AA and ExpertFlyer "Expert Flyer" issues, questions (master thread)
 

Sorry if the title is mis-leading.

I'm trying to figure why Expert Flyer is showing ALL AA flights on 23 & 24 December MCO-DFW as "wide open", but fares increase almost every day, now approaching $800.00, with return on 28 December.

What am I missing/don't understand?

Because it is one of the the busiest travel times of the year, and AA thinks they can get that much for the tickets.

This is the christmas holiday travel season. What the guy above me said. Most flights will be full this season/overbooked.

Prices arent going up- with time the advance purchase fares become invalid and the only available fares are the higher ones without advance purchase restrictions.

There arent many free seats on the seat maps. I dont think you are seeing 'wide open'

"Because they can" is ultimately the real reason. You're buying a last minute ticket for travel around a major holiday. What do you expect?

I would note...
1. The RT fare you can buy today for those dates is showing as $458, not $800.
2. Just because EF shows availability in the low fare buckets doesn't mean AA will sell them. Many tickets for those buckets have advance purchase restrictions.
3. The flights on 12/23 and 12/24 do indeed have good availability, but the return on the 28th does not. That's why your fare is high. Consider being flexible about the return.
4. When I see high cash fares my next step is to find out what the trip will cost in miles. There is Saver availability for your outbound, but not your return. Since you're EXP you can book with miles and then cancel if the cash fare moves in your favor or if Saver seats become available. That's what I did for my daughter's trip home at Thanksgiving. Several days before her return flight AA opened up Saver F seats (albeit on US metal), so I switched. I not only saved miles but my daughter sat in F. If the trip is for you don't forget to call the EXP desk to see if they have any expanded Saver availability.

Expert Flyer Assigned Seats vs. Available J Seats (More J than Seats)
 

So I'm fully aware that one can't make accurate determinations on business seat availability beyond J7 on EF, even if the seat map is wide open. However, seen this a few times, including today, where EF shows J4, but the seat map show only 3 unassigned seats (including the ground controlled 8H&J) on a 777. Anybody have any insights to this reverse discrepancy?

Overselling is allowed and planned for?

Don't know if AA's strategy has changed, but AA historically would oversell the J cabin on a 3-cabin aircraft, but would then block F inventory in case it was needed to accommodate a J passenger.

Expert Flyer showing X inventory on US
 

I was checking on how full F was on a couple of flights next Thursday and I was surprised to see X inventory being reported on EF. Both flights showed F8 but it was interesting to see that both flights also reported X2. I guess that means that US RM has pre-allocated 2 F seats for upgrade at T-100.

I also checked a couple of days of PHL-ORD to see if EF would show AA X inventory via US codeshare. It seems to do so although most show X0 but some showed positive inventory. On one US flight, they showed X6. This was all > 100 hours out.

This started in February when the codes were aligned. Enjoy it while you can becasue when the transition to the AA system is complete you probably won't see this again.

Yes, I am sure it will go away. But being able to see X inventory brought a wry smile to my face. Back in the day when EF would show X inventory for AA, it was great to have an alert set for it as one could then call the desk and ask for the upgrade and get it. If X was available and you called, the desk would upgrade you on the spot. The reason being is that the queue was not processed immediately after X inventory was released but in batches periodically.

I know some will scream that it was unfair to jump the queue but frankly that's what we discuss all the time on FT. As someone who worked for me once said about FF programs, "it's the airlines game, we're all just trying to play it the best we can."

great feature. just ran into some irrops/flat tire on US, and while the GA was punching away finding me a direct flight with 2 stops :rolleyes:, i was on EF trying to find suitable routes, lucked out finding a good DCA connection with 5!!!! X seats on both flights -> instaconfirm.

rare to see a lot of X inventory <24 hrs out (or even F/A inventory specifically on US, AA usually holds seats til the gate while US seems to UG til full), but good to have the option to see.

Expert Flyer and aa. com don't match.
 

I was looking at 2 U class seats on 10/24/2016 from TPA to FCO, and found 4 pages of flights, mostly via MIA and LHR. A few were through CLT to FCO. Yet, when I checked with Expert Flyer, it showed none of those flights, just a few through ORD. What gives? Who do I believe?

Take a closer look at the AA results and you'll find all those flights had one segment on a BA flight.

Right now I don't think there are any U seats available on a purely AA itinerary.