MilesBuzz! - Part Two - Galileo: "THIS SERVICE HAS BEEN STOPPED!"?

The original thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/009504.html) seems to have become corrupted. New replies over the past couple of days seem to bump the topic but the text does not appear. So I've closed the original thread.

Please continue discussion here.

Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator

I haven't been able to read the last few threads because of the corruption but I have a question many users may have; is the availability tool functioning right now, is it under maintenance?

Also posting the URL prominently (like at the top of this thread) will help a lot of people find this wonderful tool easier
!

------------EDIT WITH GALILEO SERVICE URL------------------------------


The English interface is at http://www.benedelman.org/travel/inventory/

Tool is currently working, and is not under maintenance. However, there are only certain time periods when it works, so as to reduce traffic on the server. It works for 2 hours, then is down for 4. When you try to connect to the server by using the program it will tell you if it's working, and how much longer it'll be up or when the next up period is.

Here's the link:

http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~hartberg/ft/SabretoolSetup.htm

Hopefully this will keep it on page 1 for people to find.

Also potentially helpful: My new Fare Code Listings at http://www.benedelman.org/travel/farecodes/ .

I've pulled together some links to listings of major airlines' fare codes (mostly discussions on Flyertalk, to be sure). Could be helpful to new users trying to understand what to search for and how to interpret results.

Find an error? Want to suggest an addition? Just shoot me an email -- address in profile and at bottom of the page.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bedelman:
Also potentially helpful: My new Fare Code Listings at http://www.benedelman.org/travel/farecodes/ .

I've pulled together some links to listings of major airlines' fare codes (mostly discussions on Flyertalk, to be sure). Could be helpful to new users trying to understand what to search for and how to interpret results.

Find an error? Want to suggest an addition? Just shoot me an email -- address in profile and at bottom of the page.</font>

Hi Ben,

today i found your email, thanks for your work and link, you will find it at tools website (Information button) "Fare Code Listings (Intern)" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif!

Regards
Matthias

[This message has been edited by smile67 (edited Mar 21, 2004).]

Hi Matthias,

Getting to grips with the up/down time just fine, although I think the spreadsheet idea to predict availability as discussed in the other thread a good idea, it's annoying when you log on to find you've just missed the window.

May I suggest a couple of features for consideration in future versions?

1. It would be good if the tool would check uptime on start-up if it detects a connection, this would save you having to type in an itinerary only to find you're in the "down" time period.

2. Would it be possible to have the ability to selectively delete screens, rather than just the option to delete all screens?

3. Could you provide a facility to save itineraries for future use, this could be in conjunction with 2. I suppose providing the tool didn't loose the info when closed?

Just some thought Matthias, hope you don't mind?

------------------
Bazz
Still Flying

[This message has been edited by Bazz (edited Mar 22, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bazz:
Hi Matthias,

Getting to grips with the up/down time just fine, although I think the spreadsheet idea to predict availability as discussed in the other thread a good idea, it's annoying when you log on to find you've just missed the window.

May I suggest a couple of features for consideration in future versions?

1. It would be good if the tool would check uptime on start-up if it detects a connection, this would save you having to type in an itinerary only to find you're in the "down" time period.

2. Would it be possible to have the ability to selectively delete screens, rather than just the option to delete all screens?

3. Could you provide a facility to save itineraries for future use, this could be in conjunction with 2. I suppose providing the tool didn't loose the info when closed?

Just some thought Matthias, hope you don't mind?

</font>

Hi Bazz,

all your suggestions are useful and easy to implement too...
... next time i will do it http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Matthais, Let me add my thanks to you, also, for creating this great (and so very useful) tool. Our entire community owes you.

A question and suggestion:

When I check availability for an American Airlines flight, in first class........ the # of unsold first class seats comes up with a maximum of 4 (F4).

I know this means that there are AT LEAST 4 unsold in first class. However, in other programs that check this availabilty (if there are 7 or more available) the maximum shown is 7 (F7).

In the next version is it possible to change this.... so that, if there are 7 or more available in first class.......your tool will report back F7?

Thanks again for this GREAT tool.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AA Flyer:
Matthais, Let me add my thanks to you, also, for creating this great (and so very useful) tool. Our entire community owes you.

A question and suggestion:

When I check availability for an American Airlines flight, in first class........ the # of unsold first class seats comes up with a maximum of 4 (F4).

I know this means that there are AT LEAST 4 unsold in first class. However, in other programs that check this availabilty (if there are 7 or more available) the maximum shown is 7 (F7).

In the next version is it possible to change this.... so that, if there are 7 or more available in first class.......your tool will report back F7?

Thanks again for this GREAT tool.

</font>

Hi AA Flyer,

generally it's no problem to replace F4 with F7 for this special AA case, but the output of the tool is the real CRS output and if you see F4 it is the entry in the CRS/database. I don't think that it is a good idea to change the CRS output for several special cases (perhaps your case is one of many cases and next time someone wants UA B4 -&gt; B8, perhaps it's only a temporary thing or perhaps sometimes F4 is ok??) - i don't know if it's exact or not and the tool can't differ, but it's real CRS output?! Think about it http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif...

[This message has been edited by smile67 (edited Mar 22, 2004).]

Hi,

there's a new Tool version 1.63 available, same link as before (or if you use tools update function -&gt; Information button -&gt;..., save new version, close tool(!), start setup).
New features (1.62 -&gt; 1.63) are:
The tool checks connection, UP/DOWN- time period at the beginning (messagebox), it's not necessary to request anything.
The tool saves your output screens 1-8 at the end. All screens empty or answer "no - no saving" deletes older information. After closing the tool you find these textscreens in your availability tool folder screen1.txt - screen8.txt and title1.txt - title8.txt (not necessary to look at). If you start the tool it restores the screens.
Double-Click inside screen deletes (after request) last output of this single screen... -only some useful functions, no new CRS features!
I will not forget the enhancement of the class output... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Cygnus X-1 / old Part One - last Page 27, now Page 3:
My comments are appropriate and true. What you have here is a pirate into the system and screwing it all up, since he doesn't belong there in the frist place. Either it works, or it doesn't. And in a majority of cases, the program is blocked or doesn't work. From reading further, the user looks like a youngster programming for the first time.
My source is to call the airline like everyone else or use certain REGISTERED web tools.

My comments are right, not User Tool Napster 2.0.
</font>

Your comments are s-h-i-t -nothing more! Sorry for the word, but this is true. I'm not sure what kind of problem you have...??
It has nothing to do with "pirate into the system", it's our system, we pay for this service and it's not my personal decision to run this tool or not, i have the authorisation to do - or do you think i'm so stupid to gamble with my job (for users like you)?!

And for the majority of users: In two weeks we will discuss the up/down- time or better "traffic/blocking- problem" with the CRS provider and perhaps we are able to give a 24h- login solution for a small fee too...

[This message has been edited by smile67 (edited Mar 23, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Cygnus X-1:
Either it works, or it doesn't. And in a majority of cases, the program is blocked or doesn't work.</font>Actually, the truth is that it does work, and does exactly what it says.

Thank you again, smile67.

Who in the world is Cygnus X-1 ???? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

Who does he think he is talking to people like this!!!!

If you do not like the tool FINE!

Take a hike !!!!!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif

Sorry Mathias,

du weißt ja:

" Und ist das Dorf auch noch so klein einer muss der Dorfdepp sein!" http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
Scheint in diesem Fall den Namen Cygnus X-1 zu tragen.

DANKE für all Deine Geduld!!!!!!

------------------
Viele Grüße

Oliver

Matthias,

Allow me to add my thanks for the use of this tool. Please do not be discouraged or upset by what some may think, it is clear that the majority of people greatly appreciate your work and your efforts. Since this is neither for gain or reward, it is very noble of you.

BEst Wishes


P

Cygnus X-1, do us a favor and stay out of the discussion if you don't like the tool. We are all very grateful to smile67 for making it available.

You are proof that being EXP on AA and having 700+ posts does not confer wisdom or good manners.

I'm surprised the moderators haven't stepped in to say anything. While I am opposed to editing, deleting or closing threads, surely some form of censure is called for when someone abuses a person like smile67, who has contributed so much to so many in our community.

------------------
Vasant

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by smile67:
It has nothing to do with "pirate into the system", it's our system, we pay for this service and it's not my personal decision to run this tool or not, i have the authorisation to do - or do you think i'm so stupid to gamble with my job (for users like you)?!</font>

You have no authorization to do what you are doing, otherwise there would be no blocking. In fact that blocking is complete total crap. You are a pirate trying to create another, under-the-sheets Napster, Kazaa, Grockster, clogging the system. I'm not stupid. I don't use your garbage program and I think your ego belongs to the dogs, otherwise my comments wouldn't piss you off at all.

I don't mind hackers. I do mind "limited edition" hacking and laugh that I make you mad.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by vasantn:
You are proof that being EXP on AA and having 700+ posts does not confer wisdom or good manners. I'm surprised the moderators haven't stepped in to say anything.
</font>

It's a discussion board and my elite status on AA and post numbers are irrelavent if you disagree. The fact remains, smile67 originally created a decent tool, now it crap. I use my own tools, dumped his garbage and he (and those addicited to his tool, rather than using registered tools) don't like some constructed criticism coming from the other bench. smile67 will show anger to my post...I say tough.

Now go play in his sandbox, I'm booking my flights without any of it. I'm sure a majority of you DON'T tell the airline "Hey, I'm using Availability Tool 1.6 and it's located at this URL, so can you book me on fligh *** because I see Z availability".

Give me a break.

[This message has been edited by Cygnus X-1 (edited Mar 23, 2004).]

Cygnus X-1, you are a disgrace to this community, and your comments have absolutely no place here. I've seen you do this on other threads....post incredibly negative comments that both have no validity or place in a community such as this. You are obviously a very angry person, but why do you choose to take it out on this community?

I'm sure I speak for many people when I say that no one would miss you or your posts if you left. Please do us all the favor and stop posting your nonsensical rants.

Don't feed the trolls!

Please be on notice that the personal attacks stop now.

Criticisms, corrections, and civil discussion is welcome. Inflammatory language and deriding members is not welcome.

This thread is for the discussion of finding availability in specific inventory buckets -- and the conversation is taking place in MilesBuzz, specifically finding availability in award (free seats and upgrade, various classes of service) buckets.

Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator

I used this tool to help me choose seat for a recent trip.

Thanks for making it available. Ignore those who for some reason want to rain hate on something that makes people happy. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Thanks to this tool, I've been able to get confirmed upgrades at time of booking on recent/imminent trips to LHR, NRT, GIG and BOM. It's been a wonderful resource for me. Thanks again, Matthias!

------------------
Vasant

Not sure if I was told wrong but...
on the phone this morning with AA the CSR told me C was for First class on a 3 class plane and A was for First class on a 2 class plane.
Thanks.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by bedelman:
Also potentially helpful: My new Fare Code Listings at http://www.benedelman.org/travel/farecodes/ .

Find an error? Want to suggest an addition? Just shoot me an email -- address in profile and at bottom of the page.</font>

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by smile67:
I will not forget the enhancement of the class output... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif</font>

Just out of curiosity...
Will it be possible also to view X and I classes on SK? (Eco and Biz award inventories)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SFplat:
Not sure if I was told wrong but...
on the phone this morning with AA the CSR told me C was for First class on a 3 class plane and A was for First class on a 2 class plane.
Thanks.
</font>

You were told wrong. Unless of course things have changed in the last week or so.

------------------
AA - Home of the best FF program in the world.

