Image: Ethix.org

Well this deal turned out to be a bust.

Southwest Airlines held a Facebook promotion on Friday to celebrate its three millionth Facebook “like.” To commemorate this non-event, the airline offered a 50 percent discount to travelers who booked on seven specific days with the promo code “LUV2LIKE.”

Of course, people rushed the site to take advantage of the discount. However, that led to what the company calls a “website performance issue” that led to tons of people being charged multiple times for their tickets. One man named John Seymour wrote on the company’s Facebook page, “I had $4000 limit on my card, I now have zero available because of 25 confirmations.”

Another woman, Bella Ventresca, said she received “36 confirmations” totaling $7,000 in just two hours.

Some people praised the airline for its quick response. Others said their credit card companies had to take action in the face of some obviously suspicious activities and criticized the company for being inaccessible during the brouhaha. Still, the company declares that the issue has been resolved, no doubt in order to quickly move past the gaffe. According to the airline, refunds are being issued, anyone who got slapped with any overdraft charges should send them the paperwork to be reimbursed, and they took a moment to pat themselves on the back, giving all the credit to the speedy response of their employees.

Will you still fly on Southwest?