Is Y is oversold if no Y fares available??
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Los Angeles, CA; Philadelphia, PA
Programs: OZ Diamond
Posts: 6,140
Is Y is oversold if no Y fares available??
I have been monitoring my upcoming ACr flight once every few days. The Y seat map has been showing plenty of Y seats empty the the last few weeks. Now I realize the seat map is often not an accurate measure of how full Y is as some pax don't get seat assignment until check-in, and I would imagine it's more common on AC since there is a charge for that.
In any event, I just checked my flight and now only C (or C equivalent on ACr) is available for purchase. Does this mean Y is oversold? Or is that just a glitch & Y will be available for sale later?
If it's not oversold, is there another way to check the seat map? TIA.
LAX
In any event, I just checked my flight and now only C (or C equivalent on ACr) is available for purchase. Does this mean Y is oversold? Or is that just a glitch & Y will be available for sale later?
If it's not oversold, is there another way to check the seat map? TIA.
LAX
#2
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It generally means that coach is overbooked (not quite the same thing as oversold in airline-speak). However, you could be seeing married segment availability issues: the flight you want isn't being sold as a standalone flight but perhaps is available for connections to some highly profitable flight such as LHR, CDG, FRA, NRT or HKG for instance.
#3
Join Date: Sep 2014
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Posts: 218
Generally i would say that yes it is overbooked.
However recently I had the same thing happen, only to re-check a few days later and find some tickets available again. I really have no idea what happened, my assumption would be someone put them on hold but didn't purchase.
However recently I had the same thing happen, only to re-check a few days later and find some tickets available again. I really have no idea what happened, my assumption would be someone put them on hold but didn't purchase.
#4
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If a flight is Y0 "far out" from departure, they've almost certainly sold more seats than they have.
However, they do this BECAUSE they know they'll have no-shows, so while it might be oversold by 5 a week out, their expectation is that it will drop to just "full" by departure.
I was watching a couple flights yesterday, and one was J4Y0 and suddenly jumped to J9Y9.
They'd replaced the E90 with a 320.
However, they do this BECAUSE they know they'll have no-shows, so while it might be oversold by 5 a week out, their expectation is that it will drop to just "full" by departure.
Generally i would say that yes it is overbooked.
However recently I had the same thing happen, only to re-check a few days later and find some tickets available again. I really have no idea what happened, my assumption would be someone put them on hold but didn't purchase.
However recently I had the same thing happen, only to re-check a few days later and find some tickets available again. I really have no idea what happened, my assumption would be someone put them on hold but didn't purchase.
They'd replaced the E90 with a 320.
#5
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: YXE
Posts: 3,050
Yeah very common for mainline E90/319/320/321 flights (where they can, in many cases, re-adjust dynamically). But within Rouge, seriously, what are the chances such happens? There's what, 2 Rouge A321's? And swapping a Rouge tail for a mainline tail means that they end up making mainline passengers suffer Rouge seating/(lack of) IFE/etc. I'm sure its happened during IRROPs, but its probably something AC is keen to avoid and doesn't do as a matter of routine (although more domestic Rouge is inevitable in the schedule!).
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Los Angeles, CA; Philadelphia, PA
Programs: OZ Diamond
Posts: 6,140
Flight is in about a week and still no Y fares available for purchase (probably not a glitch). I somehow was able to look at a seat map using the confirmation I was provided (not directly purchased from AC) and it showed about 50% of Y seats unassigned. Is it pretty typical of ACr flights since most people don't want to pay extra for the seat assignment??
LAX
LAX
#7
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#8
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The flight can't be oversold until more people arrive at the gate on time and with valid boarding passes than there are seats. The flight is more than likely overbooked at this point. It is possibly booked to exact capacity.
Keep checking. Things change minute-by-minute.
Seat maps mean nothing.
Keep checking. Things change minute-by-minute.
Seat maps mean nothing.