Ok, Cygnus X-1 this will be my last reaction to your comments independent from further statements of you, so enjoy reading and have a nice day http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif!
First of all don't think you are marking me mad, i wrote it in the old thread and now once again, it's not worth to answer your self-explanatory personal and unobjective attacks - yesterday "s-h-i-t" was short enough to make an exception, it was no personal attack, only a fact. I don't know your goal exactly, but it seems to me you have too much time, perhaps nobody speaks with you, so making trouble is good to spend your time. But this is a community and the more you do like this the less you are accepted -and this has nothing to do with an won opinion. Ok, i know for persons like you, it's not important, perhaps nothing is important for you. For me you are a poor person and i say it without beeing angry... The tool is up, now and for the future your oppinion is not the reason to change this -sorry, perhaps this was one of your goals.
The blocking of the tool is very easy to understand, there is a limit for requests otherwise we have to pay higher charges, so perhaps it's a first kind of promotion or later on a little service for a low fee, no secret - justification it's not necessary for me, but it's another exception especially for friendly and helpful persons like you! And aside from there are many registered airlines and pilots too, so the tool is not as secret as you think.
That's all and nothing more...

Cygnus X-1 If you would be good enough to provide us with an alternative to smile's availability tool your criticisms would be less bewildering. Smile developed this tool for us to use at a time when all the alternatives had been closed. Every poster on this and the previous thread has found it very useful. Unless you can provide an alternative, your posts lack credibility and your reputation suffers accordingly.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by smile67:
Ok, Cygnus X-1 this will be my last reaction to your comments independent from further statements of you, so enjoy reading and have a nice day http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif!
First of all don't think you are marking me mad, i wrote it in the old thread and now once again, it's not worth to answer your self-explanatory personal and unobjective attacks - yesterday "s-h-i-t" was short enough to make an exception, it was no personal attack, only a fact. I don't know your goal exactly, but it seems to me you have too much time, perhaps nobody speaks with you, so making trouble is good to spend your time. But this is a community and the more you do like this the less you are accepted -and this has nothing to do with an won opinion. Ok, i know for persons like you, it's not important, perhaps nothing is important for you. For me you are a poor person and i say it without beeing angry... The tool is up, now and for the future your oppinion is not the reason to change this -sorry, perhaps this was one of your goals.
The blocking of the tool is very easy to understand, there is a limit for requests otherwise we have to pay higher charges, so perhaps it's a first kind of promotion or later on a little service for a low fee, no secret - justification it's not necessary for me, but it's another exception especially for friendly and helpful persons like you! And aside from there are many registered airlines and pilots too, so the tool is not as secret as you think.
That's all and nothing more...</font>

Well said Matthais. Bravo!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gleff:
Please be on notice that the personal attacks stop now.

Criticisms, corrections, and civil discussion is welcome. Inflammatory language and deriding members is not welcome.

This thread is for the discussion of finding availability in specific inventory buckets -- and the conversation is taking place in MilesBuzz, specifically finding availability in award (free seats and upgrade, various classes of service) buckets.

Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator</font>


Thanks gleff. This is actually the first time that I thought about bringing a poster to Randy's attention. I feel that an admonishment is not enough in this case. cygnus kicks the community spirit with his feet, so why should he still belong to the community.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by attorney28:

This is actually the first time that I thought about bringing a poster to Randy's attention.</font>

Me too; even though I'm against the proliferating "Time Out for So-and-So" requests, one would not be out of place in this egregious case.

------------------
Vasant

[Edited for typo]

[This message has been edited by vasantn (edited Mar 24, 2004).]

Just as comments shouldn't get personal, comments commenting on comments that have gotten personal are also off-topic.

I've had off-line discussions with more than one member. Please keep the meta-discussions about proper posting off-line. Please confine the discussion to the topic. <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">This thread is for the discussion of finding availability in specific inventory buckets -- and the conversation is taking place in MilesBuzz, specifically finding availability in award (free seats and upgrade, various classes of service) buckets.</font>

Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gleff:
Just as comments shouldn't get personal, comments commenting on comments that have gotten personal are also off-topic.</font>

I think it is fair to show a voice of support for someone who has done a great service to the community to help everyone finding availability in award (free seats and upgrade, various classes of service) buckets when he gets unfairly attacked for no apparent reason. That is not off-topic, since the one who started the personal attacks also implied that the tool is useless for finding availability in award (free seats and upgrade, various classes of service) buckets.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by smile67:
Hi AA Flyer,

generally it's no problem to replace F4 with F7 for this special AA case, but the output of the tool is the real CRS output and if you see F4 it is the entry in the CRS/database. I don't think that it is a good idea to change the CRS output for several special cases (perhaps your case is one of many cases and next time someone wants UA B4 -&gt; B8, perhaps it's only a temporary thing or perhaps sometimes F4 is ok??) - i don't know if it's exact or not and the tool can't differ, but it's real CRS output?! Think about it http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif...

[This message has been edited by smile67 (edited Mar 22, 2004).]</font>

Matthias, I do not want you to change the CRS output..... But....Do you know why, on the ITN / Amex booking site, for AA (if there are more than 7 available) the reponse for first class avaialbility is F7. And not F4. Accordingly (on ITN) if there are only 6 seats available, the reponse is F6... and so on.

So what I am wondering is...... can your tool report back those results.... with regards to AA's first class availability. IE.... when there are more than 4 seats available (up to 7) show us F5, f6, and F7.?

Thanks again for a great tool.

[This message has been edited by AA Flyer (edited Mar 24, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AA Flyer:
Matthias, I do not want you to change the CRS output..... But....Do you know why, on the ITN / Amex booking site, for AA (if there are more than 7 available) the reponse for first class avaialbility is F7. And not F4. Accordingly (on ITN) if there are only 6 seats available, the reponse is F6... and so on.

So what I am wondering is...... can your tool report back those results.... with regards to AA's first class availability. IE.... when there are more than 4 seats available (up to 7) show us F5, f6, and F7.?

Thanks again for a great tool.
</font>

If there are generally differences i've no explanation... It's the real CRS output, but maybe there are reasons why. I have to ask someone of our travel- experts, if there is an explanation they can give. If i find out any reason i will post it later on (next hours)...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gleff:
Just as comments shouldn't get personal, comments commenting on comments that have gotten personal are also off-topic.

I've had off-line discussions with more than one member. Please keep the meta-discussions about proper posting off-line. Please confine the discussion to the topic. Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator</font>

Hi Gary,

i don't think that it is necessary to exclude anyone from this forum -in this case it sounds like making a martyr.
But nevertheless you forget, who repeatedly started this kind of posting without real reason... It's normal that there are reactions and all the contra comments are proportionately not very personal -i think!
So sorry, but for me your remarks are a little bit weak and unfair especially against the members who are "angry" (even though they aren't directly concerned) and only want to help (me - if i need or not).
I'm not interested in starting a new discussion and it's easy to abort this. So please kill my profil, i can't find any button to do this. And be sure i'm not angry...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AA Flyer:
Matthias, I do not want you to change the CRS output..... But....Do you know why, on the ITN / Amex booking site, for AA (if there are more than 7 available) the reponse for first class avaialbility is F7. And not F4. Accordingly (on ITN) if there are only 6 seats available, the reponse is F6... and so on.

So what I am wondering is...... can your tool report back those results.... with regards to AA's first class availability. IE.... when there are more than 4 seats available (up to 7) show us F5, f6, and F7.?

Thanks again for a great tool.

[This message has been edited by AA Flyer (edited Mar 24, 2004).]</font>

Ok, i spoke with some experts and there's no real explanation for this "problem".
I looked in Amadeus and there you can see F7 - 7 seats (sometimes 6 or less for example too). But it isn't sure that 7 is real availability!
This seems to be a marketing strategy of the airline (and perhaps first class), 7 or 4 probably both data isn't true -perhaps there are only 3 seats available or perhaps 10... In this case the seatmap function gives no real information too (not each booking is registered as a special seat, so you perhaps can see 8 free seats, but only 4 availabilities), there's no way to handle these cases exactly -sorry.

Different airlines are affiliated to different CRS therefore the way different CRS show the numbers may vary, but the total available seats are all the same no matter if it is cut of after 4 or 7 or 9 seats per bucket.

There is NO WAY to influence this!

------------------
Viele Grüße

Oliver

Gasry is WRONG and please STAY do not let the B--Heads win!

------------------
Viele Grüße

Oliver

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Germanfflyer:
Gasry is WRONG and please STAY do not let the B--Heads win!

</font>

Hi Oliver,

da wird mein Ehrgeiz leider falsch eingeschätzt, hier gibt's keine Gewinner oder Verlierer. Was mich betrifft, ich hab' hier eigentlich gar nichts verloren, bin schließlich kein "frequent flyer" und nur zufällig hier gelandet http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif. Wer das Programm braucht soll's weiter nutzen und wer nicht...
Die Steitereien sind einzig und allein ermüdend und das Programm ist wie jedes andere Programm nur ein Programm... also viel Wind um nichts -als ob's nichts Wichtigeres gibt http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif!

Ja, ja ich finde es nur sehr schade das ausgerechnet DIR dieser teilweise doch sehr fanatische Club hier so viel zu schaffen macht...
Aber ich glaube Du nimmst es sehr sportlich!

Ich bin ganz sicher, dass die "schweigende Mehrheit" Dein Programm SEHR zu schätzen weiss!

Viele haben dies auch schon gesagt und eigentlich ist dieser Verein hier auch recht lustig aber eben nicht alle....diese wollen Anderen alles kaputt machen....
Ich benutze das Programm auch regelmäßig, um bestimmte Buchungsklassen zu finden.

Ich finde JEDER gehört hier her, wenn er denn Spaß am Fliegen oder aber auch nur am Meinungsaustausch hat.

So und jetzt freue ich mich schon darauf, dass wieder einmal ein paaar Oberlehrer sich aufregen werden, weil wir hier in unserer Landessprache schreiben!

Ätschibätsch!!!!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

------------------
Viele Grüße

Oliver

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by smile67:
Ok, i spoke with some experts and there's no real explanation for this "problem".
I looked in Amadeus and there you can see F7 - 7 seats (sometimes 6 or less for example too). But it isn't sure that 7 is real availability!
This seems to be a marketing strategy of the airline (and perhaps first class), 7 or 4 probably both data isn't true -perhaps there are only 3 seats available or perhaps 10... In this case the seatmap function gives no real information too (not each booking is registered as a special seat, so you perhaps can see 8 free seats, but only 4 availabilities), there's no way to handle these cases exactly -sorry.</font>


After the research that I have managed to do: the F7 (and f4) or a lesser number,that are reported ..... are CUT OFF points. I have found , for instance, if the CRS reports f7 there are AT LEAST 7 first class available to sell. In that CRS if there are any less (ie: f6 or f5, etc.) then there are ONLY 6 or five seats to sell, etc.

And I have found the same to be true.....I have found , for instance, if the CRS reports f4 there are AT LEAST 4 first class available to sell. In that CRS if there are any less (ie: f3 or f2, etc.) then there are ONLY 3 or 2 seats to sell, etc.

The reason I find this (f7) helpful...... is because if you are looking for an upgrade, the more ACTUAL, first class availble .....for sale ...... the better your chances are for an upgrade.

Again.... thx for the great tool.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Germanfflyer:
So und jetzt freue ich mich schon darauf, dass wieder einmal ein paaar Oberlehrer sich aufregen werden, weil wir hier in unserer Landessprache schreiben!

Ätschibätsch!!!!
</font>

Ja, ich zum Beispiel! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

(Yes, me, for instance.)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AA Flyer:

The reason I find this (f7) helpful...... is because if you are looking for an upgrade, the more ACTUAL, first class availble .....for sale ...... the better your chances are for an upgrade.</font>

The particular value of this tool is that you do not need to make these kinds of inferences: you can look at the actual upgrade inventory (e.g., C for coach-&gt;business on AA). Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work for United (fare code I).

Thanks for the mods in 1.63 Matthias, a good tool just got better! ^

Matthias, I’d like to add my thanks to the chorus. Your availability tool has been a godsend. Just a few weeks ago, I was able to secure an upgrade on a transatlantic flight even when the airline’s agent initially claimed that there was no availability. I told her that I was seeing availability in C, she checked again, I got my upgrade, and a few minutes later I saw availability go back to C0.

Thanks again for all your work on this!

...all your suggestions are useful and easy to implement too... next time i will do it

I too must express my appreciation to Matthias for providing this great tool that has helped me choose flights on which I was able to determine upgrade availability. A sincere thanks ^ .

