Originally Posted by
Brandon Fuhrmann
1) If I see flights in the BA system that show availability through JAL (more or less the same flights I have booked just 5 days later), shouldn't those be available for me to rebook? Agents can't seem to find these flights. Is there a reason for this or is it just ineptitude (I say this because i get different answers every time I try).
The problem is the JL flights. The US reservation system is badly broken and JL is one of the airlines that US will never, ever see any availability of. US needs to add the JL flights using the revenue vs. award booking system and then do some overrides to foce it to ticket. Some agents know how to do it, most don't (or just don't want to be bothered).
So, keep calling back and remind the agents that the JL flights they cannot add through the award booking system and that they need to go in the revenue booking system to add them. Also ensure that they pick the right fare class (it's quite likely that the agents will add the JL flights in the wrong fare class, which means that it won't be ticketable). You need the guide the US res. agents all the way through and know more than they do if you want to book and ticket an itinerary using JL flights. (Be glad that you don't have Flybe operated AY flights. If it was so, then you'd be out of luck, as US can't - or won't - ticket those at all, no matter what. JL at least you can still get ticketed, after a gruelling several hours on the phone and constantly educating the US res. agents.)