Originally Posted by
bk3day
Since the routing wasn't germane to the original question I posted, I privately answered Mr. Bean with the details of the routing to answer his question.
fwiw, the UA metal flights were NYC-IAD-MUC and same on return
LH metal on MUC-MAD/BCN and same on return
apologies for the confusion
p.s. I'd still appreciate any insights on my ? respecting the reason for price doubling of W base fares to BCN/MAD
bk3day, sorry for not replying sooner, but I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and figure out the issue until now.
The simple answer is that .bomb sucks. A lot. It won't allow me to choose the required flights for the itinerary you gave me (it "bombs out" when I try to do that). I think it has some sort of segment restriction by the looks of it, but not completely sure.
However, it is bookable on the site that charges booking fees. Just make sure you choose the right fare (it is not the lowest available, since you are looking for an upgradeable W fare).
To do this, price out the whole trip on ITA, then enter your information into the booking site. Be very specific with times, dates and carriers.
Then select the fare that is the price you found on ITA + the $7 booking fee. If you are lucky, the price goes down after you select it and the ultimate price is only ~$1 more than what ITA shows.
Confirm that the UA legs are in W by viewing the fare rules (PM me if you have any trouble doing so).
Have a nice trip to MAD ^