A suggestion I have is to alter the server usage period from a 120 minute availabilty 300 minute non-availabilty schedule to a 30 minute availability 75 minute non-availabiltiy schedule or something similar. Waiting 300 minutes to determine availability of seats is like an expectant mother waiting 9 loooong months to determine if the baby is a boy or girl; perhaps too long a wait. With the suggested schedule the server usage period over an extend time is the same as before but the service is available more often with shorter waiting periods.

Old Sabre link for availability requests works again (some Browsers ask for login, my IE 6.026 not??), look at http://webservices.sabre.com/index.html -> Shop for Services -> Keyword Search "availability" -> Choose "OTA_AirAvailLLSRQ" -> Click "Demo", enter Data and see XML Response...

...first days it was the complete CRS output, now they only show a short section of the XML response - effective solution not very usable :( They know the flyertalk hackers :D!

Bringing this thread forward...

Matthias, is it possible to add fare information to your 'to-do' list?

The old pre-web easySabre system used to allow you to see fares by class. I'm not sure I remember exactly how it worked but I think you could put in a date, a routing and an airline and it would show you all the available fares by fare class. You then had to work out which fare classes were available on which flights.

Similar to the 'seat map' functionality you have, where you input a routing, the date, airline and flight number, is it possible to pull up available fares by class?

When trying to come up with international itineraries that earn 100% miles in whatever program you're in (AA, in my case), knowing what fare classes are available is critical ... and being able to see the difference between say an "L" class fare on CX (which earns 0 miles) and an "H" class fare on CX (which earns 100% miles) is critical. This information just isn't available elsewhere (as far as I know). Some sites, like Travelocity, are some help if you use their "flexible dates" function but even that is limited and hard to use.

Like everyone else, I sincerely appreciate your efforts and your willingness to make this tool available - it is enormously valuable. Now, if you could just add fare information...... :)

tt7, I share your interst in fare data. But I think we should hesitate before asking or suggesting that this be put into the Availability Tool -- there's only so much that we can hope for from one already-overgenerous tool designer!

From http://www.benedelman.org/travel/ , I have linked to two sites I think may be helpful. See the heading Published Fares, with entries Expedia.Com Fare Listings and Expedia.co.uk Fare Listings. The latter allows searches by citypair + airline, and shows USD fares in fare detail pages; the former shows USD throughout, but doesn't allow airline specifications. Are these perfect? No. But they're pretty good, in my experience.

Also possible: Travelocity shows fare data. Choose "flexible dates" on http://www.travelocity.com/Flights/0,,TRAVELOCITY,00.html , and optionally specify the desired airline.

Ben - many thanks for the input. I agree with your sentiments about how much we can expect Matthias to do - obviously, up to him as to whether he can or will be able to do anything. If he can, that would be great.

I was aware of the Expedia function - but not the one on the U.K. site, which appears to be much better, so thanks for pointing me to that. It's a big help, but still leaves one wondering how to get the information you want.

Case in point. Trying to go U.S. - Australia, in coach (i.e., as cheaply as possible), on AA where possible so we can upgrade. That means U.S. - NRT, and then either direct from there to Australia or on to HKG or BKK on the AA codeshare and then from there..... bearing in mind that discount economy (except H) earns no miles on CX and deep discount on QF earns no miles (including RTW tickets in L). Using Expedia, I stumbled across a K class fare on QF (which earns 100%) in May for about $740, so our trip is less than $1,400 roundtrip, upgrading on AA to NRT and then QF from there. Need to do the same trip in December. Lowest fare NRT-BNE, per Travelocity is $2,086 and that's B. Expedia (U.K.) shows 15 K class fares for various dates, but none go past Sep 30. Matthias's tool shows K class inventory available but no K class fares to be found anywhere. Curiously, Matthias's tool shows no B inventory available. Being able to match (see) available classes and associated fares in one place would be a big plus......

Curiously, the Expedia U.K. site allows you to input a month ('December' in my example case) but it then appears to ignore it - as I said, the 15 K class fares it showed don't go past September. Unfortunately, their display shows the 'effective date' rather than the 'seasons'. The 'effective date' appears to be pretty meaningless - either it's the first date of sale availability or the date the fare was loaded so all 15 K fares show 17 Feb as the effective date - you have to laboriously open each one to see what the season dates are. That said, it all helps ..... :)

tt7 wrote:

The 'effective date' appears to be pretty meaningless

Yes, that's been my experience too. Quite inconvenient, for precisely the reason you identify. I guess we could all write to Expedia UK support!...

Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but I am unable to check award availability using version 1.63 on JL (A inventory), LX (Z inventory), CX (Z or U inventory) or HA (D inventory). I have checked various days in various months and I get either a message that says "error: " or else I get a display of availability of numerous other inventories other than the one I specified. I have double checked and made sure I am checking for valid award inventories using AAdvantage awards. The program does seem to work fine for AA, AS and TN. I've tried doing a search of the Miles Buzz board for any other postings relating to these carriers but nothing comes up. Has anyone else been successful in checking award inventory on these carriers?

What are some of the specific dates you're searching for? Maybe one of us can try to see if we get the same results. It may be that there is no award inventory for the days you're doing your searches. That could be the reason you're just seeing a list of all the fare classes.

I tried about 10 different dates using various months for each of those carriers and got the same response each time. I am just trying to determine which carriers (participating in AAdvantage) show their award inventory using this tool. I'd appreciate your trying any dates with these carriers in the inventories I mentioned. I tried JL (A inventory) SFO-NRT and LAX-NRT, LX (Z and U) from LAX-ZRH, CX (Z and U) from SFO-HKG, YVR-HKG and LAX-HKG, and HA (D inventory) from SFO and SMF to HNL. In each case I tried a few dates in May, September, November and January and none around a holiday. If there are no seats available, it would be helpful if the display showed a zero, rather than "error" or a listing of other inventories.

Jimchi - I tried a couple of your examples with random dates ... and got the 'same' results, i.e., a list of every other code except what I asked for.... :(

When you do it for AA, it does return 0 if there are no seats (e.g., DFW-NRT on 8/05 has U3 on AA175 and U0 on AA61).

I tried inputting a non-existent fare code (are there any??). Well, I tried 'E' on AA, to see what it would do. Came back with a whole bunch of flights on United, which apparently does have an E class.

Not sure what the logic is here - I was thinking that if I gave it a non-existent class, it might return all the available classes instead, which would be analagous to it not returning a 'hidden' class (like mileage awards)... but it didn't - just gave me that code on other airlines!

Bear in mind that it also only shows 10 classes, even if there are more available (I think Matthias has this on his to-do list to change). Not sure what effect, if any, that has - presumably none as you're asking for a specific fare class and 'expect' it to give you only that class.

.... all of which is a long-winded way of saying I don't know why it works for some airlines and not others....

Please note that some carriers such as CX restrict their fare class display shown to travel agents. For example, you will not be able to see award Z, or U class availability.

However, CX does allow their frequent flyer partners (eg. AA) to view such inventory.

Can someone pls tell me why Im having trbl checking UA award inventory using the tool. I've had no difficulty with AC using D and W but when I try to check UA using R,O and N respectively I just get the regular fare codes. I wondered if this is perhaps because the awards are avail on UA's web site, or is it something Im doing wrong?
Btw, let me also echo thanks for this wonderful tool. Because of some rather severe limitations on the AC aeroplan web site, I wouldnt have been able to change a recent award booking to get the exact dates we were looking for. I greatly appreciate the extra vacation time you provided us with :)

Matthias, quick question. I tried to use your tool this afternoon to find Z inventory on DL and the site said "LINK CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE WITH DL". Is that because the connection is down somehow now or that your tool can no longer access DL? Thank you very much.

I too have noticed the same thing with DL. Have they changed their code or something?

Is there any way to access award availability on a Mac?

My profuse thanks to Matthias. Geat tool.

My question is - would it be possible to compile this for the palm (OS5 connected devices - Treo600, etc.)?

Thanks.

After a couple of months out of loop with this thread/tool: Does it (still) work looking up award classes on UA and LH?

Thanks in advance for any input.

Wont work for me on UA...thats why i asked a few posts back what if anything i was doing wrong(no reply though :(...using R,O snd N...but only get the reg fare codes as a response. Anyone?

Some airlines don't make their award inventories public; UA is one of them which is why you can only see it by logging onto UA's website award booking section. If you set your profile to expert mode on UAL.com, then you'll be able to see the award availability by booking class.

Matthias, quick question. I tried to use your tool this afternoon to find Z inventory on DL and the site said "LINK CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE WITH DL". Is that because the connection is down somehow now or that your tool can no longer access DL? Thank you very much.

If you get that message, just try again... often it's only the direct connection to DL that does not work right away. You can check Z and G class through any public CRS - those are not private booking classes. O, R and N though are private.

Without adding 50 more messages to this very long thread, does anyone feel they have a fairly complete list of carriers for which award availability can be checked using the Availability Tool. So far I have found very few carriers associated with the AAdvantage program.

Checking award availability (esp. on UA, LH) has the highest priority in my curretn sitation, as would any tool providing capability on those airlines & other * carriers.

With many thanks to Matthias for all his work, I still wanted to point out the bottom line for a typical UA/LH fliyer: A great tool for looking up available booking classes, due to quick responses, WHEN it is available. Albeit I can get the same on the AX site - in 24/7 mode.

Matthias, I guess you can guess my "wishlist". :)

Is there any way to access award availability on a Mac?

Didn't there used to be a Java client? The old thread is corrupted so I can't find it, but I would love to be able to access these availability data on my Mac...

On checking availability for some America West flights I'm getting
FA YA HA WA BA QA LL KC VC MC
I assume A means avialble, C closed or full?, but what about L? I wish seatmaps were available for HP.

A = Available
C = Waitlist closed
L = Waitlist only
R = On request
X = Cancelled

Can anyone please tell me if I can see award inventory for BA?-and Qantas

I understand that first on BA/Q is Z.
and business is U

I cant see either.

Also if I can see R on AA is that an upgrade using a VIPOW.

Can anyone please tell me if I can see award inventory for BA?-and Qantas

I understand that first on BA/Q is Z.
and business is U

I cant see either.

Also if I can see R on AA is that an upgrade using a VIPOW.

No Z or U inventory on QF/BA can be seen - it used to show up but they (airlines) hid it (again).

Sorry to appear totally dense, but I have gone throught five pages of reference to Galileo. I find numerous references to use of the tool, but can't find any link to download the tool. Can someone restate the link.

Bruce

Here it is:

http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~hartberg/ft/SabretoolSetup.exe

Sorry to appear totally dense, but I have gone throught five pages of reference to Galileo. I find numerous references to use of the tool, but can't find any link to download the tool. Can someone restate the link.
Bruce
Check page 1 of this thread.
jerry

Edited to add: Oops, I guess I should have read the last page of the thread before replying. Empress already posted a link.

Is there anyway through which I can force the tool to display a specific (public) class when that class is not in the default 10 displayed?
Entering a letter in the Class box seems to have no effect on this.
For instance, I cannot get the tool to display T class availability on LHR-AMS on KL. It stops at L class, which is just above T class in KL's class order. Entering T in the class box has no effect.
Did I miss something or is this a limitation of the otherwise excellent availability tool?

I'm able to get it to show AA's award fare classes by typing it in. I'm using the older version, 1.6, with 'special classes' enabled. It works just fine for me.

Here it is:

http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~hartberg/ft/SabretoolSetup.exe


Thanks!

Bruce

Is there anyway through which I can force the tool to display a specific (public) class when that class is not in the default 10 displayed?
Entering a letter in the Class box seems to have no effect on this.
For instance, I cannot get the tool to display T class availability on LHR-AMS on KL. It stops at L class, which is just above T class in KL's class order. Entering T in the class box has no effect.
Did I miss something or is this a limitation of the otherwise excellent availability tool?

Yes it was a limitation, try once again and see the new output...

