I'll be going back to HKG on Friday and I booked YUL-YVR-HKG through CP on discounted fare. YUL-YVR would be on CP 3111, which is AC metal, and YVR-HKG on CP metal CP 7.
CP is now telling me that the YUL-YVR segment is fully booked and I have to be waitlisted, because AC is holding the seats, and I'll get priority on the list.
Checked ITN.net/Amex Site and the flight was WIDE OPEN!!! Looks like AC is trying to fill up those seats with full fare passengers.
Since the reservation systems are not integrate yet I would imagine the two airlines treat eachother much like their other partners. They simply provide a certain block of seats they can sell however they want...
Dorian
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CP and AC can't just dip into each other's inventory. This is a code-share relationship, not joint marketing.
Since CP and AC codeshare on each other's flights, this means that each carrier sells the other a block of seats for a fixed price. The buying carrier then has to sell them, or take the loss, as the case may be.
All that your experience means is that CP used up all of the seats they bought from AC on this flight. AC might sell them more, if their direct sales do not move and CP is willing to buy them.
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It seems like an unfortunate side effect of the airline integration when you book a flight with CP numbers, you get a certain availability, fare class and fare, but booking with AC numbers for the same flight yields totally different information. Probably not much can be done until AC/CP begin to use a single res sys. Perhaps they could find a way to do automatic "load balancing". This would be where whenever one of the airlines sells more of its inventory than the other, it automatically is allocated more seats to sell such that the load factors stay somewhat balanced. Am I making sense?
Fewmiles, sure you are making sense! BUT, I think they are on a better track of moving to one system...will be more painful and costly but WAY better for the future.
Dorian!!!!!
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BTW, anyone know which res system will AC and CP use to combine their operations? AC's (can't remember the name), CP's (Sabre), or a completely new one? I remember reading something about AC/CP having to "choose" a res sys but I can't remember where I saw that.
FewMiles. When computer systems are switched, CP will be changing to the AC system of RESIII. T2 and T1 will see it first.
As for what system AC will choose when their current contract is up is as yet undecided. That's too far away at this time to worry about. Right now, they both need to be working on the same system as they are currently not compatible. There will however be a link added for checkin at either carrier in the near future. Date is yet to be confirmed.
Alright, got my booking finally, LGA-YUL-YYZ-YVR-HKG. This whole journey will take me at least 25 hours to complete. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif Thanks AC.
