Nov 11, 2014, 2:41 am

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Last edit by: Xyzzy

Where does the KVS tool get its data and is KVS authorized to provide this data in the manner it is presented?

The tool is known to access a variety of web sites, many in a manner that is not authorized. Please see the next section of this Wiki for a list of sites believed to be accessed and their data access policies (where known).

Additionally, under some conditions the tool appears to access sites via a KVS-operated back end. This means that the tool is not just a 'web browser' that runs via a user's machine. No detailed public information is available about how this works or whether any of this back-end access is authorized.

Websites KVS Accesses and their relevant Terms of Use

http://book.aircanada.com/pl/AConlin...verrideServlet
http://book.aircanada.com/pl/AConlin...PreviewServlet
https://book.aircanada.com/pl/AConli...verrideServlet
https://www.aircanada.com
Terms of Use:

Quote:

http://www.aircanada.com/en/about/legal/notice.html
Use of our web site for any other purpose, including any commercial use or purpose, is expressly prohibited.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, you agree that, in using or accessing our website, you shall not commit or participate in any of the following acts or actions, each of which is expressly prohibited under this User Agreement:
directly or indirectly, use or access, or encourage, solicit, permit, facilitate, aid, assist or abet, including, but not limited to, the selling, licensing, distribution or provision to any person of any means that permit, the use or access, or agree to provide the use or access, of our website through any manual process or any automatic, electronic or technical device, including but not limited to automated scripts, robots, crawls, screen scrapers, web "bots", deep-links, indexes, spiders, click-spams, macro programs, or any other device, program, software, system, algorithm, methodology or technology, now known or hereinafter discovered, that performs the same or a similar function, in order to, without limitation: "data mine"; "screen scrape"; data process; access, extract, copy, distribute, aggregate or acquire information; generate impressions or clicks; input or store information; search or generate searches; or manipulate or monitor any portion or content of our website;

http://data.flight24.com/flights/
Terms of Use:

Quote:

http://www.flightradar24.com/terms-and-conditions
Website’s information and Services are provided for personal, non-commercial use only. Permission is granted to temporarily download one copy of the materials (information or software) on Flightradar24’s web site for personal, non-commercial transitory viewing only. This is the grant of a license, not a transfer of title, and under this license you may not:

Modify or copy the materials;
Use the materials for any commercial purpose, or for any public display (commercial or non-commercial);
Attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any software contained on Flightradar24's web site;
Remove any copyright or other proprietary notations from the materials; or
Transfer the materials to another person or "mirror" the materials on any other server.

This license shall automatically terminate if you violate any of these restrictions and may be terminated by Flightradar24 at any time. Upon terminating your viewing of these materials or upon the termination of this license, you must destroy any downloaded materials in your possession whether in electronic or printed format.

http://data.seatexpert.com/tpi/find.php
Terms of Use:

http://plane.lan.com/cgi-bin/recibo_...bo_eticket.cgi
Terms of Use:

Quote:

http://www.lan.com/en_us/sitio_perso...-use/about-us/
You may use the information on our site solely for non-commercial purposes, and any use or modification of the website contents is not permitted.

http://reservations.usairways.com/Default.aspx
Terms of Use:

Quote:

http://reservations.usairways.com/en-US/aboutus/site_usage_policy.html
Content may be used for non-commercial personal use only, and you agree not to modify, copy, transmit, distribute, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, sell or otherwise transfer any information, software, products or services obtained from the Site without prior written permission from US Airways. You agree not to use any automatic device, manual process, or scraping to monitor or copy the Site or the content contained therein for any purpose without US Airways’ prior written permission. You agree not to use any device, software or routine to interfere with or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site or any activities conducted on the Site.

https://book.austrian.com/app/fb.fly
Terms of Use:

Quote:

http://www.austrian.com/Info/LegalRegulations/WebsiteTerms.aspx?sc_lang=en&cc=AT
2. Proprietary rights
All trademark rights, copyrights, database rights and other intellectual property rights to the contents of the Austrian-website, (as well as the organization and layout of the website), together with the underlying software code rest, either with Austrian or with its licensors. You may not, either in whole or in part, copy, modify, distribute or use or reproduce in other form contents of the Austrian-website, or the underlying software code, without the prior written consent of Austrian.

