ChocolateFactory

I'm looking for flights from Corsica (BIA/AJA/CLY/FSC) to basically anywhere else in Europe, but ideally Paris.
ExpertFlyer shows availability for BIA-ORY with AF on my dates in the folowing booking classes:

• A ("Premium Economy - Classic Awards & Upgrades")
• S ("Premium Economy - Elite & Flex Award")
• B ("Economy - Long-haul Flex Award")
• W ("PE/Economy - Short/Medium-haul Flex Award")

I can see award space both for AF codeshare flights that are operated by XK as well as flights actually operated by AF.
ExpertFlyer also says: "The Air France Award search shows partner award inventory. Availability to Flying Blue members may be greater."

However, I can only reproduce the award space on the FlyingBlue website. Neither Delta nor Alitalia shows any availability.
Do I have to call DL/AZ or can ExpertFlyer simply not be trusted after all?
Are there any other good websites for checking SkyTeam award space?

I have almost never flown SkyTeam before. I have some GOL Miles, but their website is down for maintenenace at the moment.
Thanks!

irishguy28

If you want to book using Delta Skymiles, then you must search using the Delta booking tool, or call Skymiles.

If you want to book using Alitalia Millemiglia, then you must search using the Alitalia Millemiglia booking tool, or call Millemiglia.

Searching using any other tool other than the tool provided by the FFP does not provide you valid results for the FFP in question.

ChocolateFactory

Guess what I did? And their websites show no availability. I would like to avoid calling. Also, even when you call and the agent tells you there's no availability, you never know if it's just the agent's fault.
Thus my question if I should be able to book those seats using partners.

That's simply not true.

irishguy28

The fare classes you've shown above are for "Flex" and "Elite" awards.

Such awards no longer exist (since 1 Jun 2018); when they did, they were only bookable by FB members, at twice the "normal" rates. They were never made available for booking by partners.

FB has since changed to a new paradigm, where every seat is bookable by FB members, for increasing mileage amounts.


Unfortunately, it is. As you've proved by showing that partners do not see the availability open to FB members.

Your Skymiles/Millemiglia miles would be better used on a ticket more appropriate to these FFPs.

https://insideflyer.nl/new-award-tic...t-flying-blue/

ChocolateFactory

Not all of them. A is designated as a "classic" award.

That may very well be the case and would answer my question. But if they no longer exist, what is booking class A then?

Thanks. Then which booking classes show award availability to partners?

That may be the case in this specific case. But there are plenty of examples where you use website A to check award availability of airline B, which you then proceed to book through program C (where C does not show award availability for B online).

carnarvon

You're funny. Thank you for the joke.

ChocolateFactory

Good luck finding EY award availability on the AA or OZ websites. Good luck finding AV award availability on the IB website (or vice versa, etc.).
Or many of AS's partners. And there's probably a ton more examples.
In all those cases, you won't be able to see award space on the loyalty program's website, but tools ExpertFlyer or other websites will let you predict what's actually bookable.
You're welcome.

Ditto

And so you'd still need to call the respective airline to book those tickets? Why do you then refuse to do the same with FB?
I don't see how any of those examples are relevant though, you asked about Flying Blue and you got a good answer from @irishguy28...

ChocolateFactory

I'm perfectly find with calling some other SkyTeam airline to book.
But I would like to avoid calling Delta and asking for all possible combinations if they can see award space. And then doing the same with GOL. Then doing the same with Alitalia. Etc.

But I understand that people in this subforum don't seem to have a lot of experience with other programs than Flyingblue (or any other frequent flier programs for that matter), so maybe I should have asked in the Delta or Alitalia subforum instead.

ChocolateFactory

Since there wasn't a lot of help to get from you guys, I have taken the time to manually compare award availability on ExpertFlyer with what's bookable online through Delta.
For intra-European flights (I didn't check longhaul), business class is coded as booking class O (ExpertFlyer calls this "Business - Classic Awards"), while coach is coded as booking class T (ExpertFlyer calls this "Economy - Classic Europe Award").

If you see O or T class availability for intra-European Air France flights on ExpertFlyer, then those should be bookable through partners.
I'm also not sure if Delta cares about married segments. It seems like there must be availability for each segment separately for it to become available through Delta, but I'm not 100% sure about that (would have been even more work to track all possible combinations).
Thanks for nothing, guys!