- FlySafair’s mega-sale returned on Wednesday after a two-year break, with a million people trying to grab the cheapest fares in South Africa.
- The airline sold 30,000 tickets at R8 each in just seven hours, becoming the most talked about brand on social media.
- But some hopeful shoppers who’d spent the day glued to their screens expecting to exit the waiting room and be allowed to book their R8 flights have been critical of the sale.
- Much of the frustration has been directed at FlySafair’s randomised selection process, which didn’t offer preferential access to the booking platform on a first-come-first-served basis.
- FlySafair, at one time, did reward shoppers for their eagerness and patience as opposed to pure chance, but changed its methods following complaints.
- The airline says both methods have been criticised and that it can’t please everybody is “a fact that we’ve had to make peace with over the years.”
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Low-cost airline FlySafair’s R8 ticket sale dominated headlines and social media on Wednesday, with a million people trying to get their hands on the cheapest fares in South Africa. Some of the unlucky ones are angry, but the airline says it’s made peace with those negative reactions.
FlySafair’s annual mega-sale started in 2015, with the airline offering a limited number of tickets to patient bargain-hunters. These sales have grown in popularity every year since, except in 2021 and 2022, when the promotion was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its crippling impact on the travel industry.
The sale re-emerged this year after a two-year break. FlySafair offered 30,000 tickets at R8 each and sold out in seven hours. But a million people who entered the waiting room, designed to limit strain on the website, never got through to the actual booking platform.
While the R8 ticket promotion made FlySafair the most talked about brand on Wednesday, it’s also received criticism from those who spent their day glued to…