MilesBuzz! - What airlines release award seats near departure?

What airlines have a historical pattern of releasing awards seats for empty seats as the departure date nears?

What airlines will not release award seats even if the seat goes empty?

Have you noticed a pattern for domestic or international?

Anectdotally it seems like you can get AA to manually clear (call the agent, have the agent call a different dept.) if you are within 2 days of departure.

It seems like NWA releases awards seats a week before departure.

Any other experiences?

I've *heard* that CO opens some seats just within 14 days of departure-- but then, one has to pay the expedite fee for processing within 14 days.

Consider that CO seems to offer fewer award seats than other airlines, however. YMMV.

Good luck!

I would think that all the majors will release inventory as the date nears and they realize they're not going to sell the tickets. But there's no way to quantify or put reason to it since there are so many factors. In summertime they release less since more flights are full, and vice versa in the winter or off-peak travel times.

As you wrote, AA seems to be pretty good about releasing inventory close to the flight date. I think some of it has to do with status, especially EXP. But more so it's dependent on how full the flight is and whether or not the yield management systems thinks they can get some walk-up fares.

I can never book the 70k CO BF GIG-EWR/EWR-GIG ticket in advance. But I can always do it one or two days before departure. I've come to the point where I almost rely on it because it's never failed me.

QF releases award seats 24-72 hrs before departure. Award seats come out of the same inventory as upgrade award seats, so in reality when this window opens, there are several waitlisted upgrades which are confirmed eating up the opened inventory. You would need to be lucky to get in during that window for a new award seat request.

It seems like not only does Delta always release more seats closer and closer to the day I want to travel, but the flight choices become better. Maybe it's a way for them to collect the $75 or so to "expedite" an electronic ticket :rolleyes: .

AirTran seems to release award seats near departure. I have never had success booking more than four weeks in advance, but the past few times I've been looking for a ticket at the last minute I have reliably been offered rewards seats on flights leaving the next morning. I think the loosening of caps on rewards seats happens at least four or five days in advance of the flights.

United is also known for releasing award seats less than 7 days out, and in my case (using US Airways miles to buy a UA award ticket) the Saver award availability on united.com is quite different from what the US Chairman's Preferred desk offers. Plenty of flights that don't show up on the United Web site have open award seats when calling US; not sure if this is the result of US drawing from a different bucket of award seats or a relaxed capacity control for Star Alliance elites.

Back in May, I successfully booked a roundtrip from IAD-LGA using UA miles on the date of departure!

Awards on US metal seem to be much more restrictive the closer you get to departure date, especially in summer.

I can never book the 70k CO BF GIG-EWR/EWR-GIG ticket in advance. But I can always do it one or two days before departure. I've come to the point where I almost rely on it because it's never failed me.

what's the good ol' expedite fee on this bad boy? :rolleyes:

gotta love expedite fees on electronic tickets. remind me again what they are expediting?

gotta love expedite fees on electronic tickets. remind me again what they are expediting?

Expediting the nickel-and-diming process. :D

My understanding, with UA anyway, is that yield management becomes much more "flexible" within the last 7 days and particularly within the last 48 hours. A key component is to get a flight into the system, and waitlist for the desired time and date, and, as always, be flexible. Supervisors appear to have much more descretion close-in, although that doesn't always preclude "making it happen" further out.

This has been our experience with the "saver" award system at UA...

Pat

At least on LAX-LHR-LAX and SJC-NRT-SJC, American without fail releases add'l J seats 7 days prior to departure... I usually just use the 25K to upgrade but I've had the same experience on all-miles tickets... 8 days before it's "unavailable", the next day it is (at a $75 fee, of course :rolleyes: )

I imagine it's the same on other routes too.

Any input on BA's award seats release timing? I'm trying to change my BA travel dates on my QF award ticket...

Any input on BA's award seats release timing? I'm trying to change my BA travel dates on my QF award ticket...

Nw & KLM do release a lot of seats within a few days of departure, depending on the flight. Its all a function of the yield management systems giving up on filling the plane. The 'problem' is that the system may value, say on a transatlantic flight, a low fare ticket at $200 one way. But it considers the value of a frequent flyer ticket at a really low number, lets say $20. So the system is designed to not release the seat for FFs until there is at least a 90% chance it won't be sold to a revenue customer, cause if its a 20% chance the expected value of 20% x 200 = $40 is greater than the frequent flyer seat, worth only $20. Since flights can book quite fast on occasion, the systems will go for the revenue passengers until late in the booking curve, or if there are really large amounts of unsold seats somewhat close to departure.

I've *heard* that CO opens some seats just within 14 days of departure-- but then, one has to pay the expedite fee for processing within 14 days.

Consider that CO seems to offer fewer award seats than other airlines, however. YMMV.

Good luck!

Jusr added another traveler to an itinerary last week on CO. Booked on Wednesday for a Thursday Departure R/T LAX DCA 22,500 (?) +$10 Security Fee + $ 50 expedited ticketing fee

Expirement with their new calendar lots of availability within the short term, hardly any availability over one month out

I have had multiple successes with CX when using AA miles, changing flights into and out of HKG and AKL. QF was also helpful when I had a crisis in Cairns (lost my ATM card after a drunken night out.) The QF award was booked with AS miles.

I've had substantially less luck on BA, and ended up coming back from CPT a day earlier than I had to, because no F or J seats opened up.

Nw & KLM do release a lot of seats within a few days of departure, depending on the flight. Its all a function of the yield management systems giving up on filling the plane. The 'problem' is that the system may value, say on a transatlantic flight, a low fare ticket at $200 one way. But it considers the value of a frequent flyer ticket at a really low number, lets say $20. So the system is designed to not release the seat for FFs until there is at least a 90% chance it won't be sold to a revenue customer, cause if its a 20% chance the expected value of 20% x 200 = $40 is greater than the frequent flyer seat, worth only $20. Since flights can book quite fast on occasion, the systems will go for the revenue passengers until late in the booking curve, or if there are really large amounts of unsold seats somewhat close to departure.
I just put your info about NW to the test. Booked an award ticket to BKK day after tomorrow. THANKS

I can never book the 70k CO BF GIG-EWR/EWR-GIG ticket in advance. But I can always do it one or two days before departure. I've come to the point where I almost rely on it because it's never failed me.

I've gotta try this next time. Thanks.

I thought you can't change the award dates for non Qantas flights booked with QFmiles

I was told there were mileage fees/penalties for changing the route or redepositing, but I can change the dates.

I can never book the 70k CO BF GIG-EWR/EWR-GIG ticket in advance. But I can always do it one or two days before departure. I've come to the point where I almost rely on it because it's never failed me.

Assuming you stay more than a couple of days how do you book the return flight? Open date?

Funny, CO will release seats for award travel within 14 days of departure, yet every time I've tried to book award travel with them, I'm told I have to use 50k-70k miles to get the seats!
Recently, I booked award travel using my DL miles on a CO codeshare flight--no problem! Maybe I've hit on something?

Delta had two J seats for me to MXP and fly out of FCO within a week this past August.

I have gone to Delta.com and looked for availability LIT-ANC. It is real good for the next 10 days then it drops to zero after that. The only way to get a seat after 10 days out is to try DFW-IAh-SLC-ANC and there are a couple of seats available for each day unless they have been booked.

My question is this Rather than paying expedite fees can't you book a distant flight then change to one in the next 10 days without fees? This wont work on this route because there are always 0 available more than 10 days out but in other markets would this work?