when searching an availability tool like EF, do i look for seats in Q or seats in A?

thanks from a bleary eyed FTer trying to book a MR on DL.com and wondering if the Q0 is why the CO.com codeshare won't show

Look for seats in A for equipment that have first.

If the flight is an all coach flight, check for Q.

What legs are you looking for a CO codeshare on?

it's the iah-slc leg that continues on w/atl-msy return

i see A availability on EF and ita but it won't pull up on DL.com

i even tried it as a plain o/w iah-slc and still the evening DL /CO codeshare flights (2953 or 2884) don't show on dl.com

when searching an availability tool like EF, do i look for seats in Q or seats in A?

thanks from a bleary eyed FTer trying to book a MR on DL.com and wondering if the Q0 is why the CO.com codeshare won't show

Not to sound like Alex Trebek, but here goes..."The answer is...both!" There are two components in YUP/QUP type fares. The first is availability in the fare class indicated by the first letter of the fare basis code. The second is availability of the FC seat in the class of service the fare books into for the "UP" part. In this case using the QUP... FBC there has to first be availability in Q and also A class for you to get both the fare and the seat in FC. If just Q is available and no A you can still get the itinerary to price with the QUP... fare however: a) you won't be sitting up front and/or b) there are usually non-"UP" coach fares in Q class or higher that will price lower than the QUP... and since the website is programmed to price itineraries at the lowest fare that segment will default to the lower fare and book into the corresponding fare class. Does that all make sense? If not, you certainly aren't alone. One more caveat with "UP" fares is that they are usually not valid for codeshare segments. You can check the rules of the fare and if there is flight specificity, ie valid for flights 001-1999, 2201-2399, etc. or it specifically says "not valid on codeshare flights operated by other carriers" or similar wording, then you're out of luck. Space in the FC cabin on other carriers, even a codeshare, comes at a premium and usually a QUP or even a YUP fare wouldn't cover the cost the airline would have to pay the codeshare operator for the FC seat.

Original fare rules show:

FLIGHTS: THE FARE COMPONENT MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
DL FLIGHTS 1 THROUGH 1904
DL FLIGHTS 1975 THROUGH 7649
DL FLIGHTS 7830 THROUGH 9999
IN COMBINATION WITH
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
DL FLIGHTS 1 THROUGH 1904
DL FLIGHTS 1905 THROUGH 1974
DL FLIGHTS 1975 THROUGH 9999.
THE FARE COMPONENT MUST BE ON
ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
DL FLIGHTS 1 THROUGH 1904
DL FLIGHTS 1975 THROUGH 7649
DL FLIGHTS 7830 THROUGH 9999.
NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
1. NO DELTA SHUTTLE.
2. EXPRESSJET /XE/ OPERATED FLIGHTS MUST CONNECT
TO A DELTA FLIGHT.

This means that the flight SHOULD be valid. Try calling the res-center and seeing what they can do. I honestly NEVER see the CO-operated codeshares on the IAH-SLC run available on the web. I actually think I'll call about an itinerary that they just changed on me so I don't have to leave at 6am now.

Thanks for suggesting the CO operated flights :) I may be able to change my Q-up that I just booked. By the way, where did you find those flight codes? I can't seem to find them in the Delta system.

One more caveat with "UP" fares is that they are usually not valid for codeshare segments. You can check the rules of the fare and if there is flight specificity, ie valid for flights 001-1999, 2201-2399, etc. or it specifically says "not valid on codeshare flights operated by other carriers" or similar wording, then you're out of luck.

I don't know if this is reflective of the general situation or not even with United Airlines (UA), but my UA ticket stock issued _UP-type fares seem to permit codeshares operated by USAir (US) too.

Thanks for the informative summary. ^^

This means that the flight SHOULD be valid. Try calling the res-center and seeing what they can do. I honestly NEVER see the CO-operated codeshares on the IAH-SLC run available on the web. I actually think I'll call about an itinerary that they just changed on me so I don't have to leave at 6am now.

Thanks for suggesting the CO operated flights :) I may be able to change my Q-up that I just booked. By the way, where did you find those flight codes? I can't seem to find them in the Delta system.

The CO codeshares were listed on both ITA and EF.

fwiw, iirc, one of them was CO 752. Problem is for some reason they don't even show on DL's flight schedules. Those were the flights that made this run worthwhile for me.

If ya find a way to make those flights price out, please post or PM me.

good luck

In this case using the QUP... FBC there has to first be availability in Q and also A class for you to get both the fare and the seat in FC.
This is not completely true...there has to be availability in A OR Q but there does not have to be both.