London to Parma for £14.99

Why it caught our eye

A genuine deep discount rather than a mistake. It books like any normal fare, but it is the kind of price this route reaches a few weeks a year at most.

The details

Prices move the moment a fare gets attention. If the exact date in the link is gone, try the days either side of it. The same odd price often survives on a neighbouring date.

Before you book

1. Search the dates from the link above, then check the days either side. That trick works more often than it should.
2. Book directly with the airline where that is an option. Agency relays take longer to ticket, and time matters here.
3. Make sure a ticket number is issued before you plan anything else around the trip.
4. If it looks like an error, hold off on non-refundable hotels and transfers for a couple of weeks.
5. Do not call the airline to confirm the price is real. That is the fastest way to lose it.

Questions we get asked

Yes. It is about 42% below what this route normally sells for around November, which is why it made the desk.

Error fares usually last from minutes to a few hours before the airline corrects them. Ordinary deep discounts can last days. If it is tagged a likely error fare, treat it like it is already gone and move quickly.

In the US, a cancelled mistake fare must be refunded and documented expenses covered. In the UK and EU it is a matter of contract law, and airlines usually honour the fare anyway, roughly 70 to 80 percent of the time. Never build non-refundable plans around an error fare until your ticket is issued.

The bottom line

Checked by the desk before it went up. Cheap only means something next to what is normal.

Want the next one while it is still live? The Telegram channel is where the desk posts as fares come in.