Originally Posted by
Shareholder
That's not really a simple itinerary, though it would be considered a "normal" one for those of us around here. I think too many people feel online booking engines should be able to handle such complex itineraries but the truth is like many things, these systems are designed at the lowest cost to serve the most in demand types of bookings. They were never intended to replace TA or airline res office booking facilities, but to channel the simplest transactions away from airline staff who could then handle the more complex requirements of the few who needed such service.
Sure, I would be nice to be able to book such complex flights online (and save the $30 fee) but in this case I can't really sympathize with the OP (or others who agree with him/her) since another $30 on what represents a $10K+ revenue ticket is not much to ask. Since AC space is minimized (and thus additional fees are minimal) me thinks the OP protests too much!
While it doesn't actually allow you to book the flights, I like to use
Matrix when I need to shop for complex flight itineraries. It does provide pricing, and is an example of what the airlines
could offer.
Matrix is amazingly flexible, allowing you to easily build an itinerary segment by segment, and showing what each choice does to the overall ticket cost. It also produces a summary page of fare types, rules, etc. to forward to a travel agent or airline to complete the booking. Bottom line - you still need to contact the airline or a travel agent to make your booking, but this shows that it could be done online.
ITA Software (the developers of
Matrix) was recently bought by Google (big plans for the future?). They list Air Canada and Aeroplan as customers. That suggests that Air Canada and Aeroplan deliberately limit the options presented to the travellers booking online at their websites.