Delta to Honor Super-Low Mistake Fares

Dec. 26, 2013— -- It's what some travelers would surely call a day-after-Christmas miracle.

Air travelers could book Delta flights for very low prices earlier today, some as low as $20 round-trip. The airline told ABC News that it would honor these "mistake fares."

The frequent fliers on the popular message boards on FlyerTalk.com began reporting the "mistake fares," as they're called in the industry, at 9 a.m. today.

By 10:45 a.m., forum participants began reporting that the fares had disappeared. The low fares were available on Delta.com, Expedia, Priceline and elsewhere.

Delta customers quickly took to Twitter to try to find out if the fares would be honored.

"For a portion of the morning today, some prices on delta.com and other booking channels were incorrectly displayed, resulting in lower than usual fares for customers," the airline said in a statement. "The situation has been resolved, and the correct prices are being displayed. Delta will honor any fares purchased at the incorrect price."

One FlyerTalk participant by the name of Wanderluster reported booking four of the low fares: Chicago to Miami for $55; Erie, Pa., to Miami for $47; Salt Lake City to Erie, Pa., for $65, and Chicago to Erie, Pa., for $90.

As of 1 p.m., Google Flights still showed extremely low prices on Delta. ABC News found $47 fares from New York City to Los Angeles, a flight that would typically cost about $400.

The Delta Air Lines website booking engine was also experiencing problems. A message that reads "It looks like you may be trying to visit a place that doesn't exist" appeared when flight booking was attempted.

When travelers were able to book fares on United Airlines earlier this year for $0, the airline did honor those fares.

Delta's contract of carriage states that in the event of an "erroneous" fare, " Delta reserves the right to cancel the ticket purchase and refund all amounts paid by the purchaser or, at the purchaser's option, to reissue the ticket for the correct fare." But rules set forth by the Department of Transportation state otherwise, saying that an airline must honor a purchased ticket, mistake fare or not.