El Al airlines say they will honor a round-trip airfare between New York and Israel sold by accident this week.

Story highlights

The El Al Airlines flight typically costs somewhere around $1,300

The airline blamed an unnamed outside contractor for the error

For two hours Monday, the stunning deal drew hordes of excited travelers

New York CNN  — 

Cheap round-trip airfare between New York and Israel, sold by accident this week in some cases for less than $400, will be honored for thousands of lucky customers, El Al Airlines announced Thursday.

“Although a review of this occurrence has not been finalized, a decision was made to accommodate El Al passengers who purchased these low fares because we value our reputation of offering excellent customer service,” said El Al Vice President Danny Saadon.

The El Al Airlines flight typically costs somewhere around $1,300. The airline blamed an outside contractor it uses – which was not named – for the error.

For two hours Monday, the stunning deal drew hordes of excited travelers before the airline had time to make the fix.

“It’s really nice to see that the airline is standing behind a mistake they made,” said Brooklyn resident Joe Mansour. “We’re doing a nice family trip for Thanksgiving, probably a group of around 20.

“I’m just really thankful to the airline, in today’s day and age where people make mistakes and money’s tight.”

Airline officials say they will also allow the tickets to be changed for direct flights for an extra $75 each way, or get a refund.

CNN’s Pauline Kim contributed to this report