Southwest Airlines offers half off, then double charges

AN AIRLINE'S attempt to thank its online friends with a half-price ticket sale has backfired with customers inadvertently being billed multiple times.

Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Ashley Dillon blamed a "technology glitch" for the duplicate billings to debit and credit cards.

She said the US discount airline didn't yet know how many took advantage of their "luv2like" promotion that gave customers who booked flights on Friday a 50 per cent discount on certain fares.

She said officials at the airline were working to refund erroneous charges.

Frustrated customers have reported waiting hours to speak to customer service reps. Ms Dillon apologised.

The promotion was to celebrate the airlines' three million Facebook fans milestone.