LHR AMS NOV/05 0700 KL T ->

[1] LHR AMS 05/0630 05/0905 KL1000 T0 [738]
[JOURNEY TIME 95 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[2] LHR RTM 05/0750 05/1005 KL1332 T7 [F50]
[JOURNEY TIME 75 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[3] LHR AMS 05/0845 05/1110 KL1002 T7 [739]
[JOURNEY TIME 85 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[4] LHR AMS 05/1000 05/1225 KL1008 T7 [767]
[JOURNEY TIME 85 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[5] LHR AMS 05/1150 05/1410 KL1010 T7 [738]
[JOURNEY TIME 80 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[6] ........


Or leave class field blank...

LHR AMS NOV/05 0700 KL ->

[1] LHR AMS 05/0630 05/0905 KL1000 J7 C7 Z7 S7 B7 M7 H7 Q7 K7 L7 T0 V0 [738]
[JOURNEY TIME 95 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[2] LHR RTM 05/0750 05/1005 KL1332 Y7 S7 B7 M7 H7 Q7 K7 L7 T7 V7 [F50]
[JOURNEY TIME 75 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[3] LHR AMS 05/0845 05/1110 KL1002 J7 C7 Z7 S7 B7 M7 H7 Q7 K7 L7 T7 V7 [739]
[JOURNEY TIME 85 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[4] LHR AMS 05/1000 05/1225 KL1008 J7 C7 Z7 S7 B7 M7 H7 Q7 K7 L7 T7 V7 [767]
[JOURNEY TIME 85 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[5] LHR AMS 05/1150 05/1410 KL1010 J7 C7 Z7 S7 B7 M7 H7 Q7 K7 L7 T7 V7 [738]
[JOURNEY TIME 80 MIN.]
-------------------- SEPERATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[6]........

Thank you Mathias for adding the new output detail!

For instance, I cannot get the tool to display T class availability on LHR-AMS on KL. It stops at L class, which is just above T class in KL's class order.It appears that the T class, for some reason, doesn't seem to show-up on the BD codeshares that LH uses for non-stop flights. That class only seems to be showing on the flights going through FRA -- here is a screenshot from my availability tool (that goes through Galileo):
http://jove.prohosting.com/www001/KVS_Tool_1.htm

Thanks Mathias. Works a treat.

As to the LH T class on BD op. flights, those T class fares using LH code have, AFAIK, been discontinued (you can only book them under BD code now). This might be why T does not show.

What a great tool!!! Thanks so much for investing the time to put this together. It really is helpful.

I will admit, however, that I'm not a big fan of the new output. A couple salient points:

1) Before, it would list nearly all the flight connections between two city pairs, now it doesn't do as well. For example, there are three or four TYS-xxx-DEN flights every day. Before, I would just put in TYS, DEN and the airline (CO) and it would pop back with a list of all those flights. Now, I have to adjust the time and click search to see the morning flight, adjust the time and click search to see the noon flight, adjust the time and click search to see the evening flight. No easy comparison!! Why can't it just display all the flights of the day as it did before?

2) Messy flight display! The "SEPARATOR" and "JOURNEY TIME" additions take up screen space and make it hard to compare flights. I liked it before where they were just listed there in raw form. Is there any way for me to change the format of the output to get rid of this irrelvant data?

3) More "stuff" means less "data". It seems like the "SEPARATOR" and "JOURNEY TIME" outputs also remove important data! I'd like more screen real-estate so I can see what availability is on connecting flights. For example, if I'm searching DEN-BOS on UA, I'd like to see options for the non-stops as well as flights through ORD.

Please, please, please don't take this as "picky". I'm definitely not complaining! This is a great product, and the time you've put into this is REALLY HIGHLY valued!!! Thank you!

But I do want to do my part and provide you with helpful feedback so it is as useful a tool as possible.

It appears that the T class, for some reason, doesn't seem to show-up on the BD codeshares that LH uses for non-stop flights. That class only seems to be showing on the flights going through FRA -- here is a screenshot from my availability tool (that goes through Galileo):
http://jove.prohosting.com/www001/KVS_Tool_1.htm

How do we download this tool?

I keep getting the following message, during up time, regardless of the airline and city pairs that I input: ERRCODE 43 NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE. Anyone else having this problem? I'm using version 1.62

I was successfully able to use the tool last night. Are you having the problems today?

Yes, this afternoon. And only when I input "1" in the inventory box to view all inventory categories. If I input a specific inventory letter, it seems to work fine, but I really would like to view all inventory categories at the same time.

What a great tool!!! Thanks so much for investing the time to put this together. It really is helpful.

I will admit, however, that I'm not a big fan of the new output. A couple salient points:

1) Before, it would list nearly all the flight connections between two city pairs, now it doesn't do as well. For example, there are three or four TYS-xxx-DEN flights every day. Before, I would just put in TYS, DEN and the airline (CO) and it would pop back with a list of all those flights. Now, I have to adjust the time and click search to see the morning flight, adjust the time and click search to see the noon flight, adjust the time and click search to see the evening flight. No easy comparison!! Why can't it just display all the flights of the day as it did before?

2) Messy flight display! The "SEPARATOR" and "JOURNEY TIME" additions take up screen space and make it hard to compare flights. I liked it before where they were just listed there in raw form. Is there any way for me to change the format of the output to get rid of this irrelvant data?

3) More "stuff" means less "data". It seems like the "SEPARATOR" and "JOURNEY TIME" outputs also remove important data! I'd like more screen real-estate so I can see what availability is on connecting flights. For example, if I'm searching DEN-BOS on UA, I'd like to see options for the non-stops as well as flights through ORD.

Please, please, please don't take this as "picky". I'm definitely not complaining! This is a great product, and the time you've put into this is REALLY HIGHLY valued!!! Thank you!

But I do want to do my part and provide you with helpful feedback so it is as useful a tool as possible.


Download Version 1.64...

There are three different output forms (Complete = Availability + Journey Time, Operator Airline, Days Operates, Start Terminal ; Short= Only Availability; Old= Old Format, but only 10 Classes)!


Yes, this afternoon. And only when I input "1" in the inventory box to view all inventory categories. If I input a specific inventory letter, it seems to work fine, but I really would like to view all inventory categories at the same time.

Look above, "1" is no class (or your version is more than old and incompatible)! If you switch to "Old Form" (Version 1.64) you can use "1", but better to leave this field blank. Tool- Title shows version, use "Information- Button" and Download link for Update!

I was recently tring to book an open segment on QF10 LHR-MEL. When I looked in the tool, it said D0. I thought I was going to have to make alternative arrangements.

When I checked on Amex ITN it showed D9.

When I actually called the airline - no problem in getting D inventory.

Does the tool and Amex ITN access different CRSs? Is there another reason for the discrepancy?

How do we download this tool?Please see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2804833

I keep getting the following message, during up time, regardless of the airline and city pairs that I input: ERRCODE 43 NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE. Anyone else having this problem? I'm using version 1.62

Download the new version (1.64!)

Trying to see public T class on UA... doesn't show up if you ask for all classes. If I specify T, I get this:

[1] JFK LAX 03/0710 03/1000 UA15 T/ [763]
-------------------- SEPARATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[2] JFK LAX 03/0855 03/1144 UA17 T/ [762]
-------------------- SEPARATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[3] JFK LAX 03/1150 03/1429 UA19 T/ [762]
-------------------- SEPARATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[4] JFK LAX 03/1415 03/1655 UA21 T/ [762]
-------------------- SEPARATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[5] JFK LAX 03/1625 03/1916 UA25 T/ [762]
-------------------- SEPARATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[6] JFK LAX 03/1835 03/2140 UA839 T/ [763]
-------------------- SEPARATOR ------------------------------------------------------------
[7] JFK LAX 03/2050 03/2337 UA29 T/ [762]


Did a check on UA's site and T is available on almost all of these flights. Any reason it doesn't show up here? If I put in any other fare code, the correct inventory appears.

bumo to top

I've hit an intermittent problem this morning with v1.64. It says that it's checking for the up/down time, and then I get the Microsoft "this program needs to close" error window with the option to send an error report to Microsoft. I can't easily find the nature of the problem from that error window.

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling the program, but that's done nothing to solve the problem. It seems I just have to keep trying it until I get an instance that works (about one start in 10).

What have I done wrong or am I doing wrong?

Strange ... no such problem here on Windows 2000 Professional.

A = Available
C = Waitlist closed
L = Waitlist only
R = On request
X = Cancelled
What does a forward slash (as in "C/" which I get on some flights on AA) mean?

Also, what does "Available" mean, compared to 0..7? Does it simply mean that it's 1 or more?

I'm trying to get this flight in H class for 6 people. The tool shows at least 9 available yet my travel agent says there's no availability. Can anyone explain this?

[6] FRA BKK 26/2200 27/1410 LH744 F9 A9 C9 D9 Z9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q0 V0 WC S0 [744]
[DAYS OPERATES 6 / JOURNEY TIME 610 MIN.]

I'm trying to get this flight in H class for 6 people. The tool shows at least 9 available yet my travel agent says there's no availability. Can anyone explain this?

[6] FRA BKK 26/2200 27/1410 LH744 F9 A9 C9 D9 Z9 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q0 V0 WC S0 [744]
[DAYS OPERATES 6 / JOURNEY TIME 610 MIN.]
If you are talking about 26 Feb 2005, then that flight does appear to be available (Galileo data is below). Perhaps your travel agent was mistakenly looking at LH 772 (departing 30 mins later), which is, in fact, H0.


FRA Frankfurt Metro DE = FRA HHN
BKK Bangkok Int'l TH
26 Feb 2005
LH Lufthansa German Airlines [*A] (Germany) - DLH

LH 744 FRA 22:00 BKK 14:10 +1 744 0 Y9 A9 B9 C9 D9 F9 H9 M9 Q0 S0 V0 W0 Z0
LH 772 FRA 22:30 BKK 14:40 +1 747 0 Y9 A9 B9 C9 D9 F9 H0 M9 Q0 S0 V0 W0 Z9
LH 9714 FRA 14:10 BKK 06:20 +1 747 0 Y4 A4 B4 C4 D4 F4 H4 M4 Q4 S4 V0 W0 Z4
LH 9718 FRA 20:55 BKK 13:05 +1 747 0 Y4 A4 B4 C4 D4 F4 H4 M4 Q4 S4 V4 W0 Z4

I find this tool to be pretty reliable. It is one reason I really like it.

This tool shows the real status in side by side comparisons to other tools (and in phoning the airline to try to get seats). Seems that different airlines will "fool" different tools in different ways so we need to understand limitations of each.

In comparison, I have found the UA-based ITN availability tool to be unreliable for China domestic flights, showing apparent availability when there is none.

If you are talking about 26 Feb 2005, then that flight does appear to be available (Galileo data is below). Perhaps your travel agent was mistakenly looking at LH 772 (departing 30 mins later), which is, in fact, H0.


FRA Frankfurt Metro DE = FRA HHN
BKK Bangkok Int'l TH
26 Feb 2005
LH Lufthansa German Airlines [*A] (Germany) - DLH

LH 744 FRA 22:00 BKK 14:10 +1 744 0 Y9 A9 B9 C9 D9 F9 H9 M9 Q0 S0 V0 W0 Z0
LH 772 FRA 22:30 BKK 14:40 +1 747 0 Y9 A9 B9 C9 D9 F9 H0 M9 Q0 S0 V0 W0 Z9
LH 9714 FRA 14:10 BKK 06:20 +1 747 0 Y4 A4 B4 C4 D4 F4 H4 M4 Q4 S4 V0 W0 Z4
LH 9718 FRA 20:55 BKK 13:05 +1 747 0 Y4 A4 B4 C4 D4 F4 H4 M4 Q4 S4 V4 W0 Z4

Hi KVS, thanks. Yes, that's the date. I rang the travel agent again after your post and she is definate that there are no H seats available. I also rang Lufthansa and they also confirmed that their are no H seats. No idea what is going on. Anyway, TA says we are waitlisted so it'll automatically confirm if seats become available so I shouldn't worry.

