Difference in fare results when searching ITA vs LX/LH websites?
Hello everyone,
I noticed something strange a few months ago when booking an LX ticket and am seeing the same thing now when searching for NYC-BCN flight on *A. There is no UA direct flight on the dates that I'm considering, so my ITA search has focused on LX, LH, BD, and TP connections. This post is specifically about the LX and LH search results.
Let's work through an example: on ITA, I found EWR-MUC-BCN on LH in S class and BCN-ZRH-EWR in S class for $871. The same flights come up on a Lufthansa.com search in L class for $707. Does anyone know why there is a difference in what ITA sees in their search versus the results that come up from LH? I understand that different fare classes price differently, but I'm wondering why this inventory appears unavailable to outsiders.
In the example that I gave, the LH search results provide an L class fare, which should earn United miles on the LH-operated segments but not the LX-operated segments. Is there a way to force the LH website into a slightly higher booking code (such as T) that would earn United miles on both the LX and LH legs?
Thank you very much!