JAL Cancels Discount Campaign After Website Glitches

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:11 JST, March 10, 2023

Japan Airlines Co. has canceled a sales campaign where all one-way domestic tickets were made ¥6,600, after a surge in customers on the company’s website triggered a connection issue.

People began accessing the site in mass just before the start of the campaign, and after the launch many were unable to connect to the reservation page.

JAL was scheduled to run the discount “JAL Smile Campaign” from 12:00 a.m. Thursday through Tuesday.

Tickets that passengers were able to book before the sale was canceled remain valid, according to the airline company.

No decision has been made on whether to hold a new sales campaign.

JAL had planned to offer the discounts ahead of a relaxation of mask-wearing rules, which have been in place to combat COVID-19.

The airline said the page access issue was resolved at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

There was no impact on flight operations. No evidence of a cyber attack has been found, and the exact cause is being investigated. JAL has apologized for the inconvenience.