1 LH 744 H 26FEB 6 FRABKK HK7 2120 2200 1410+1 747 E NON-SMOKING FLIGHT SEE RTSVC


Availability can be different - depending on what country your agency is situated.

Let me know if you want something booked ;)

1 LH 744 H 26FEB 6 FRABKK HK7 2120 2200 1410+1 747 E NON-SMOKING FLIGHT SEE RTSVC


Availability can be different - depending on what country your agency is situated.

Let me know if you want something booked ;)

Hi. Yes, I want it booked. BUt how if the travel agent doesn't have access to the inventory? Are you a travel agent in another country? Ours is in Australia.

We're flyng from Malaga on the 26th to FRA then to BKK, before heading home to Syd. If we can't get on that flight, we'll have to overnight in Frankfurt. That'll be a real bummer as our kids are really young and it'll just be a real pain getting hotel rms, airport transfers, etc.

Currently, we're confirmed on the 10.30pm flight out of FRA on 27th and waitlisted for the 10pm LH744 on the 26th.

Hello KVS, please check your private message. Thanks

If you are talking about 26 Feb 2005, then that flight does appear to be available (Galileo data is below). Perhaps your travel agent was mistakenly looking at LH 772 (departing 30 mins later), which is, in fact, H0.


FRA Frankfurt Metro DE = FRA HHN
BKK Bangkok Int'l TH
26 Feb 2005
LH Lufthansa German Airlines [*A] (Germany) - DLH

LH 744 FRA 22:00 BKK 14:10 +1 744 0 Y9 A9 B9 C9 D9 F9 H9 M9 Q0 S0 V0 W0 Z0
LH 772 FRA 22:30 BKK 14:40 +1 747 0 Y9 A9 B9 C9 D9 F9 H0 M9 Q0 S0 V0 W0 Z9
LH 9714 FRA 14:10 BKK 06:20 +1 747 0 Y4 A4 B4 C4 D4 F4 H4 M4 Q4 S4 V0 W0 Z4
LH 9718 FRA 20:55 BKK 13:05 +1 747 0 Y4 A4 B4 C4 D4 F4 H4 M4 Q4 S4 V4 W0 Z4


Hi KVS:
What is the registration code for the tool. When I try to install your tool, it asks for a code. If you wish to send privately, let me know.
^

I'm getting a little bit frustrated lately with the up/down time of the tool. It seems to change everyday. Is it just me or did I miss something and the up/down time ratio has changed since I last checked. Also, yesterday the tool was supposed to be back up again, but I got an error message and was told it would be down for another 5 hours (after it had already been down for 5 hours). For some strange reason, it worked again about 5 minutes later. Talking about stability in the world...??? :confused:

I'm getting a little bit frustrated lately with the up/down time of the tool. It seems to change everyday. Is it just me or did I miss something and the up/down time ratio has changed since I last checked. Also, yesterday the tool was supposed to be back up again, but I got an error message and was told it would be down for another 5 hours (after it had already been down for 5 hours). For some strange reason, it worked again about 5 minutes later. Talking about stability in the world...??? :confused:

Now the tool requests a new server with new operating system and different other programs, there were some change-over problems, reboots were necessary. To guarantee two hour up-time somtimes it was necessary to change the time-index.
At the moment the system seems to be stable, hope the little problems are solved.
But no guarantee, sometimes it's necessary to reboot and the time-period-switch is deleted after reboot (exact manual readjustment isn't possible always, because of the long up/down-periods)...

Bringing this thread forward....

I just tried to use the application.

After the server up.down check the message which came back was new - "sorry..... up/down 5 hours cycle"

Is this now 5 up and 5 down?

Trieds this am and got the message...

" 1 SORRY, THIS FEATURE IS TEMPORARILY DOWN! ==TOO MANY REQUESTS==
2 SOON IT WILL BE BACK... ==TIME CONTROLLED, 5 HOURS ROTATING UP AND DOWN=="

Just tried again and the same thing... is the availability tool completely off line now? Was nice before when the timestamp indicated the up time.

Trieds this am and got the message...

" 1 SORRY, THIS FEATURE IS TEMPORARILY DOWN! ==TOO MANY REQUESTS==
2 SOON IT WILL BE BACK... ==TIME CONTROLLED, 5 HOURS ROTATING UP AND DOWN=="

Just tried again and the same thing... is the availability tool completely off line now? Was nice before when the timestamp indicated the up time.

Yes, at the moment this availability tool is completely offline for some days -maintenance work- (ignore "the time controlled.... and too many requests..." message, if you see up-time 120 down-time 300 it will work as before).
You can use KVS's availability-tool (here on the sites you can find the link for download).

It's up now, as of 8 AM in New York City.

Bumping this one up - could we please post on this "Part Two" thread to lessen the confusion.... (a FT'er resurrected the Part One thread and now folks are posting there....)

Edited because no longer relevant now other thread closed.

Unfortunately, since I am on the road A LOT and am under a very tight schedule, since the time-control was interduced, I was only able to use the tool 2 or 3 times. Even though it is a GREAT tool, it is practically worthless to me since I can't use it.

I wish there was a way to get access without time-control.

http://www.stud.ntnu.no/%7Ehartberg/ft/AvailabilityToolSetup.exe

Now the availability tool works as before...

KVS please check your private message folder as I msg'd you several days ago for a pass code for your availability tool but so far, no reply. The

My system code is: 1151860735

Thanks and best regards,

P.S. Can I search for X, R, U, Z classes on AA with your availability tool?
Please advise. Thanks.

Now the availability tool works as before...

Thank you Matthias!

I use this for my international flights - only 3 a year - but your tool saves me tons of time and I am super appreciative. ^ ^ ^

P.S. Can I search for X, R, U, Z classes on AA with your availability tool?

Yep, you can :)

I've gone through this thread (and the Part 1 thread), but maybe I've missed it... can anyone summarize for me:

For which carriers will Mathias' tool show award availability?

Originally Posted by SNAPLT
P.S. Can I search for X, R, U, Z classes on AA with your availability tool?
Originally Posted by MeLike2Travel
Yep, you can :)
How?

I don't see anywhere to input the so-called 'special' classes; for me, it just returns all the regular fare classes. I guess I must be missing something?

How?

I don't see anywhere to input the so-called 'special' classes; for me, it just returns all the regular fare classes. I guess I must be missing something?MeLike2Travel was probably referring to the 'other' tool.

MeLike2Travel was probably referring to the 'other' tool.
I thought that's what it might be but wasn't sure if I was missing something!

Is there anything you can do to get your program to show the 'special' classes? A great program as it is (and my thanks for making it available) but if it could show those classes.... :)

I see access to Galileo requires additional registration - is there extra information that Galileo provides that the other interfaces don't?

I thought that's what it might be but wasn't sure if I was missing something!

Is there anything you can do to get your program to show the 'special' classes? A great program as it is (and my thanks for making it available) but if it could show those classes.... :)

I see access to Galileo requires additional registration - is there extra information that Galileo provides that the other interfaces don't?I am afraid that there is nothing I can really do to "get [the] program to show the 'special' classes", as the they are simply not available through ITN.

Galileo data comes from a different GDS system and a different [lower-capacity] server. Sometimes it shows a slightly different set of flights and sometimes it has access to booking classes not available through ITN. However, AA's reward classes are not available even through the Galileo access.

Is any one else getting "Error: No valid result" as an error message?

Is any one else getting "Error: No valid result" as an error message?
Yes.... :(

Thank you Matthias!

I use this for my international flights - only 3 a year - but your tool saves me tons of time and I am super appreciative. ^ ^ ^

Amen to that ... me, too! ^

I have found that after getting the "Error: No valid result" if I slowely resubmit I usually get the proper results.

So much for what I said, it is not working at all for me now. Hopefully things will get fixed as it is such a great help with trips.

Working again now. Seems server was out for a while.

Bringing this thread forward...

Bringing this thread forward...

why?

Because it's a popular thread that gets referred to in many other forums. Having it at the top makes it easier for people to see it.

(ie bump) :)

..... rather than someone having to keep bumping it up to the top, can a moderator please make it a "sticky"? .....

Perhaps it would be best to just have a new topic as a "sticky" that has (a) a link to the download page for the availability tool and (b) a link to this thread for anyone who wants to read (or re-read) it all.

http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~hartberg/ft/SabretoolSetup.htm

p.s. and smile67, many thanks once again for the great tool.....

... and while we're at it, include a link to KVS' tool as well (thanks, KVS)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244

The link to KVS Availability Tool doesn't work. All I get is a screen with some old data on it, but ability to input a new request.

... and while we're at it, include a link to KVS' tool as well (thanks, KVS)

<Deleted>

Please only link to the main KVS Tool thread [http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244] as it contains important instructions for activating the tool.

The link to KVS Availability Tool doesn't work. All I get is a screen with some old data on it, but ability to input a new request.
You need to click on the "download" link at the top left of the screen.

.... but see KVS' post above about the instructions

I have some problems getting seatmap. For example when I requested an seatmap this morning I get the following error:

BCN AMS JUL/04 0300 KL V ->

SEATING RANGE FOR KL 24 HOURS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE OR UP TO 02OCT
SA KL1668V04JULBCNAMS

But I was between the 24 hour period.

Doesnt all airlines give away seatmap? Or am I doing something wrong? Any help appriciated.

Have found the Availability Tool quite useful. Unfortunately, can only use it from the PC at work. To repeat a question, which I don't believe has been answered, is there a way to make it run on my Mac G4, OS X.3.3, at home?

Have found the Availability Tool quite useful. Unfortunately, can only use it from the PC at work. To repeat a question, which I don't believe has been answered, is there a way to make it run on my Mac G4, OS X.3.3, at home?

It definitely will not work under OSX.2.8 on a the iMac that I tried. I see no reason why it would work on any MAC/OS in fact. BUT, it *might* work if you do PC emulation.

Hi,

I am new to checking flight availability stuff. I really want to know of a free program I could use just to check airline flight availabilty. What are my options?

Matt

Hi,

I am new to checking flight availability stuff. I really want to know of a free program I could use just to check airline flight availabilty. What are my options?

Matt
Either of the two tools that are discussed extensively in this thread.....

Download links -

http://www.stud.ntnu.no/~hartberg/ft/SabretoolSetup.htm

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244

I thought the sabre tool doesnt work any more. Does it still work? There free right?

THanks
Matt

I thought the sabre tool doesnt work any more. Does it still work? There free right?

THanks
Matt
It works fine. It's on a rotating schedule to reduce the load, 2 hours on, 5 hours off.

Yes, they're free.

I have some problems getting seatmap. For example when I requested an seatmap this morning I get the following error:

BCN AMS JUL/04 0300 KL V ->

SEATING RANGE FOR KL 24 HOURS PRIOR TO DEPARTURE OR UP TO 02OCT
SA KL1668V04JULBCNAMS

But I was between the 24 hour period.

Doesnt all airlines give away seatmap? Or am I doing something wrong? Any help appriciated.

Most airlines remove their SeatMaps from the CRS systems 24 hours prior to departure and move the control from their reservations systems to their Airport check-in systems.So you cannot get availability from the Saber Tool with 24 hours of travel.

Thank to all for all the info. I thought this was no longer working!!!!!!!

Most airlines remove their SeatMaps from the CRS systems 24 hours prior to departure and move the control from their reservations systems to their Airport check-in systems.So you cannot get availability from the Saber Tool with 24 hours of travel.

Thank you for your reply. I tried an other date and I got the seatmap, but only for business class. I tried every letter from A until Z.
The system gives me the following output when requesting economy class:
NO SEATING THIS CLASS

There are seats availble in this class but for some reason it doesnt show the seatmap :confused: ...

Thank you for your reply. I tried an other date and I got the seatmap, but only for business class. I tried every letter from A until Z.
The system gives me the following output when requesting economy class:
NO SEATING THIS CLASS

There are seats availble in this class but for some reason it doesnt show the seatmap :confused: ...
Some airlines only provide seat pre-selection in business class. KL is one of them when it comes to intra-european flight(s) that you are trying to retreive.