#9
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: YYZ most of the time
Programs: AC SE100K MM, Princess Elite
Posts: 3,921
The flight can't be oversold until more people arrive at the gate on time and with valid boarding passes than there are seats. The flight is more than likely overbooked at this point. It is possibly booked to exact capacity.
Keep checking. Things change minute-by-minute.
Seat maps mean nothing.
Keep checking. Things change minute-by-minute.
Seat maps mean nothing.
Overbooked would infer more reservations are BOOKED than capacity.
They both could happen before people arrive at the gate.
#10
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Join Date: Nov 2004
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Well, flight is about a week out and still no Y fares available for purchase. I guess it's likely to be overbooked. The core issue is I am trying to decide whether I should blink & fork out $$ for advanced seat assignments.
In an overbooked situation, I am concerned about having only middle seats available, resulting in our party of 4 being split up and scattered all over the cabin. I would rather not do that if I can help it.
For those of you who travel frequently on AC(r), are there usually good number of seats available to choose at the time of online check-in on an overbooked flight if the seat map looks decently open few days prior to that? TIA.
LAX
In an overbooked situation, I am concerned about having only middle seats available, resulting in our party of 4 being split up and scattered all over the cabin. I would rather not do that if I can help it.
For those of you who travel frequently on AC(r), are there usually good number of seats available to choose at the time of online check-in on an overbooked flight if the seat map looks decently open few days prior to that? TIA.
LAX
#11
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#12
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AC E35K, NEXUS
Posts: 4,368
Well, flight is about a week out and still no Y fares available for purchase. I guess it's likely to be overbooked. The core issue is I am trying to decide whether I should blink & fork out $$ for advanced seat assignments.
In an overbooked situation, I am concerned about having only middle seats available, resulting in our party of 4 being split up and scattered all over the cabin. I would rather not do that if I can help it.
For those of you who travel frequently on AC(r), are there usually good number of seats available to choose at the time of online check-in on an overbooked flight if the seat map looks decently open few days prior to that? TIA.
LAX
In an overbooked situation, I am concerned about having only middle seats available, resulting in our party of 4 being split up and scattered all over the cabin. I would rather not do that if I can help it.
For those of you who travel frequently on AC(r), are there usually good number of seats available to choose at the time of online check-in on an overbooked flight if the seat map looks decently open few days prior to that? TIA.
LAX
#13
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC 50K, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 1,551
+1. It may be Rouge but there will be plenty of Flex tickets, altitude elites and Tango customers who all selected seats. If you don't care about 4 middle seats randomly scattered around the plane, then do nothing. I would personally pay for the seats. Also, on an overbooked flight, it will be non-status Tango tickets without seat assignments that will be bumped from the flight, if needed.
#14
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: yyz
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 424
Well, flight is about a week out and still no Y fares available for purchase. I guess it's likely to be overbooked. The core issue is I am trying to decide whether I should blink & fork out $$ for advanced seat assignments.
In an overbooked situation, I am concerned about having only middle seats available, resulting in our party of 4 being split up and scattered all over the cabin. I would rather not do that if I can help it.
For those of you who travel frequently on AC(r), are there usually good number of seats available to choose at the time of online check-in on an overbooked flight if the seat map looks decently open few days prior to that? TIA.
LAX
In an overbooked situation, I am concerned about having only middle seats available, resulting in our party of 4 being split up and scattered all over the cabin. I would rather not do that if I can help it.
For those of you who travel frequently on AC(r), are there usually good number of seats available to choose at the time of online check-in on an overbooked flight if the seat map looks decently open few days prior to that? TIA.
LAX
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Los Angeles, CA; Philadelphia, PA
Programs: OZ Diamond
Posts: 6,140
It sounds like online check-in won't help me save some $$. I did factor in the seat assignment fees at the time of purchase, so it's not like I would end up paying more than the alternatives. I was hoping we can use the cash for a meal or something instead. Thanks everyone.
LAX
LAX