ExpertFlyer Voice

That's not actually possible. The alerts are sent using real time data, so at the time the alert email was sent, the U space was still available.

jrl767

apparently the electrons in Flying for Fun's email provider's system were slacking off that day

Flying for Fun

No delay in receiving the email; the delay was between EF checking real-time availability and actually sending out the Alert. The time-stamp on the email generated from EF was after I had secured the U space. Nonetheless, it was the first time I had setup an alert and the outcome wasn't encouraging.

James

rune87

Not sure how y'alls backend is setup/what Alaska is doing, but I've had this same thing happen. Had an alert tagged on a flight, by chance was checking something, saw U was open, processed a Guest Upgrade, and never got a notification that U space had opened up.

Flying for Fun

I doubt EF is checking real-time availability continuously. It will check and notify on an interval. If U space comes & goes between the last time EF checked your flight and the next time it is to check, Expert Flyer would be none the wiser.

ExpertFlyer Expert! How frequently is real-time availability checked for a given request? Is it dependent on the number of outstanding alert requests, set at a specific time(s), every 30 minutes, every hour, 4 times daily? Does it gets thrown into a circular queue that is continually expanding and contracting, discarding expired requests and inserting new ones furthest from the active process? An explanation of the process would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

James

PV_Premier

+3 on AS, and also on UA back in the day when R was accessible to EF

that said EF is still a time saving tool for monitoring U and thus I still like it.

NoLaGent

This. I actually got into a ridiculous email exchange about 6 years ago with EF about this very thing. I had cancelled my subscription because in two cases with UA and R class, I never received a notification, but found it on my own. At the time, they claimed it was checked every 3 hours and I found it in the interim.

After 6 emails back and forth and them arguing with me, I vowed never to subscribe again. YMMV.

flymonthly

For quite a number of years, you've been able to jump the F wait list. IIRC, this was fixed a year or two ago, but then the fix only lasted until last fall or so.

The seat chart was a fairly good indication of F availability during the fairly short(?) time when AS would automatically assign an F seat when upgraded, but it's less useful now that it doesn't.

My understanding, and I'm sure ExpertFlyer Voice can correct me, is that EF periodically checks for U space with the frequency increasing as departure time nears. I've generally had good luck with U availability alerts, but on occasion not gotten an alert when U became available. I expect that at some point AS will again fix the problem, but I kind of doubt that it's very high on their list of priorities.

UAPremierExec

the fix is a VERY simple algorithm for the revenue management tool.

Dept Time = <24 hrs of departure then U=0 when F=<3 or 4

this is among the easiest macros within AirRm and other airline revenue management tools.

Virgin America even used AirRM, and it was dropped for Alaska's more robust system.

NoLaGent

This is the exact opposite of what EF told me. In their words, the frequency of checking increases by the pax as departure time nears, for obvious reasons.

Perhaps that's changed in the last 6 years, but I'm skeptical that it's been changed.

flymonthly

I'm confused on what EF told you. Did they say that their checking decreases (becomes less frequent) as departure time nears? Because that would be the opposite of what I believe to be what happens. I do agree that checking by pax increase, but it would be logical (from my point of view, at least) that EF do the same.

NoLaGent

No, they did not say that their checking decreases, nor increases, only that the pax checking increases, hence their failure to notify me of R being available.

ExpertFlyer Voice

Correct, that can happen, which is why we try to increase the checking frequency during times when the inventory is most likely to change to help.

Each alert runs independently and is not affected by other alerts or user search activity. The alerts check from several times a day to hourly or even more depending upon the airline/class/date, etc.

Flying for Fun

Sounds like a lawyer or politician answering a question. Something needs to trigger the check. Is it a random generator? If not, then what algorithm determines which alert is getting priority? You admittedly state that airline, class & date prioritize processor requests so by extrapolation, not everyone who subscribes and requests an alert is getting equal attention.

James

djp98374

I got upgraded on one of those flights. Those are the lay flat seats