What a great tool!!! I've been looking for something like this, all I have found so far is the Galileo tool which is hard to read and each fair class is hard to read. We should all be thankful.

:)

The original thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/009504.html) seems to have become corrupted. New replies over the past couple of days seem to bump the topic but the text does not appear. So I've closed the original thread.

Please continue discussion here.

Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator

Bring this thread forward....

It seems to me that the airlines and online booking sites are trying everything possible to deprive consumers of "detailed information" such as availablity by booking class.

united shows booking class if you select the expert mode, LH shows the booking class when you book. I guess most customers don't care as long as they get a low price choice. It doesn't help you to know the booking class if there is no way you can get that friday evening departure flight on the lowest possible fare.

;)

Regards Oliver

united shows booking class if you select the expert mode, LH shows the booking class when you book. I guess most customers don't care as long as they get a low price choice. It doesn't help you to know the booking class if there is no way you can get that friday evening departure flight on the lowest possible fare.

;)

Regards Oliver

But then there are cases where not everyone wants to book the "lowest possible fare". Some airlines won't give miles on certain booking classes.

Bringing this thread forward....

(To show how important it is for airline consumers to be informed about booking classes, and other things airlines won't want us to know about)

OK, have I missed something...

The tool is up but I am getting....

ERRCODE 3 NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE

Requested: DFW FRA 09 13 AA C

Have also tried other airlines and just Y -- same response

I am using version 1.63 with Windows...

OK, have I missed something...
Same with me, using version 1.64.
Looking at a NW flight next month.

Same with me, using version 1.64.
Looking at a NW flight next month.

I tried installing 1.64 thinking that my 1.63 had gone bad (heck it has been 2 days since I have used it!) and I get an error when installing 1.64

I get error: Zieldatei lasst sich nicht offen

OK, a marketing guy here -- what am I doing wrong!?!?

worked yesterday but not tonight.

Same problem today.

pmcg

I get:

ERRCODE 3 NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE

no matter what I try for the past two days.

Now it works again...

Thank you, Matthias! ^

I don't know what I would do without the tool, thanks to which I have a 100% upgrade success rate on AA.

I agree. It is unstable and at 2000 hrs BST was giving the error message - probably all the US traffic overloads it. Hoever, I think that it is a privilege to have access to such information and it is most useful in trying to book upgrade awards. That said I had to go blind when the system crashed for some time in June (I think) - and one has to work out when it is likely to be on or not. One just has to be aware that it cannot and should not be relied on 100%

I thank Matthias for all his work which has certainly made life very helpful.

If I'm using the tool to check availability for my (Plat) upgrade, what fare codes represent seats in First into which I could be upgraded? F and A?

If I'm using the tool to check availability for my (Plat) upgrade, what fare codes represent seats in First into which I could be upgraded? F and A?

X

In addition to Air Canada rewards, I find it most useful for Chinese domestic flights. This is the only software that I have easy access to that shows true loading on in-China flights. Other software may not show flights that do exist or may show lots of availability for these Chinese domestic flights when there is none.

Ok, Cygnus X-1 this will be my last reaction to your comments independent from further statements of you, so enjoy reading and have a nice day http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif!
First of all don't think you are marking me mad, i wrote it in the old thread and now once again, it's not worth to answer your self-explanatory personal and unobjective attacks - yesterday "s-h-i-t" was short enough to make an exception, it was no personal attack, only a fact. I don't know your goal exactly, but it seems to me you have too much time, perhaps nobody speaks with you, so making trouble is good to spend your time. But this is a community and the more you do like this the less you are accepted -and this has nothing to do with an won opinion. Ok, i know for persons like you, it's not important, perhaps nothing is important for you. For me you are a poor person and i say it without beeing angry... The tool is up, now and for the future your oppinion is not the reason to change this -sorry, perhaps this was one of your goals.
The blocking of the tool is very easy to understand, there is a limit for requests otherwise we have to pay higher charges, so perhaps it's a first kind of promotion or later on a little service for a low fee, no secret - justification it's not necessary for me, but it's another exception especially for friendly and helpful persons like you! And aside from there are many registered airlines and pilots too, so the tool is not as secret as you think.
That's all and nothing more...

bringing thisthread forward

bump to top

... and while we're at it, include a link to KVS' tool as well (thanks, KVS)

http://jove.prohosting.com/www001/KVS_Tool_1.htm
This site seems to be down, any up to date information on where this KVS tool can be found?

This site seems to be down, any up to date information on where this KVS tool can be found?
See this thread, which has an updated link.

[http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244]

See this thread, which has an updated link.

[http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244]
Thanks!

Sorry but I have to ask. How do you find the the "special classes" in version 1.64? In an earlier version one could "enable" the program for that purpose but I don't see how to do it now. Excuse my ignorance.

Sorry but I have to ask. How do you find the the "special classes" in version 1.64? In an earlier version one could "enable" the program for that purpose but I don't see how to do it now. Excuse my ignorance.
You don't need to enable the "special classes" any longer. Just enter the specific class you're interested in (U, C, X, whatever) and it'll give you availability for that specific class. If you leave 'class' blank, it'll give you availability for all the 'regular' classes.

In looking at results from any AA search....... it lists:

F (which id FC), the A (which is First for upgrade using miles or VIP coupon), plus (of course) all the coach fares.

Does any one know....... what is the relation / correlation..... between the inventory of A (number available in the bucket) and the inventory of X (which is the upgrade class using electronic stickers)?

thx

Does any one know....... what is the relation / correlation..... between the inventory of A (number available in the bucket) and the inventory of X (which is the upgrade class using electronic stickers)?x
None at all, as far as I know (at least not in any 'direct' sense). 'A' is also discounted (paid) FC (used for RTW tickets etc.).

If you want to see X inventory, you have to specifically ask for it. There will (in theory) always be as many A fares available as there are X, and as many F as there are A. However, just because F - or A - is available doesn't mean there'll be any X.

One way to get a "picture" of what it's looking like is to (a) see what the tool shows as available (bearing in mind that it'll never show more than F4 A4, even if the cabin is empty) (b) see what ITN says is available and (c) see what the seat map looks like... Taken together, it'll give you a sense of what the likelihood is of X opening up.
l

None at all, as far as I know (at least not in any 'direct' sense). 'A' is also discounted (paid) FC (used for RTW tickets etc.).

If you want to see X inventory, you have to specifically ask for it. There will (in theory) always be as many A fares available as there are X, and as many F as there are A. However, just because F - or A - is available doesn't mean there'll be any X.

One way to get a "picture" of what it's looking like is to (a) see what the tool shows as available (bearing in mind that it'll never show more than F4 A4, even if the cabin is empty) (b) see what ITN says is available and (c) see what the seat map looks like... Taken together, it'll give you a sense of what the likelihood is of X opening up.
l

Why is it that the 'tool" onlys shows 4 (IE: F4 and A4) but ITN shows 7?

Why is it that the 'tool" onlys shows 4 (IE: F4 and A4) but ITN shows 7?
Presumably an artifact of the underlying system from which the information is being pulled.

In both cases, these are minimum, not actual numbers i.e., F4 means there at least 4 seats available, F7 at least 7 ..... so if one says F4 and the other F7, then there are presumably at least 7 seats available. Any number less than 4 (and less than 7 for economy) and you'd expect them to say the same.

Great tool -- thanks!

Just tried to look at the seatmap for AA flight 05 from SFO to JFK on Nov 5. Tried to fill out the form, and I put Y as the "class."

This is the response I got. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

[text]

SFO JFK NOV/05 0800 AA Y ->

CHECK FLIGHT NUMBER
SA 24Y05NOVSFOJFK
/
1 TOOL MESSAGE:
2 ACTUAL LOCAL SERVER TIME IS 02:56, UP SINCE 01:22, UP FOR 120 MINUTES
3 I.E. UP FOR THE NEXT 0 HOURS 26 MINUTES, LENGTH OF NEXT DOWN TIME PERIOD IS 300 MINUTES

Great tool -- thanks!

Just tried to look at the seatmap for AA flight 05 from SFO to JFK on Nov 5. Tried to fill out the form, and I put Y as the "class."

This is the response I got. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

[text]

SFO JFK NOV/05 0800 AA Y ->

CHECK FLIGHT NUMBER
SA 24Y05NOVSFOJFK
/
1 TOOL MESSAGE:
2 ACTUAL LOCAL SERVER TIME IS 02:56, UP SINCE 01:22, UP FOR 120 MINUTES
3 I.E. UP FOR THE NEXT 0 HOURS 26 MINUTES, LENGTH OF NEXT DOWN TIME PERIOD IS 300 MINUTES

Under flight number, you have to add the airline code again, so in your case you should input AA5, not just 05.

I find that this tool and the KVS availability tool have helped me far too many times in getting upgrades on AA. The latest example, I was going to CUN for Thanksgiving. Purchased 4 tickets based on A availability. Fare basis one way was B (full fare) so decided to use the 7500 mile upgrade one way and use VIPs the other way. AA EXP agent tells me no upgrades outbound and upgrades only available inbound. I politely tell him that a tool I have shows A7 on SFO-MIA. He immediately rechecks, says sorry I must have typed in wrong dates and then goes on to upgrade me. Without these tools I could not have found out that the agent was in error or for that matter which flts to choose.

I run these tools first, look at availability and fare codes to choose the right flt by schedule (for low initial fare and a confirmed or high possibility of upgrades later). Thank you both (Mathias and KVS).

For me (ex. smile67) there were two reasons to build this "Availability Tool", first to test CRS access via program and second to help users for free. Now and during the work on it the second point is/was more important and i'm very thankful for many many mails and comments (mostly good - sometimes bad, both ok).
At the moment i don't know how long this tool will work, i'm just looking (more or less) for a new job, so perhaps i'm not able to keep it up (it's not my CRS/server, only my software). Don't know what the future brings, but don't worry if someone kills my server-application which handles the requests of this tool - there are other good possibilities to request availability too.

Ok, thanks for using this tool and best regards
Matthias

Thanks again, Matthias. A great tool that I use frequently. You've done many of us a big favor. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

I'm flying to AKL from SYD by Emirate on 13th Nov. I looked up the booking code to see whether there are any seats available. However, I am so confused with the numbers of the booking code. It's totally different.

In KVS Availabililty
EK 412 SYD 09:00 AKL 14:10 (aircraft unknown) F4 A4 J4 C4 Y4 W4 M4 B4 K4 Q4 H4 L4 T4 V4

In Availability Tool 1.64
[1] SYD AKL 13/0900 13/1410 EK412 F4 A4 J7 C7 Y9 W9 M9 B9 K9 H9 Q9 L9 T9 V9 [345]

Why it's soo different? I dont understand why?

Thanks

The KVS tool and the Availability Tool use different systems to look up the data.

When you see for example D9, this means there are 9 seats or more available in fare bucket D.
However, sometimes, the limit is not 9, but 4 seats. This means you can sometimes (quite often, actually) see D4, and this means there are 4 seats or more available in this fare bucket.

I have never seen other limits than 4 and 9, so if you see another number, for example 3 or 7, this should mean exactly 3 or 7 seats available in the bucket.

In this case, it seems EK publishes different data to the two reservation systems that KVS and the Availability tool use. In the KVS tool, the 'limit' is 4, but in the Availability Tool, the 'limit' is 9.

I have never seen other limits than 4 and 9, so if you see another number, for example 3 or 7, this should mean exactly 3 or 7 seats available in the bucket.Actually, 7 is a maximum used by some airlines. But it's often easy to spot when that's the case, because you'll just see a whole line of 7s - just like seeing a whole line of 9s or 4s.

As the 2 previous posters mentioned, the maximum number of seats available for sale in each fare class, as shown in various GDS systems, can vary.

However, for each carrier, that maximum number is normally consistent across all major GDS systems. That is:

Most carriers display a maximum of 9
SU, LO, TG display a maximum of 4
AZ displays a maximum of 7

Therefore, EK appears to be somewhat of a special case as their flights show-up with a max. of 4 seats per bucket in Sabre and a max. of 9 in Galileo...

