Madhouse24

Most certainly a "more" competent TA could do it...but most are afraid of the dreaded debit memo from the airline/s

aktchi

A little confusing here to me. If NUC is equivalent in value to USD, the how does a fare of NUC 1216 end up being equivalent to USD 1252?

Brobbel

Buying and selling currency gives different exchange values... I guess that's the problem here.

ITA Hacker

NUC 1216.00 is converted using the IROE (IATA Rate Of Exchange) to GBP 631.00

Then GBP 631.00 is converted using BSR (Banker's Selling Rate) to USD 1252.00

The IROE are (generally) published quarterly, and the BSR are updated much more frequently (depends on the currencies, but generally at least weekly). So when the currencies drift apart, the exchange rates can get off by quite a bit.

orbweaver

I used ITA for the first time a couple of days ago and it is great! I found a fare with availability:

MIA-SCL-IPC with departure Jan. 17, 2008 and return from IPC on Jan. 28 - two flights each way with a 60hrs 25min layover in SCL.

MIA LA SCL S75.00 LA IPC Q105.00 M 629.50NLXSP494 LA X/SCL LA MIA
Q105.00 M 629.50NLXSP494 NUC 1544.00 END ROE 1.00 FARE USD 1544.00 XT 5.50YC 7.00XY 5.00XA 30.20US 2.50AY 21.20CL 30.00ZQ 4.50XF MIA4.50

for a total of $1649.90.

LAN won't refer me to their tariff desk, my local TA says no availability on the dates that ITA lists, and no similar fare appears on Expedia, etc., etc.

So, I'm anxious to use ITA - the search for low fares in a month period would be helpful. But if I can't book a fare I see, then ITA is less useful.

Anyone have additional hints on how to book fares that ITA shows or are ITA's results not always reliable?

aktchi

Yes we all who love ITA for getting ideas and testing possibilities face this frustration once in a while. If the problem is that ITA has unearthed an unusual fare or routing, we can work with TA's. However, if the seats might have become unavailable since you searched, nothing ITA or anybody can do about that. (For example, right now I see a minimum of $1509 for MIA-IPC on those dates if you don't check seat availability, but $1864 if you do.)

Keep trying Orbitz, Travelocity, Vayama, Farecompare etc. According to Farecompare, fare for this route drops to as low as $1250 but available seats are around $2100 for your dates. Good luck

SmilingBoy

I love ITA, but availability it shows is not always correct. In my case, they often show availability for certain classes on LX, and it is definitely not there.

SmilingBoy.

Tclin

Try Orbitz. Several flight options are available.

Jan 17
LA507 MIA-SCL 19:05/05:04+1

Jan 20
LA833 SCL-IPC 18:05/21:25

Jan 28
LA834 IPC-SCL 11:45/18:25
LA5504 SCL-MIA 22:00/04:20+1

$1660.63 all-in (including service fee)

SmilingBoy

Orbitz is based on ITA, so it will initially show the same availability. If you go one step further and select the flight, it often does not work. Again, my experience of this problem is mainly with LX.

SmilingBoy.

Tclin

I did and got final purchase screen. Cannot confirm further since I am not going to buy it.

Edited: However, I agree with you. Sometimes ITA acts strange. Situation might have changed since the OP (orbweaver) posted.

aktchi

Great. I could get it to $1470-$1500 range on Orbitz (MIA-SCL 1/17; SCL-IPC 1/20; IPC-SCL 1/28; SCL-MIA 1/30 or 31).

orbweaver

Thanks. The comments have been a lot of help. I'll try Orbitz. I'm learning and listening to the comments here about others' experiences speeds the learning curve.

aktchi

We are all discovering that there is no single source which is so good that we can disregard all others. I usually check with ITA, Farecompare, Kayak, Orbitz, Vayama, websites of major airlines for that route, as well as a few travel agents specializing in that market!

It is frustrating at times that ITA does not deal with selling tickets, but again this is what makes them unbiased. Orbitz or AA.com, etc., while they may well offer the best option now and then, also have specific flights to push and no incentive to show others. I find ITA best for experimenting with unusual ideas, including or excluding specific routes and airlines. Farecompare and Zuji (Singapore) are good if time of travel has flexibility. Good luck.

cesco.g

This is actually a good criterium to measure the qualifications of a travel agent. My top T/A always says: Bring 'em on. So far, he has yet to receive a debit memo.

On a couple of "too good to be true fares" a preemptive quick check with airline rate desk assured him that the fare was ok for ticketing.

orbweaver

Thanks everyone for suggestions. I checked Orbitz and AA's own site and found a suitable fare from MIA-IPC - just a tad more than the ITA fare from yesterday - and a lot better dates for me. Clearly I need to find a new TA who is the "bring 'em on" type, though. Thanks a lot for everything I read here - I'm still learning a lot.