Flying Blue (Air France, KLM, and Other Partners) - Need help to find "R" class availability online

Original Ticket on Air France:
Departure on May 6: Delhi->Paris->Washington DC
Return on Sep 16: Washington DC->Paris->Delhi

First leg on May 6 was ok and traveled as mentioned above.

I need to change the return date of my mother-in-law's ticket for which I called AF reservations, and the agent said $90 just for changing the return date, which I'm fine with.

I asked for return date around Oct 26 to Nov 4, and for all these dates, the agent said that the original class of booking "R" was not available, so I'll have to pay the higher fare, and that the fare difference was about $240 additional, making the total change $330.

He said that I can keep calling them every now and then to find out if the booking class "R" is available, in which case the change would only be $90.

I called up web support, and they said since it's an international ticket, that I can only check class availability by calling them on phone.

My question is - any way for me to keep checking on the web for the "R" class? And what are my chances? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

I'm not too familiar with the tool, but I think in expertflyer you can set up an alert that tells you when/if certain fare classes become available on certain flights.

You subscribe to it for a few bucks per month and you set up the alert. If it can save you the difference in price, it may be well worth the investment.

I'm sure some of the more experienced flyers here can provide more in depth and detailed help.

Good luck.

R class is very, very cheap. You can check availability by looking up if AF still sells the flight for the same price that you paid for it. This is unlikely to be the case. And it is unlikely that your flight will become so much cheaper until the departure date that R will be available again. My suggestion is: if you have to change the date, do it now before it is getting even more expensive.

R class is very, very cheap. You can check availability by looking up if AF still sells the flight for the same price that you paid for it. This is unlikely to be the case. And it is unlikely that your flight will become so much cheaper until the departure date that R will be available again. My suggestion is: if you have to change the date, do it now before it is getting even more expensive.

I completely agree with you. I would change the ticket now, for the relatively low price to pay. If you wait too much, it can cost you a fortune.

Despite what the agent said or led you to believe, it is unlikely that R class will become available again.

In the meantime, all the other fare classes will also fill up, or those with advance purchase requirements will no longer be available, so when you come to rebook, there will only be far, far more expensive booking classes left to rebook into.

The total charge of $330 is likely the minimum you would ever be able to pay (as it would be unusual for R class to open up). But as time goes on, that $330 minimum will start to climb (it probably already has).

If you really have to change flights, you should do so now.

If you can manage to keep the flights as they are (and only change if R class becomes available on a different date), then just keep checking.