3. Permissible use
All Austrian-website online services (including the booking machine) are provided solely for the purpose of enabling you to check the availability of goods or services relating to your journey (the timetable, for example), make legitimate reservations, use our online check-in or transact other business with suppliers. You may only use the website in accordance with these terms and conditions and for the legally permitted purposes described above. In particular, you indicate your agreement to the following:
...
3.5 You may not reproduce information from the Austrian-website for commercial purposes. This also includes providing prices for Austrian flights on another website or another online server. In particular you may not copy, distribute, in other way use or reproduce discarded content from the Austrian-website with the help of 'robots', other search machine technologies or through other automatic mechanisms.

https://booking.qatarairways.com/qri...Booking.action
Terms of Use:

https://book.tam.com.br/TAM/dyn/air/...ng/retrievePNR
Terms of Use:

https://classic.checkmytrip.com/plne...ievePNR.action
Terms of Use:

Quote:

(D) not to use any automated system or software to extract data from the Application, Documents or Services for commercial purposes (such as screen scraping);

Quote:

https://mytripandmore.com/TermsAndConditions.aspx
Except as expressly permitted by these Terms, you may not:
...
9. use any "robot", "spider" or other automatic device, software, program, algorithm, routine, methodology, or any manual process or functionality:
...to monitor, assemble, analyse, index, copy, transmit, distribute, transfer, or link to any of the pages, data, materials, or content available on the Site,

https://pilotweb.nas.faa.gov/PilotWe...yICAOAction.do
Terms of Use:

https://prefunds.aa.com/refunds/receipt
https://www.aa.com/reservation/findReservationSubmit.do
Terms of Use:

Quote:

https://www.aa.com/i18n/footer/siteUsage.jsp
Intellectual property notifications
...
D. American Airlines owns or uses by permission all software contained on the Site, including without limitation all HTML code and Active X controls. Copyright and other laws and international treaty provisions protect this software. The law expressly prohibits any modification, redistribution, or reproduction of the software, and such actions could result in severe civil and criminal penalties. American Airlines will seek and support prosecuting violators to the maximum extent possible.
E. You may not copy, display, distribute, download, license, modify, publish, re-post, reproduce, reuse, sell, transmit, use to create a derivative work, or otherwise use the content of the Site for public or commercial purposes. Nothing on the Site shall be construed to confer any grant or license of any intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, by implication, or otherwise.
...
Limitations on your use:
You agree that you will not Misuse the Site. "Misuse" includes, but is not limited to, using the Site to do any of the following:
...
L. Copy or create derivative works from, display, distribute, license, perform, publish, recreate, reproduce, sell, transfer, or transmit any information, products, services, or software obtained by, from, or through the Site.
M. Monitor or copy any Content by using any manual process, or any robot, spider, or other automatic device, without first obtaining American Airlines' prior written consent.

https://raw.github.com/opentraveldat...i_airlines.csv
Terms of Use:

https://secure.jetairways.com/PlatformID/Identify.aspx
Terms of Use:

https://tickets.airtran.com/SeatAvailability.aspx
Terms of Use:

Quote:

http://www.southwest.com/html/about-...ons/index.html
Prohibited Activities

You may not copy, display, distribute, download, license, modify, publish, re-post, reproduce, reuse, sell, transmit, use to create a derivative work, or otherwise use the content of this site for public or commercial purposes without our express written permission. Nothing on this site shall be construed to confer any grant or license of any intellectual property rights, whether by estoppel, by implication, or otherwise.

You may not modify, re-render, frame, mirror, truncate, add to, inject, filter or change the order of the information contained on any page of the Southwest Airlines sites, including, without limitation, by any way of reproducing Southwest Airlines or SWABiz® web pages or Company information on any other web site without our express written permission.

