izzik

We all love seeing a new glitch or mistake fare/rate posted - it gets the adrenaline pumping and the daydreams going - but we also know for a fact that there are for-profit entities who won't waste a second in snatching up this find and crowing about it on their site. Some even go as far as to proclaim that they found it.. and no amount of howling will make them backpedal. So, why continue to support these leeches?

Thus, I'd like to throw something out there for discussion:

STOP POSTING MISTAKE FARES ON FLYERTALK / PUBLIC FORUMS!


So, how will you hear about the deals?

Answer: Start networking with other Flyertalkers. Go to Flyertalk Dos and events (see Communitybuzz), meet people, keep in touch. The more people you are networked with, the higher your chances are of hearing about deals and mistake fares. The best deals are the ones that go unnoticed, stay off the radar, and never show up on a blog. They last a lot longer, in my experience, and get quietly fixed by the airline and honored without question.

How does that sound - getting in on a deal that gets honored without letting blogs make money off of you?

onfo

Agreed - another option, which I'm sure has been floated in the past, is to have forums only open to those (1) with high number of posts (~500?) and (2) who are not known bloggers.

izzik

Unfortunately, I think that will be impossible to verify whether someone is a known blogger / airline employee / etc.

onfo

I was mainly thinking about blocking gleff

janetdoe

Wait, how is this a novel idea?

In various discussions about having a non-public forum for 'super-sale' fares, I frequently hear the argument, "But most of the great fares are posted by noobs." It's because people who have been in long enough to build networks know better...

skunker

Just make sure I'm included in any secret groups.

htran88

I agree these fares should be withheld from various populations. But unfortunately I would be in the category that never finds out I wish to learn more so that I could contribute more though!

nomii

If flyertalk stops posting these fares it would immediately reduce the value of Flyertalk to many people including me, and I would simply add a few more bloggers and other mistake-fare sites to the rss feeds (and those bloggers obviously are part of whatever "inner circle" comes up).

Trying to reduce the free flow of information seldom works - by clamping down on it in flyertalk public forums, people would even contribute less here, reducing the quality of information or the number of mistake fares posted here.

Yes, it sucks that being a public forum can kill the deal, but its not the end of the world. Its better than not having a forum like this at all.

FlightWhite

Isn't the point of online forums to create an open access environment to discuss these kinds of things? If we start putting barriers to entry, or to access, this becomes a silly, insular club, protective of small-impact secrets and preventing people who are getting started or learning about the system from reaping some of the most exciting rewards.

lewende

I like your idea, but most deals are published by "newbies" with very few posts. If a private club only admits veterans with 500+ posts, we certainly can control the outflow of information, but how can we make sure we are fed with proper information?

nomii

And honestly its not like we are discussing something that will save hundreds of thousands of dollars - no one can jump on every single mistake fare. Most people will do *maybe* one mistake fare per year (and even that is pushing it).

Even the recent BA fare, after you factor in positioning flights (to Dubai, from AUS/LAX etc), the F fare is still costing around $2000 all-in, which honestly is not that great a deal given that you can find similar fares from Srilanka/Egypt easily. At most, you're saving a couple thousand dollars which in the grand scheme of things is okay but not great - if you really want to try F fare I'm sure you'll find a way to save the couple thousand over a few years to do it.

LwoodY2K

This sounds like a great idea! I know about a couple totally sweet deals I haven't seen published that I'd love to share with a group of other people who do work looking for flights for me such that a minimal amount of my effort is involved. Please send a private network invite asap <3.

Far Siren

This is an interesting conundrum. While error fares last longer when kept within a small circle, there is also something to be said about the personal satisfaction that comes with doing something good for the community you love, and being appreciated for it.

After "earning my stripes" with the EY F mistake fare and couple of other smaller good deals, I have now chosen not to share the deals I stumble upon here because I know they'll disappear within 5 mins. Especially b/c of the bloggers.

izzik

This is not about creating a non-public forum or a "secret club".
This is about avoiding the idea of a single place to disseminate information.. and simply relying on word of mouth. Think decentralizing.

Go meet people.. go network.

CDKing

How about people stop calling every goo deal a mistake. Just because one person thinks its a mistake doesn't mean it is so. Use the word mistake and bloggers are quick to jump on it




How about you two just email them to me when you find them?