'Why doesn't the redemption/upgrade class I asked for appear?'

Anyone heard of POS. It stands for POINT of SALE. Everytime you make an availability entry or request a fare display, this little beauty comes into play and determines the parameters contained within the airlines response.
'Rules' set within each of the individual airline inventory systems control who gets to see what. This can run the whole gamut from everyone seeing everything, to very strict controls, whereby two people sitting in the same office, with terminals connected to the same system will get a different response to exactly the same entry made at exactly the same time. POS is one of IATA's protocols that enables an airlines revenue managment to control who can sell/buy inventory and at what price. Some of the basic rules are agent/city/country/currency etc. Note, not all systems use all rules however you can be sure that the majors probably do. This would be one of the main reason why when you request specific class availability of an airline (either direct or via a GDS) you may not get the response you want.
Another reason is that, depending on an airlines policy and fare rules, classes are blocked from display when not available and not allowed to be waitlisted. Remembering that there are a possibility of 26 single alpha chars and max 2 numeric chars and a space for each class in an availabilty display (without adding x number of combos of 2 alpha and 2 numeric chars), ie 104 spaces on the screen without flt number date bpt/opt. Try and read a screen with that sort of combo of flights on it especially if the systems is capable of building four flt connection routings. Its murder on your front end programmes that screen scrape.
Airline res screens normally have a much smaller display area than you PC (can't remember, but something like 62 chars across 34 lines down).

"Why does one display show 4 avail and others 9 etc?"

This time it's a little thing call 'Sale and Report' agreements. This is where the airlines determine what number of available seats they want displayed in another systems
.
Firstly non numeric availabilty.
If you see - beside the class it as always on apply. Await response following file down of PNR creat/update. Don't see many of those anymore.
If you see alpha chars (explained in an earlier message) instead of numeric then 'free sell' is available up to an agreed amount of seats. Exceed the amount and flt will be w/listed if not closed to w/listing. Inventory not indented till message sent following create/update of PNR. S and R agreements usually allow for knock back of free sale if flt has become overbooked in class sold.

If you see numeric beside the class then it is either,
1. As advised on the SSIM (method airlines use to send their schedule to other system) with follow up AVS messages advising current status of flight once it gets to the trigger point. This is could be 4, 7 or 9 being the industry preferred standards. Depending on the agreement the data in the AVS message may be numeric or it may switch alpha. AVS messages also apply to alpha status. The 4, 7 and 9 indicate there are at least that many seats available in the class. AVS messages can reduce/waitlist/close the availabilty, as well as open them up again. For your info one of the largest carriers in the US of A was able to generate AVS messages pointing downward but were unable to generate AVS messages to open up a class again. Don't know if this is still true, but if so would explain some of the discrepencies you see.
2. Numeric availabilty may also occur whereby the enquiring system will interrogate the airlines inventory system real time and block off requested inventory and marry to PNR following file down of the create/update.

GDS also have their own rules on number of classes able to be displayed and the order that they appear in their nuetral availabilty display. Depending on the R and S agreement, this should be able to be overcome by making a specific class availabilty for a specific carrier airline whereby the GDS will poll and display the availabilty as shown in airlines inventory system. Remember however that part 1 (my previous diatribe) mentions POS and this is also in play.

Dare I mention 'Marriage Logic' re connecting flts or should I just leave it there for the moment.

Hopefully these answers will explain a few of the whys and sooth a frustrated brow or two. Unless there has been a quantum leap in the processing generation in the last couple of years of the airlines shop window (ie their availabilty systems), looking for redemption/upgrade inventory is going to remain aaaaaggggghhhh. GUI's/front ends don't help either. Yes, give me a dumb terminal and access to the native system and I will get you those seats quicker than you can blink.
Best of luck all.

Actually, there are 3 ways in which the actual availability number (e.g. 9,7,other) may be determined by the GDS that is being used:
1) The airline sets a specific max number they want to sell in the GDS, then broadcasts a "open-or-closed" status indicator for each flight/class of service. When the airline has fewer than the max available for sale, it sends a "closed" status message to the GDS which then starts showing 0 available..
2) The airline may send a specific number of seats to the GDS, rather than use an open/closed indicator. In this case, the messages to the GDS have a specific number of seats available to sell at a particular point in time. Clearly improved over item 1.
3) GDS's also have agreements with some airlines to actually send queries to the airline system (rather than accepting feeds of status) to see what the availability status is in "real time". The airline looks at who is asking, what the ultimate orgina-destination is or the passenger.. then they decide how many seats (if any) to show available in a class of service

Clearly the 3rd alternative is the most accurate. Sorry if this is described in some of the previous umpteen pages, but thought I'd add to what spanzviewmaster stated above. This is a large part of the reason why you find differences between airline systems and GDS's as well as differences between the GDS's themselves.

Also, perhaps more on topic, I do wonder at the underlying technology/connectivity used to collect the information from the tools mentioned here. Most airlines and all GDS's do attempt to keep up with unprofitable traffic that they get sent to their systems. All GDS's and airlines make money (generally) only when someone actually books travel in the system. Use of the system to do only search activities and then have bookings take place elsewhere (e.g. search GDS-book Airline web site) puts the GDS's in a position of having expensive resources consumed for no financial purpose. Activity like this can take place under the radar on a small scale, but this kind of tool either needs to spread itself out over several intermediaries, or will eventually be discovered and turned off. I have no idea if this concept is in part why these systems are not available all the time. It is certainly possible that the actual amount of traffic generated by these tools is small enough that it will not be noticed, however.

Again, I didn't read all the previous threads, so I apologize if this point is addressed previously.

After being frustrated with the KVS and "galileo" tools, I have decided to become a travel agent and got my own Sabre access! I haven't used an online booking site since.

Sample Availablity Query:

113NOVLAXHKG¤CXš
13NOV SAT LAX/PST HKG/‡16
CX RESPONSE ** DIRECT CONNECT PARTICIPANT **
7CX 881 F4 A4 J7 C4 D4 I0 Y0 B0*LAXHKG 1215A 740A‡1 74J M/ 0
H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0
8CX 883 F4 A4 J0 C0 D0 I0 Y0 B0*LAXHKG 1035P 600A‡2 74J M/ 0
H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0
* - FOR ADDITIONAL CLASSES ENTER 1*C
1*Cš
13NOV SAT LAX/PST HKG/‡16
CX RESPONSE ** DIRECT CONNECT PARTICIPANT **
7CX 881 F4 A4 J7 C4 D4 I0 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 LAXHKG 1215A 740A‡1
L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0
8CX 883 F4 A4 J0 C0 D0 I0 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 LAXHKG 1035P 600A‡2
L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0


Sample Seat Map:

4G*CX881A13NOVLAXHKGš
AUTH- 74J
0 - LAX 1 - HKG
NO SMOKING-LAXHKG
A D G K
1 . . 1
2 . * 2
3 . * * * 3
4 * B * * * B 4
A D G K





AVAIL NO SMK: * BLOCK : / LEAST PREF: U BULKHEAD: BHD
AVAIL SMKING: - PREMIUM: Q UPPER DECK: J EXIT ROW: X
SEAT TAKEN : . WING: W LAVATORY: LAV GALLEY: GAL
PREF ACCESS LAV: PAL DOOR: DOR SCREEN: SCR CLOSET: CLS
PREF ACCESS : H BASSINET: B UMNR: M REARFACE: ¤


Sample "Booking and Pricing":

121JANSFOLHR¤VSš
21JAN FRI SFO/PST LHR/‡8
VS RESPONSE ** DIRECT CONNECT PARTICIPANT **
7VS 20 J4 D4 Z4 W4 S0 K0 Y7 B7 SFOLHR 445P 1030A‡1 74S D 0
L7 M7 Q7 X7 N7
8AA1939 F4 W4 S4 Y4 B4 H4 Q4 M4 SFOLAX 508P 622P M80 0
N4 K4 L4 V4 G4
9VS 24 J4 D4 Z4 W4 S7 K0 Y7 B7 LHR 905P 330P‡1 343 D 0
L7 M7 Q7 X7 N7
01Z7š
1 VS 20Z 21JAN F SFOLHR SS1 445P 1030A 22JAN J /DCVS /E
1¤R29JANš
29JAN SAT LHR/Z SFO/PST-8
VS RESPONSE ** DIRECT CONNECT PARTICIPANT **
7VS 19 J4 D4 Z4 W4 S7 K0 Y7 B7 L7 LHRSFO 1100A 205P 74S L 0
M7 Q7 X7 N0
8VS 23 J4 D4 Z4 W4 S7 K4 Y7 B7 L7 LHRLAX 300P 650P 343 D 0
M7 Q7 X7 N7
9UA 978 F4 C4 D4 Z4 Y4 B4 M4 H4 Q4* SFO 1015P 1128P 320 0
V4 W4 A4 S4 T0
* - FOR ADDITIONAL CLASSES ENTER 1*C
01Z7š
2 VS 19Z 29JAN J LHRSFO SS1 1100A 205P /DCVS /E

WPš
21JAN DEPARTURE DATE-----LAST DAY TO PURCHASE 13NOV
BASE FARE TAXES TOTAL
1- USD3699.00 185.10XT USD3884.10ADT
XT 27.40US 5.00YC 7.00XY 3.10XA
2.50AY 42.00YQ 74.30GB 19.30UB
4.50XF
3699.00 185.10 3884.10TTL
ADT-01 ZHAP42
SFO VS LON1849.50ZHAP42 VS SFO1849.50ZHAP42NUC3699.00END ROE
1.00 SITI XFSFO4.5
NONREF/APEX
*IAš
1 VS 20Z 21JAN F SFOLHR SS1 445P 1030A 22JAN J /DCVS /E
2 VS 19Z 29JAN J LHRSFO SS1 1100A 205P /DCVS /E
WNš
CTY GI TPM CUM MPM SUR DED LAST NEXT 25M
SFO 1
1. LON 2 AT 5358 5358 6429 0M 0 0 1071 8036
2. SFO 1 - 5358 10716 *****



Anyways, I find this fun...

After being frustrated with the KVS and "galileo" tools, I have decided to become a travel agent and got my own Sabre access! I haven't used an online booking site since.

Sample Availablity Query:

113NOVLAXHKG¤CXš
13NOV SAT LAX/PST HKG/‡16
CX RESPONSE ** DIRECT CONNECT PARTICIPANT **
7CX 881 F4 A4 J7 C4 D4 I0 Y0 B0*LAXHKG 1215A 740A‡1 74J M/ 0
H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0
8CX 883 F4 A4 J0 C0 D0 I0 Y0 B0*LAXHKG 1035P 600A‡2 74J M/ 0
H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0
* - FOR ADDITIONAL CLASSES ENTER 1*C
1*Cš
13NOV SAT LAX/PST HKG/‡16
CX RESPONSE ** DIRECT CONNECT PARTICIPANT **
7CX 881 F4 A4 J7 C4 D4 I0 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 LAXHKG 1215A 740A‡1
L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0
8CX 883 F4 A4 J0 C0 D0 I0 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 LAXHKG 1035P 600A‡2
L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0




Many here, including myself, are quite green with envy..

Smile, you listening? I'd pay up to $20/month to have FULL TIME access!
:D

Many here, including myself, are quite green with envy.Others might recognise the handle and think of a phrase beginning "More money ...

Any advice on what to do if the only time I have a computer and internet access here in New Zealand is during a 4 hour downtime period?

thanks
goodo

Others might recognise the handle and think of a phrase beginning "More money ...
^ but I think the Sabre access includes the "Book the Limo" service. ;)

Any advice on what to do if the only time I have a computer and internet access here in New Zealand is during a 4 hour downtime period?

thanks
goodo
It's on a 5 hours down, 2 hours up cycle. Accordingly, you should be able to access it in a day or two's time unless your internet access hours are on the same 7 hour cycle.