You may not copy, derive, edit, translate, decompile, reverse engineer, modify, use, or reproduce any code or source relating to our sites, including without limitation, any service or product Southwest offers.

You may not cause to appear any pop-up, pop-under, exit windows, expanding buttons, banners advertisement, or anything else which minimizes, covers, or otherwise inhibits the full display of the Southwest Airlines sites.

You may not use any deep-link, page-scrape, robot, crawl, index, spider, click spam, macro programs, Internet agent, or other automatic device, program, algorithm or methodology which does the same things, to use, access, copy, acquire information, generate impressions or clicks, input information, store information, search, generate searches, or monitor any portion of the Southwest Airlines sites or Company information.
...
You may not disguise the origin of information transmitted to, from, or through the Southwest Airlines sites. You may not circumvent any measures implemented by Southwest Airlines aimed at preventing violations of the Use Agreement. You may not violate the restrictions in any robot exclusion header.

When you use the Southwest Airlines sites or Company information for an authorized purpose, you must include all proprietary notices without changing, hiding or deleting them.

You may not engage in any conduct that is, or that Southwest Airlines deems to be, in violation of this Use Agreement.

Quote:

https://www.checkmytrip.com/cmt/apf/...&SITE=NCMTNCMT
3. Licence restrictions

3.1 Except as expressly set out in this EULA or as permitted by any local law, you agree:
...
(D) not to use any automated system or software to extract data from the Application, Documents or Services for commercial purposes (such as screen scraping);

https://www.delta.com/mytrips/findPnr.action
http://www.delta.com/ism/SeatMapDisplay.action
http://www.delta.com/shared/components/blank.jsp
Terms of Use:

https://www.finnair.com
Terms of Use:

https://www.flysas.com
Terms of Use:

https://www.iberia.com/web/retrievePNR.do
Terms of Use:

https://www.lot.com
Terms of Use:

https://www.lufthansa.com
Terms of Use:

Quote:

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/port...d=2016866&l=en

2. Proprietary rights
...You may not, either in whole or in part, copy, modify, distribute or use or reproduce in other form contents of the Lufthansa-website, or the underlying software code, without the prior written consent of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.

https://www.routehappy.com/
Terms of Use:

https://www.swiss.com
Terms of Use:

https://www.tripforyou.net/t4u/PTopAction.do
Terms of Use:

https://www.tripple.jp
Terms of Use:

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/app...n/default.aspx
Terms of Use:

Quote:

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/legal.aspx This website is for the User's personal, noncommercial use only. User agrees not to modify, copy, alter, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell any information, software, products or services obtained from this website without United’s prior written permission. User agrees not to use any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy this website or the content contained therein or for any other unauthorized purpose without United’s prior written permission. ... United reserves the right to investigate any illegal and/or unauthorized use of this website, including, but not limited to, unauthorized framing of this website or unauthorized use of any robot, spider or other automated device, and to take appropriate legal action, including, without limitation, civil, criminal and injunctive redress.

Quote:

http://www.gcmap.com/faq/using
Q: May I use the Great Circle Mapper's maps on my web page?
A: You may use maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper on non-commercial web pages (q.v. commericial use below) so long as you do not profit from them and you include the following credit on pages which include maps:
...
Q: May I use the Great Circle Mapper's maps for commercial sites or publications?
A: Please write to Karl L. Swartz regarding terms for commercial use of the maps.

http://www.iata.org/about/members/Pa...line-list.aspx
Terms of Use:

Quote:

http://www.iata.org/Pages/terms.aspx
2. Your Conduct

The content on this Site is for your personal use only within the organization or entity to which you are attached as applicable, and it is not intended for commercial exploitation unless expressly agreed in writing by IATA through a duly authorized representative. IATA authorizes you to download or reproduce selected materials at this Site only for your personal, non-commercial use, in the ordinary course of business provided that you retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original materials on any copies of the materials and that the title or database brand name and IATA name is stated as the source.

