It's been over a decade since I have travelled to Europe so I am asking for advice regarding the airline ticket purchase process since much has changed. To put things in context I would like to fly to London on July 24, 2012, and return on August 10, 2012. I plan to use United Airline mileage points to purchase the ticket. Question 1: I read somewhere that it might be worth the extra bucks to have the reservation made by a United travel agent over the phone rather than booking on line. Supposedly the agents have access to more flight information than what is shown on the web page. For example, just to test the system I looked at what is available on July 14 since that is the latest date for which I can make a reservation today (i.e., 330 days in advance). Every itinerary costs 55,000 points for one way travel even though the cost for a round trip flight to London is only 60,000 points. I called up United who told me that if I fly on July 13 I can be routed through Frankfort and the one way trip will cost only 30,000 points. I checked the web site for July 13 and cannot find any itinerary that costs less then 55,000 points. The agent said that on August 27, the date that reservations can be made for travel on July 24, I can have my reservation changed at no cost provided that the flight numbers do not change, or I can spend $75 if some aspect of that itinerary is changed. It appears to me that a live agent is more useful in booking a flight than trying to work just off the web site. Thoughts? Experiences? Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Phoenix, AZ, USA
1035 posts
Don't be shocked if those dates are blocked out due to the Olympics.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1219 posts
Hi Goer. Did you click on the option to show Star Alliance flights? For instance I put in June 6 to 13 and it showed only 110,000 miles. But if click on the Star Alliance option, it shows Lufthansa flights that you can book online for 60,000. Also, note that the 'mileage' price of seats varies over time in the same way as paid seats. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Freedonia
15144 posts
Even though seats may be "available" 330 days out, they may not actually be "bookable." As noted, if the computer thinks they can sell those seats, they won't be made available as mileage purchases. Or, they may, closer to the travel date, if the computer thinks they won't sell. Everything is computerized now. As noted, during the Olympics, holidays, certain festivals, FF seats will be extremely difficult to get and you'll have to pay high mileage. They key, I find, is to be flexible on dates and flexible on itinerary. You may have to route yourself different than what you'd prefer.
Posted by
Kansas
1175 posts
We always use American airlines and book on their website using FF miles at 330 days. He who hesitates is lost on FF miles since every day the seats disappear. What works for us is to book the dates available and reserve the seats you can get, not always the ones you want. As seats open up or as you might get a sympathetic agent on the phone, you can get the two seats together that you want. It may take a few tries but the night shift agents are the best to work with. Here's aother tip--since we travel with carry-on luggage only, we arrive early at the departure points and see if we can hop on an earlier flight. Often times we can and cut out some of the FF bad scheduling or long layovers that often come with using FF miles.
Posted by
Overland Park, KS, USA
16 posts
Probably worth calling even if a hassle. I had a similar issue when trying to book my Trip via FF on-line, then paying for rest of family. Booked my flight, including seats. When I returned to purchase, said flight was not available. Called and the agent said they have a different system. She booked the flight, waived the fee. Probably more detail than you need, bottom line if you have issues on-line, call and mention them (don't be an irate customer, I'm convinced she waived the fee because we discussed the weather first). Good luck!
Posted by
Morrison, CO, USA
891 posts
We use United/Star Alliance FF flights to get to Europe & return. What I do is my homework online to look at the flights and connections. Then I wait until about 11pm Denver time to call and speak with an agent. If that one sounds rushed or uninterested, I say thanks and let the call go. Then I call right back and get someone else, who a lot of the times is helpful with suggestions. Sometimes it does take calling every night to get a flight that has FF seats open. From talking to these agents it sounds like United opens their seats for FF miles before Lufthansa does. usually i need a Lufthansa connection and quite frankly they are very comfortable to fly with. I do think if you get a mileage flight that's acceptable, you should grab it because of the Olympics. I agree, go with the live agent and have a great trip!
Posted by
OP
Seattle, Wa, USA
449 posts
Here are some more thoughts on this matter. This morning at about 1:30 am PDST I checked on line for a one-way Seattle to London flight. The only ones shown for United were priced at 55,000 mileage points. I called up the reservation agent and she was able to find a flight on Continental Airlines that cost only 30,000 mileage points. So, it seems for the extra $25 making a reservation by phone is the best way to go for limited seats.
Also, as was pointed out, the availability of FF seats is driven by demand. Just because seats become available 330 days before the flight day it doesn't mean that FF seats are available. This has been told to me by several airline agents during the past several days. FF seats might be rare 330 days before the travel day but might become available during the next 11 months. I figure that either I grab the first seat that gets me to London on a specific date for 30,000 points though the departure hour might be inconvenient, or just plug away day after day until something better comes up (if not I will pay a higher price for an available seat).