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Amsterdam (AMS) to Los Angeles (LAX) bucket problems?

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Old Aug 14, 2014, 1:58 pm
  #1  
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Amsterdam (AMS) to Los Angeles (LAX) bucket problems?

Hey guys, I've been trying to book a flight back from AMS to LAX in September and I'm seeing some strange results. The only seats I can find period on United are Y. Checked Kayak, Expedia and united.com and nothing, only Y for $3,600 one way.



The other fare buckets have seats based on export mode, right? (Am I reading it correctly?)

What gives?
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:03 pm
  #2  
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UA appears to be selling your desired one-way as Y. You can get cheaper fares w/ round-trip, when the other buckets become available. The buckets you see are available for the flight, not for the type of ticket you are trying to buy. Random return date gave me $1100 round-trip - "L" out on 14th and back on the 24th. UA is just not selling a one-way equivalent to an "L" fare. One-ways are usually much more expensive than 1/2 a round trip, but this is spectacular.

Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Aug 14, 2014 at 2:13 pm
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:07 pm
  #3  
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The fare buckets mean nothing without an eligible fare.

This was explicitly disclaimed to you in bold text when you agreed to access to Expert Mode:

The presence of a particular fare class does not mean that there is a fare associated with it. For example, we may offer availability in a discounted fare class, but that does not necessarily mean we have published a fare that corresponds to it.
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:14 pm
  #4  
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Get a round trip and skip the return!
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:15 pm
  #5  
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Originally Posted by Germanfflyer
Get a round trip and skip the return!
I was going to recommend that, but OP is Silver and there is some risk involved. If OP has miles, this might be a good use for them, especially if Saver is available.

And looking, I see saver available on 13th. 30,000 miles in this case would be extremely good use of miles if OP can move date up by a day....
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:17 pm
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Find an airline that doesn't charge crazy one way fares. Norwegian Air flies CPH to LAX one way for about $400. You will need to get to CPH though.
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:17 pm
  #7  
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No risk when starting in the EU - LH and others lost all cases where they tried to get more money from the pax!

All she has to say is she missed the flight back - end of story!
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:18 pm
  #8  
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Originally Posted by mduell
The fare buckets mean nothing without an eligible fare.

This was explicitly disclaimed to you in bold text when you agreed to access to Expert Mode:

The presence of a particular fare class does not mean that there is a fare associated with it. For example, we may offer availability in a discounted fare class, but that does not necessarily mean we have published a fare that corresponds to it.
Perfectly well-stated.
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:20 pm
  #9  
 
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Originally Posted by pixitha
The other fare buckets have seats based on export mode, right? (Am I reading it correctly?)

What gives?
Sign up for an Expertflyer account and do a "fare information" search for one-way fares from AMS to LAX offered by United.

You'll see that the cheapest published one-way fare in the system is a Y fare. UA doesn't want to be in the business of selling cheap one-way trips AMS-LAX right now.
mherdeg is online now  
Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:41 pm
  #10  
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Thanks for the info guys!

This is a "business trip" so I'm not actually paying for it, but if I can't find a decent United fare, I'll have to fly someone else. Trying to make sure I get my miles on 006 stock for status and such. I don't get to actually buy the tickets, we use eGencia for all of that.

This is a LAX-LHR - ferry - AMS-LAX trip, so round trip doesn't quite work. As it stands it would be cheaper to go back to LHR and make that just a round trip flight that way. Guess ill see if I can do that instead.
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 2:45 pm
  #11  
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Originally Posted by IAH-OIL-TRASH
If OP has miles, this might be a good use for them, especially if Saver is available.
+1
It appears OP wants to travel on September 24. The saver Y is available on that date through IAH or IAD for 30,000 miles. Those miles can be purchased through award accelerator for less than $700.

Originally Posted by pixitha
This is a LAX-LHR - ferry - AMS-LAX trip, so round trip doesn't quite work. As it stands it would be cheaper to go back to LHR and make that just a round trip flight that way. Guess ill see if I can do that instead.
You can book the open jaw LAX-LHR/AMS-LAX and it should price out similar to a roundtrip. Use the "Multiple Destinations" tool.
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 3:04 pm
  #12  
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Originally Posted by Kacee
+1
You can book the open jaw LAX-LHR/AMS-LAX and it should price out similar to a roundtrip. Use the "Multiple Destinations" tool.
doh! Didn't even think to try that. That works much better:



Now I've just got to figure out a way to make that on the TA site.

I'm also trying my hardest to take the LAX-IAH-LHR flight so I can finally fly on the 787. Such a nerd....
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 3:18 pm
  #13  
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You do not really want to fly a UA 787 in coach....
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 3:19 pm
  #14  
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Originally Posted by Germanfflyer
You do not want really to fly a UA 787 in coach....
Is it as bad as TG F?
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Old Aug 14, 2014, 3:23 pm
  #15  
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That is a very valid question!
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