You may not otherwise modify, disassemble, create derivative works, distribute, reproduce, publicly display, perform, transmit, re-transmit, sell, rent, sublicense, or otherwise use any materials or content on this Site for commercial or non-commercial exploitation by yourself or the organization or entity to which you are attached or permit third parties to so do. Without limitation, unlimited or wholesale reproduction, copying of the content for commercial or non-commercial purposes and unwarranted modification of data and information within the content is not permitted, and any use of these materials on any other website or networked computer environment for any purpose without IATA’s prior written consent is prohibited.
...
4. Intellectual Property Rights

...You must not modify, decompile, or reverse engineer any software IATA discloses to you via this Site, and you must not remove, overprint, or deface any notice of copyright, trademark, logo, legend, or other notice of ownership from any originals or copies of software or information from the website. "IATA Trademarks" means all names, marks, brands, URL names or addresses, logos, designs, trade dress and other designations IATA uses in connection with Products or Services. You are not permitted to incorporate any IATA Trademarks into any other trademarks, service marks, company names, Internet addresses, domain names, or any other similar designations. Any unauthorized use of any materials contained on this website may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes.

http://www.itn.net/cgi/get
Terms of Use:

http://www.kenya-airways.com/kqbook.aspx
Terms of Use:

http://www.myairlines.ru
Terms of Use:

http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/do/dyn/checkmytrip
Terms of Use:

http://www.seatexpert.com/multiple_results.php
Terms of Use:

http://www.seatguru.com/ajax/findseatmap.php
Terms of Use:

http://www.seatmaestro.com/airlines-...eckmytrip.html
http://www.seatmaestro.com/themes/de...te_airline.php
Terms of Use:

http://www.seatplans.com/ajax/Airline
http://www.seatplans.com/ajax/airports-and-city
http://www.seatplans.com/find-and-compare/
Terms of Use:

KVS Availability Tool

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Aug 23, 2014, 11:27 am

#7021

KVS

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Worldwide

Posts: 12,949

Quote:

Originally Posted by dechil

Now it works again

"RU" POS slows the result because KVS has to convert the amount from RUB to USD or EUR or any other user money.

KVS Tool supports 150+ currencies, so the conversion process is required. However, it only takes about a second to complete.

Aug 23, 2014, 11:29 am

#7022

KVS

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Worldwide

Posts: 12,949

Quote:

Originally Posted by nologic

I said: "hmm, when I look at flight xyz it shows, Y7, F5. Does it really show F0 in your system. I'm using ETR. Do you really show F0?

What is the flight in question?

Aug 23, 2014, 11:30 am

#7023

KVS

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Worldwide

Posts: 12,949

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondeye

Well, all three alliances.

SkyTeam DK/KE + VS/VA/HA (3-Tier SM Awards)
Star Alliance [All 28 Member Airlines] using JP-ANA-SP1
*O OneWorld {QF/BA/AA/US/**************] + {EK by AU-QFA-SP1

To limit results to specific airports, you would need to use:

[Awards/SkyTeam]
[Awards/AC-StarAlliance]
[Awards/BA-OneWorld]

Aug 23, 2014, 11:42 am

#7024

jarusoba

Join Date: May 2007

Location: YYZ, but my heart is in Asia

Programs: AC-SE, CX-DM, DL-G, Hyatt-DM, Hilton-DM, Fairmont-Plt, Marriott-S, Accor-Plt, SPG-G, IHG-Plt

Posts: 4,396

Looking at Star rewards NH1160 on Jan 5 for 2 pax in C.
[KVS Availability Tool 7.4.2/Diamond - Awards/StarAlliance/JP-ANA-SP1]

Code:

GMP  Seoul Gimpo Intl KR [RKSS]
HND  Tokyo Haneda Intl JP [RJTT]
MON  05 Jan 2015 | 2 Seats

