DL Showing Yes/No Award Space on EF
Jul 1, 2015, 9:22 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: IND
Programs: DL DM, UA & AA Peeon, Hilton/Starwood Gold
Posts: 875
DL Showing Yes/No Award Space on EF
Team, I'm sorry, but the search function isn't returning any results for "EF" or "Expert Flyer" even though I know we've all discussed this before. TPG posted today that DL has once again allowed low level award space to be found on EF.com. It appears they are just showing Yes/No vs. the customary numbers of seats, but something is better than nothing.
Would be great if we could get some more data to reappear now!
Would be great if we could get some more data to reappear now!
Jul 1, 2015, 9:31 am
#2
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Treasure Coast of FL (MCO/MLB/PBI)
Programs: AS MVP, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 844
Was actually just going to post about this (I'm the author of the TPG post). My tests have indicated that it seems to match the inventory displayed on Delta.com. As I indicate in the post, you can still find the total number of available seats in R, O and N class (up to a total of 7); you'll just need to search for specific numbers.
Note that the alert feature does allow you to enter number of seats.
Great to see this added!
Note that the alert feature does allow you to enter number of seats.
Great to see this added!
Jul 1, 2015, 9:36 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
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Posts: 15,193
Still nothing for OP/RP inventory however? I'd be ok with it showing even YES/NO for that too if they don't want the exact number displayed.
Jul 1, 2015, 9:50 am
#5
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: DL Diamond 1.7MM, Starlux Insighter, Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,947
I strongly suspect this is NOT in cooperation with Delta - likely EF is getting this data from one of DL's partners (explaining why they only can see low space).
Note that if you look closely, the brand "Delta" has been expunged from the drop downs on their site: it now just says "DL - DAL".
Kudos to ExpertFlyer for getting creative here and standing up for our rights as informed consumers. Hopefully they can find an avenue for getting revenue availability soon, too.
Note that if you look closely, the brand "Delta" has been expunged from the drop downs on their site: it now just says "DL - DAL".
Kudos to ExpertFlyer for getting creative here and standing up for our rights as informed consumers. Hopefully they can find an avenue for getting revenue availability soon, too.
Jul 1, 2015, 9:51 am
#6
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Treasure Coast of FL (MCO/MLB/PBI)
Programs: AS MVP, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 844
FAQ
Q: Does this mean that upgrade availability is being shown again?
A: No, the R and O classes being shown represent awards, not upgrades. Upgrade inventory was only available via the reservation systems (GDS) which Delta is preventing us from using for accessing their data.
Q: Does this mean that the other non-award DL data (fare classes, seat maps, etc) will be returning to ExpertFlyer?
A: No, Delta still is preventing us from accessing any reservation system (GDS) data.
Jul 1, 2015, 2:18 pm
#8
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: ATL
Programs: Bonvoy Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Gold, AA EXP, UA Silver, former DL DM
Posts: 2,001
Is it just me, or is this not working at the moment? Delta is currently not showing up on the list of airlines in the award/upgrade search.
Jul 1, 2015, 2:49 pm
#9
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Location: 45° North
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Maybe that was all we got.
Jul 1, 2015, 3:05 pm
#10
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 288
Since other services/tools have had DL award data for years, that doesn't seem like it will be the case.
Jul 1, 2015, 3:30 pm
#11
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: ATL
Programs: Bonvoy Ambassador, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Gold, AA EXP, UA Silver, former DL DM
Posts: 2,001
Jul 1, 2015, 3:44 pm
#12
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 288
When I view the Award & Upgrade Availability Search page (http://www.expertflyer.com/air/awardUpgrade.do), the list of airlines goes immediately from "CSA Czech Airlines - OK" to "El Al - LY". I don't see "DAL - DL" anywhere.
Jul 1, 2015, 4:35 pm
#13
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I see a few segments with low award seats when I do a flexible search. I haven't tried to verify the results on delta.dumb.
HMMM....when I try a search for fare class availability, the red text is still there saying that "DL has requested that we no longer offer to you any information on DL....."
HMMM....when I try a search for fare class availability, the red text is still there saying that "DL has requested that we no longer offer to you any information on DL....."
Jul 1, 2015, 6:52 pm
#14
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 288
I included FAQs in the post that address this:
Q: Does this mean that upgrade availability is being shown again?
A: No, the R and O classes being shown represent awards, not upgrades. Upgrade inventory was only available via the reservation systems (GDS) which Delta is preventing us from using for accessing their data.
Q: Does this mean that the other non-award DL data (fare classes, seat maps, etc) will be returning to ExpertFlyer?
A: No, Delta still is preventing us from accessing any reservation system (GDS) data.
Q: Does this mean that upgrade availability is being shown again?
A: No, the R and O classes being shown represent awards, not upgrades. Upgrade inventory was only available via the reservation systems (GDS) which Delta is preventing us from using for accessing their data.
Q: Does this mean that the other non-award DL data (fare classes, seat maps, etc) will be returning to ExpertFlyer?
A: No, Delta still is preventing us from accessing any reservation system (GDS) data.
Jul 1, 2015, 7:01 pm
#15
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: KATL
Programs: DL DM/2MM
Posts: 2,034
ExpertFlyer didn't show award inventory before the great clampdown, so this is actually new functionality, for EF anyway.
The Yes/No availability as opposed to actual seat counts is pretty much exactly what KVS has always shown, so it sounds like EF got their hands on whatever datasource or methodology KVS was using.
The Yes/No availability as opposed to actual seat counts is pretty much exactly what KVS has always shown, so it sounds like EF got their hands on whatever datasource or methodology KVS was using.