Is the Availability Tool down, more than for just its usual down time? For the last two days, regardless of what I input, I keep getting the "Error: No Valid Result" message. The "down time message" has never appeared, only this "no valid result" message. Any suggestions?

Any advice on what to do if the only time I have a computer and internet access here in New Zealand is during a 4 hour downtime period?

thanks
goodo

try the ITN section in shuly's www.airtravel.tk

Is the Availability Tool down, more than for just its usual down time? For the last two days, regardless of what I input, I keep getting the "Error: No Valid Result" message. The "down time message" has never appeared, only this "no valid result" message. Any suggestions?

Just tried it, works fine:


1 TOOL MESSAGE:
2 SORRY, TO REDUCE TRAFFIC THIS FEATURE IS TEMPORARILY DOWN! SOON IT WILL BE BACK...
3 ACTUAL LOCAL SERVER TIME IS 17:09, DOWN SINCE 13:23, DOWN FOR 300 MINUTES
4 I.E. DOWN FOR THE NEXT 1 HOURS 14 MINUTES, LENGTH OF NEXT UP TIME PERIOD IS 120 MINUTES

Is the Availability Tool down, more than for just its usual down time? For the last two days, regardless of what I input, I keep getting the "Error: No Valid Result" message. The "down time message" has never appeared, only this "no valid result" message. Any suggestions?


I've been getting that a few times, but if I restart the program or just try a couple more times, it usually works.

As long as I'm posting, thanks so, so much for this! It really is wonderfully helpful.

I've had a burst of use today, and it's been fine for me once the two-hour slot started.

I've been getting that a few times, but if I restart the program or just try a couple more times, it usually works.

As long as I'm posting, thanks so, so much for this! It really is wonderfully helpful.

Check if you're using a proxy in your windows/ie internet settings. I use proxomitron and the tool doesn't like that for some reason. No biggie for me since I use Firefox/Mozilla anyway, so turning off the proxy settings in ie is no biggie.

Hi Matthias,

thank you very, very much again for this great tool! It is for me as useful as Word or any other real business program!

At least I now know I have only a change for an Business Seat (C0 MSP to AMS - ridiculous!!) when there are any Now-Shows!

Regards
Mark

is there away to search by class w/o a date? e.g. dl ;jfk to cdg; r class ; date :rolleyes: month of 2/05

is there away to search by class w/o a date? e.g. dl ;jfk to cdg; r class ; date :rolleyes: month of 2/05No there isn't -- that would require multiple requests to the GDS (e.g. 28 requests to cover the entire month of 02/2005).

Seems like Itn.net (Amex) has changed their website, is this the reason why the tool doesn't return data on the Itn.net search option?

Seems like Itn.net (Amex) has changed their website, is this the reason why the tool doesn't return data on the Itn.net search option?Yes, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244&page=6&pp=20#post3494291

Thanks KVS ^

Now that ITN has bitten the dust, I'm going to agree with others - I will pay $$$$ for an always-on GDS lookup tool!! Not quite to the extent that Daniellam has, but if Matthias would setup a pay-system for the Availability Tool, I'd send $$$!

Now that ITN has bitten the dust, I'm going to agree with others - I will pay $$$$ for an always-on GDS lookup tool!! Not quite to the extent that Daniellam has, but if Matthias would setup a pay-system for the Availability Tool, I'd send $$$!Well, for now Sabre access via AUA still works in the KVS Availability Tool [http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319244&page=6&pp=20#post3494291] and it's available 24/7. There is also ITN-UA, although it's too "biased" toward UA's own flights. Plus, I expect to introduce a comparable replacement for ITN-AMEX real soon...

Hi. Several new ITN based tools have been put online without password entry or downloads necessary at: http://flyaow.com/class.htm

Cheers!

I think the Gallieo service is started again. At least, it has worked for me yesterday & today.

it works for me too! finally.

goodo

Same here...sweet!

And thanks for the update, otherwise I wouldn't have checked at all.
Adam

Yep! It works! ^ Thanks for posting. :-:

Yep! It works! ^ Thanks for posting. :-:


yeah, thanks a lot. ^
the everlasting downtimes of this "smiley tool" used to tick me of big time. :rolleyes:

Please give me the url to the galileo service since I seem to have lost it.

Please give me the url to the galileo service since I seem to have lost it.


The English interface is at http://www.benedelman.org/travel/inventory/

Prepare for it to go away again real soon...I'm sure there was a reason why this tool stopped working...The back-end has been back up for a while now, now that it's published again on FT - it'll probably go away again real soon...

Too bad...

yeah, thanks a lot. ^
the everlasting downtimes of this "smiley tool" used to tick me of big time. :rolleyes:

It's a good thing it didn't cost you that much....
:rolleyes:

Is there any website or thread here that explaines the Letters after the classes, Such as F,J,I,Z,Y etc. but next to each of them there is usually a number (which i know tells you the availibilty on that fare upto 9) though what does L,R etc next to the fare code mean?

Thanks

Is there any website or thread here that explaines the Letters after the classes, Such as F,J,I,Z,Y etc. but next to each of them there is usually a number (which i know tells you the availibilty on that fare upto 9) though what does L,R etc next to the fare code mean?

Thanks

Each airline has different codes, but generally, F/P is First, C,J,Z,I is often Biz, and Y is full-fare economy classes. What airline are you looking for specifically?

next to each of them there is usually a number (which i know tells you the availibilty on that fare upto 9) though what does L,R etc next to the fare code mean?From memory, L = waitlist only, R = on request only, C = closed (no more waitlisting), A = available (for those carriers that don't give a real time display of numerical availability). There are more, but others will probably be able to help.

Globaliser, thanks that was what i was looking for. If you have any other that you know off hand that would help, otherwise thank you.

The Game is over... ;-)

This is what comes up now. I guess its all over.... again.

goodo

:td: :mad: That was quick! :td: :mad:

Well, I'm glad I use expertflyer.com ... I guess the old saying is true, you get what you pay for.

I don't know if this is related or not, but is anyone else unable to connect to Smile67's Availability Tool?

I don't know if this is related or not, but is anyone else unable to connect to Smile67's Availability Tool?

I was having trouble all day. I'm hoping that it was jsut a network issue and that it will magically start working again tomorrow. :confused:

what is expert flyer. com?

what is expert flyer. com?

http://www.expertflyer.com is a service that someone started last month. They have a bunch of stuff, including availability and seat map displays, for a fee. They also give a 5 day refund policy if you don't like it. As a paid service it's not a free hack as smile's tool was, so it's up 24/7, and as I said earlier, to me it's worth the $$. There have been varied opinions about its usefulness, but I guess it depends on what you need or would use it for.

Whats the main difference between expertflyer and KVS's tool, which is also up 24 hours?

It's a good thing it didn't cost you that much....
:rolleyes:

you know what, smart..., i did not use it because it was free but because
there was no better tool available (which i would have been glad to pay for).

:rolleyes: :td:

Whats the main difference between expertflyer and KVS's tool, which is also up 24 hours?

expertflyer is a subscription service (3 different pricing schemes), KVS is not. expertflyer is contracted directly with the GDS's, KVS is ?

expertflyer gives you real time graphical seat maps for most all flights on about 100 airlines. It also gives you all the published fares and fare rules by route or by airline and route. It also shows flight information for many, not all, flights in progress for that day.

expertflyer shows hidden classes for some airlines, at least those that make them available. I don't believe KVS has this facility, at least I have not been able to find it.

And expertflyer has a feature that allows you store repeated queries so you don't have to keep entering them over and over again.

Is it worth the price? Depends on what you need it for, I guess.

you know what, smart..., i did not use it because it was free but because
there was no better tool available (which i would have been glad to pay for).

:rolleyes: :td:

Although I have no desire to get into anything with you at all - beggars can't be choosers. There are better tools available - if you're willing to pay for access to the systems directly, you can. I personally don't think that its very nice to trash something someone personally spent time & energy developing & gave away for free without being asked to do. So I'll stick by my comments.

So I'll stick by my comments.


deleted; it is not worth fighting over.

Is it worth the price? Depends on what you need it for, I guess.

Are you currently using expertflyer? If so, are you happy with the product?

Are you currently using expertflyer? If so, are you happy with the product?

Yes to both. There are some features that would be nice to make it more flexible but they just launched the service a month ago (i.e. V1.0) and I am sure they are probably working on tweaks and improvements as they get feedback.

Yes to both. There are some features that would be nice to make it more flexible but they just launched the service a month ago (i.e. V1.0) and I am sure they are probably working on tweaks and improvements as they get feedback.

Thank you. Out of curiosity, did you opt for the Basic or Premium rate plan?

http://www.expertflyer.com is a service that someone started last month...
Could not see I fares on Northwest using expertflyer.com. Too bad, looks like a nice program.

They would probably get a lot more business if they offered flyertalkers a free trial. I know I would try it out if a trial were available. Give a 1 to 2 week trial, get us hooked, and then require a sign up for continued use.

Thank you. Out of curiosity, did you opt for the Basic or Premium rate plan?

Premium. The visibility for all the int'l fares is nice for me.

I think the Gallieo service is started again. At least, it has worked for me yesterday & today.

Thank you opus :td: ... another FT service gone forever.... had you not posted here and kept it to yourself or your friends we might have had it around a little longer... c'est la vie

Thank you opus :td: ... another FT service gone forever.... had you not posted here and kept it to yourself or your friends we might have had it around a little longer... c'est la vie

Sorry, I had no idea there was a "we" -- as far as I knew, I was the only one who knew about it being back.

:confused: Without question there are issues about posting on FT. In the past discussion regarding appropriate posts has been primarily about questionable mileage earning schemes. Now the Moderators are stepping in to criticize someone for posting the renewed availability of a site showing fare bucket availability! What is and what is not appropriate?

Thank you opus :td: ... another FT service gone forever.... had you not posted here and kept it to yourself or your friends we might have had it around a little longer... c'est la vie

What an incredibly snide remark. Is there some sort of secret FT insider board I'm not aware of?

I am posting this a a FT member... not as a mod... in that light the reason aeroplan.de was originally shut down was it was being abused to the extent that the bandwith being used was costing them ALOT! Thats why the availability tool is only up for 2 hrs each 7 hrs. If you knew the history to the original reason it was shut down, maybe you would have known what a gem you had stumbled upon. I know several people who knew about Ben's backdoor still working, but kept it quiet because they knew that once it got posted, it would be gone in a heartbeat... well guess what... its gone! Sometimes posting on FT is not always a good idea...

What an incredibly snide remark. Is there some sort of secret FT insider board I'm not aware of?
Better yet Im still trying to figure out why the thread about the availability tool being down was shut down and the poster was told to go here....and here it seems info is not allowed....very confusing???? If anyone knows whats happening with the avialbility tool info would be appreciated. I joined expertflyer for a month to give it a try but it doesnt have the info i need

I am posting this a a FT member... not as a mod... in that light the reason aeroplan.de was originally shut down was it was being abused to the extent that the bandwith being used was costing them ALOT! Thats why the availability tool is only up for 2 hrs each 7 hrs. If you knew the history to the original reason it was shut down, maybe you would have known what a gem you had stumbled upon. I know several people who knew about Ben's backdoor still working, but kept it quiet because they knew that once it got posted, it would be gone in a heartbeat... well guess what... its gone! Sometimes posting on FT is not always a good idea...

I wasn't aware of why it was shut down; I also was not aware of any secret cabal (or anyone else) that knew it was back. I know Ben didn' know it was back, either. I was just sharing an observation that the tool was back up (which seemed on-topic for a thread called "Gallileo: THIS SERVICE HAS BEEN STOPPED"). I intended no harm, I was just trying to share with the FF community (which seems to be the intent of this site).

I kind of resent the implication that I've "ruined" this tool for the select few (whoever they are) who knew the dark secret of the sites resurrection. If I knew it was a secret, I wouldn't have posted.

Under any circumstances, I can't imagine that this site, bookmarked by thousands of people and contained on a site with other useful tools, would remain a secret forever.