Carrier    Flight  From  Depart    To    Arrive    A/C  St  Availability
---------  ------  ----  --------  ----  --------  ---  --  -------------
NH         1160    GMP   07:40     HND   09:50     77W  0   FS/  CS+  YS-
OZ         1025    GMP   08:40     HND   10:45     333  0   FS-  CS-  YS-
OZ         102     ICN   09:00     NRT   11:10     74E  0   FS-  CS-  YS-
OZ         104     ICN   10:00     NRT   12:10     321  0   FS-  CS-  YS-
NH         1162    GMP   12:45     HND   14:45     777  0   FS/  CS-  YS-
UA         78      ICN   13:30     NRT   15:45     738  0   FS/  CS-  YS-
OZ         106     ICN   15:10     NRT   17:20     333  0   FS-  CS-  YS-
OZ         1045    GMP   15:50     HND   17:55     333  0   FS-  CS-  YS-
OZ         108     ICN   18:50     NRT   21:00     321  0   FS-  CS-  YS-
OZ         1065    GMP   20:00     HND   21:55     333  0   FS-  CS-  YS-
NH         1166    GMP   20:15     HND   22:15     777  0   FS/  CS-  YS-
OZ         178     ICN   20:50     HND   23:00     321  0   FS-  CS-  YS-

ANA website says 2 available. But tried to use AC miles to book them, they said they can't see the availability.

Sure enough, using the AC method, there is none. Checked on AP.com, same, none.

[KVS Availability Tool 7.4.2/Diamond - Awards/AC-StarAlliance/CA]

Code:

GMP  Seoul Gimpo Intl KR [RKSS]
HND  Tokyo Haneda Intl JP [RJTT]
MON  05 Jan 2015 | 2 Seats

Carrier    Flight  From  Depart    To    Arrive    A/C  St  Availability
---------  ------  ----  --------  ----  --------  ---  --  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Awards Available:
                                                            CS: 29 Dec/30 Dec/31 Dec/06 Jan/07 Jan/08 Jan/09 Jan/10 Jan/11 Jan/12 Jan
                                                            YS: 07 Jan/08 Jan/09 Jan/10 Jan/12 Jan

Why is that?

The same flight on Jan 6 is the same. Visible on NH but not on AC.

Aug 23, 2014, 3:32 pm

#7025

KVS

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Worldwide

Posts: 12,949

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarusoba

Looking at Star rewards NH1160 on Jan 5 for 2 pax in C.

ANA website says 2 available. But tried to use AC miles to book them, they said they can't see the availability.

Sure enough, using the AC method, there is none. Checked on AP.com, same, none.

This early-departing flight requires a time-specific search or a Long-Sell by the Agent:
http://Help.KVSTool.com/#AgentSaysNo

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarusoba

The same flight on Jan 6 is the same. Visible on NH but not on AC.

Note that the evening flight can be booked online:

[KVS Availability Tool 7.4.2/Diamond - Awards/AC-StarAlliance/CA]

Code:

GMP  Seoul Gimpo Intl KR [RKSS]
HND  Tokyo Haneda Intl JP [RJTT]
TUE  06 Jan 2015 | 2 Seats

Carrier    Flight  From  Depart    To    Arrive    A/C  St  Availability
---------  ------  ----  --------  ----  --------  ---  --  ------------
NH         1166    GMP   20:15     HND   22:15     777  0   CS+

Aug 24, 2014, 3:32 am

#7026

dechil

Suspended

Join Date: Sep 2006

Programs: Flying Blue Platinum (lifetime)

Posts: 221

Quote:

Originally Posted by KVS

KVS Tool supports 150+ currencies, so the conversion process is required. However, it only takes about a second to complete.

Do you mean that in North America, the POS for Fare/PSH is RU?

Aug 24, 2014, 4:31 pm

#7027

PacificStandTime

Join Date: Feb 2014

Location: LAX

Programs: UA-P, and Chase-ing the sapphire dragon

Posts: 95

What is the difference between "text" and "enhanced" seat map?
Example, looking at the BR 777 flights, and "text" matches the 11 rows on set guru, and "enhanced" only shows 7.

