V Air's 520-TWD flight tickets go on sale, then crash immediately – Netizens slam: 'This is just blatant deception!'

▲ The special offer sale was shut down on the first day due to system errors, with V Air posting an apology on its official website. (Photo / Screenshot from V Air's official website)

By Chen Rui-zhong, Taipei

The low-cost airline V Air officially began selling tickets for its inaugural Bangkok flight at 10:00 AM today (December 3). With prices having dropped to 520 TWD after online promotions, many netizens waited eagerly at their computers to snag a ticket. However, the website became unusable due to system issues, prompting users to flood V Air’s Facebook fan page with complaints, some even lashing out: 'This is just blatant deception!'

Since the ticket sale occurred during work hours, many office workers tried to book tickets while on the job, but the booking page wouldn’t load, repeatedly displaying system error messages such as 'The service is unavailable.' Despite refreshing the page for over an hour, they still couldn’t complete their purchase, leaving users highly frustrated.

▲ Many netizens who couldn't buy tickets due to system problems took to V Air’s Facebook page to voice their protests. (Photo / Screenshot from V Air’s Facebook fan page)

Due to today’s technical issues, V Air’s Facebook page has been flooded with criticism, with one user commenting:'Do you know we’re risking getting caught by our bosses just to waste half an hour with you?'Another said:'Are there as many tickets available as there are Formosan black bears?'Others tried to make light of the situation, with one posting:'I got mine!! I got mine!! I got mine!! It’s important, so I’ll say it three times!! But it’s Tigerair >'<|||”

▲ One user claimed to have secured a ticket, but it was with 'Tigerair.'

Regarding the V Air booking system malfunction, V Air spokesperson Tang Dun-tai stated that after multiple checks, it was found that the sustained high traffic caused system instability, resulting in slow progress in completing bookings. V Air sincerely apologizes for this incident. The airline has temporarily disabled the booking function to conduct further inspections and will announce a new sale time separately.