiving” the public about the real cost of tickets.
FLYSAFAIR RESPONDS TO R12 TICKET BACKLASH
On Wednesday, 6 May, FlySafair launched its 12th “Birthday Dash”, offering 50 000 one-way tickets priced at R12 each. Ticket allocation was handled through a virtual waiting room.
Unlike previous years, the airline did state that the price would not include taxes and fuel surcharges. This was due to rising global tensions in the Middle East, which have spiked fuel costs. However, FlySafair was adamant that even with the additional costs, which were visible during the checkout process, the tickets were “significantly lower than normal prices”.
On social media, South Africans bemoaned the “hidden” cost of the tickets, which far exceeded R12.
One influencer revealed that two tickets in his basket had amounted to almost R4 000!
Responding to the backlash, FlySafair posted a TikTok mocking consumers who had not read the terms and conditions of its birthday sale.
In the comments section, the flight company continued to clap back at critics.
“We never said it was only R12”, the administrators of the page replied to one complaint. To others, FlySafair posted cheeky memes.
@flysafair R12 base fare + fuel surcharge + taxes = still worth the dash! ✈️ #FlySafair12thBirthdayDash ♬ original sound – FlySafair
THOUSANDS OF TIX UNSOLD
Meanwhile, reports have indicated that thousands of FlySafair R12 tickets went unsold during the birthday sale on Wednesday.
In previous years, tickets, which included taxes and fuel surcharges, had sold out within hours.
MyBroadBand also reported that the airline had leaked private information of its users.
This was done via the sale site’s bulletin chat API, which provided details of users participating in the sale, including names, IP addresses, and email addresses.
It was later confirmed that the chat board had been removed and that the API data had been cleared.