Aug 24, 2014, 4:33 pm

#7028

PacificStandTime

Join Date: Feb 2014

Location: LAX

Programs: UA-P, and Chase-ing the sapphire dragon

Posts: 95

*Thanks!

Aug 24, 2014, 6:06 pm

#7029

KVS

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Worldwide

Posts: 12,949

Quote:

Originally Posted by dechil

Do you mean that in North America, the POS for Fare/PSH is RU?

As noted previously:

Quote:

Originally Posted by KVS

The POS is fixed for the [Fares/PSH] Method. However, POS, generally, makes no difference when it comes to Fares.

Aug 24, 2014, 6:09 pm

#7030

KVS

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Worldwide

Posts: 12,949

Quote:

Originally Posted by PacificStandTime

What is the difference between "text" and "enhanced" seat map?
Example, looking at the BR 777 flights, and "text" matches the 11 rows on set guru, and "enhanced" only shows 7.

The [Enhanced Seat Map] option supports additional Seat Blocking indicators, but may not always show the entire Cabin on certain carriers.

Aug 25, 2014, 11:04 am

#7031

flightline

Join Date: Mar 2007

Posts: 141

I am beginning to see CAPTCHAs when using the [Awards/BA-OneWorld] method. I don't remember this from the past. Any ideas? Thanks.

Aug 25, 2014, 5:35 pm

#7032

paddy855

Join Date: Aug 2014

Posts: 3

Apparent KVS Discrepancy with LH website

I have a general question concerning Lufthansa F Awards Availiability in KVS.

LH450 on Sep 3rd has F Awards available via the (German) Miles&More website, but not so through the tool. Same thing on other days when KVS says "FS-" while there actually is a F Award available.

As I am quite new to the tool, I'm wondering if I'm doing anything wrong? I tried all POS settings, but no change...

[KVS Availability Tool 7.4.2/Diamond - Awards/StarAlliance/JP-ANA-STD]

Code:

FRA  Frankfurt Metro / Intl DE = FRA HHN [EDDF]
LAX  Los Angeles Intl CA US [KLAX]
THU  04 Sep 2014 | 1 Seat

Carrier    Flight  From  Depart    To    Arrive    A/C  St  Availability
---------  ------  ----  --------  ----  --------  ---  --  -------------
LH         456     FRA   10:05     LAX   12:40     74H  0   FS-  CS+  YS-
LH         450     FRA   14:05     LAX   16:40     74H  0   FS-  CS+  YS-

Aug 25, 2014, 6:04 pm

#7033

paddy855

Join Date: Aug 2014

Posts: 3

Are Lufthansa F Awards availabilities not showing up in KVS? I tried various flights (e.g. LH450 on Sep 3) when the German Miles & More site shows availability, but KVS doesn't...

Am I doing anything wrong?

Aug 25, 2014, 8:55 pm

#7034

diamondeye

Join Date: Feb 2014

Location: Washington, DC

Programs: UA, DL, AA, US, SQ, TK, SPG, HH, CC, Avis, Hertz, Thrifty, Enterprise, Chase UR, Amex MR

Posts: 74

Quote:

Originally Posted by KVS

To limit results to specific airports, you would need to use:

[Awards/SkyTeam]
[Awards/AC-StarAlliance]
[Awards/BA-OneWorld]

I'll give it a try. Is there a way to search all three sequentially?

Aug 25, 2014, 9:04 pm

#7035

KVS

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Original Poster

Join Date: Jan 2004

Location: Worldwide

Posts: 12,949

Quote:

Originally Posted by flightline

I am beginning to see CAPTCHAs when using the [Awards/BA-OneWorld] method. I don't remember this from the past. Any ideas? Thanks.

Indeed, this is relatively new. KVS Tool supports [Awards/BA-OneWorld] CAPTCHA requests as of the last version (V7.4.2).