Alitalia Now Honoring Japanese Promo Code!

ThePointsGuy has a report that Alitalia is now honoring the Japanese promo code that I had posted about last week, and which was the talk of the frequent traveler industry for some time.

Here is the letter from Alitalia from their Facebook page:

Dear Alitalia fans,



Thank you for the interest you took in our Facebook Global Offer. Alitalia was the first airline to create a global event of this kind for the Internet community: the most wide-ranging Alitalia promotion ever.



We offered a worldwide 25% discount, with the exception of Japan, where for technical reasons we were forced to create a unique E-Coupon worth 25.000 yen (approximately 250 euro) to be used exclusively for the purchase of flights from Tokyo or Osaka. This redemption rules were clearly stated in the Japanese version of the Facebook offer. 



Unfortunately, due to a malfunction, the system did not recognize the limitation of this unique e-coupon to be used only on routes from Japan. As a result, the system erroneously allowed the voucher discount of 25,000 yen to be used on all routes in Alitalia’s global network. 



The news spread rapidly online and in a matter of a few hours our Japanese website reported a dramatic surge in visits and purchase requests from several geographical areas.



This unusual occurrence on the Japanese website triggered a security system alert which, considering the high percentage of number of requests at zero cost, froze all transactions. The promotion’s objective was to spur and increase the sale of tickets at a discounted price, and not to issue tickets for free or at a minimal cost.



However, since Alitalia intends to protect clients who have committed a, albeit minimal, amount with their credit card, we confirm the validity of the transactions requested on the Japanese site with a value greater than 1 euro cent. Those clients will soon receive an e-mail with their ticket.



Finally, in consideration of the great success of the promotion, we decided to extend the 25% discount offer for two additional days. 



Alitalia Facebook Team

So it looks like any flight that was made that was at least 1 Euro cent, will be honored even if you used the promo code! Great news for those folks who were brave enough to act spontaneously and book a flight on this promo. This goes to prove that not all things that are “too good to be true” will end up backfiring. 🙂 (Although, I can’t say that Alitalia’s executives or board of directors will be happy with whoever the programming team is on their website.)