SAAver Award inventory exists but can’t be ticketed
Jun 27, 2019, 2:42 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SAT
Programs: AA EXP/MM
Posts: 82
SAAver Award inventory exists but can’t be ticketed
Trying to grab a couple of seats in X for a TATL. I can see that the inventory exists, as can the EXP agent. Agent then spent half an hour going from person to person (checking in with me every 5-10 minutes) at the Help Desk, and no one could get it to book. They could only get it to book into W (for 145K RDMs per vs 40K for X). She finally ended things with “It must just be a glitch.”
Any ideas of if/how this might be ticketable?
5 in X inventory for TATL
Any ideas of if/how this might be ticketable?
5 in X inventory for TATL
Jun 27, 2019, 7:55 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,231
My wild-a55 guess is that it's some type of married segment logic that's not allowing the X inventory on the TATL to be paired with the T inventory on the domestic.
I'm guessing you would be able to book T all the way through?
I'm guessing you would be able to book T all the way through?
Jun 27, 2019, 8:22 pm
#3
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP/OWE, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 880
I agree that because they are separate fare classes they're unable to be linked in one foul swoop.
Jun 27, 2019, 8:23 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SAT
Programs: AA EXP/MM
Posts: 82
Sidenote: there are currently two pax in the I cabin and one in PE. Why isn’t there more inventory and/or should I have any expectation of more being released? (I’m sure there’s logic to this elsewhere in this forum, but I haven’t done exhaustive searching yet.)
Jun 27, 2019, 8:27 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SAT
Programs: AA EXP/MM
Posts: 82
Appreciate the thought, but I was preemptively replying to this right as you posted! I asked about that today but didn’t push on it, because it looks like no X inv exists for RDU-LHR as a stand-alone because of what I assume are married segment rules.
Last edited by maxwellh; Jun 27, 2019 at 8:41 pm
Jun 27, 2019, 8:44 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP/OWE, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 880
Arghhh, bummer! Happy to try to help though. Good luck, sir! Keep us posted how it turns out. 
Jun 27, 2019, 8:55 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SAT
Programs: AA EXP/MM
Posts: 82
Thanks much. I’m convinced that it’s possible, and as is my way, I’m going to have a difficult time giving up as long as that inventory shows that it exists. I’ll probably just play agent roulette a couple times a day and keep hoping I land on black.
Jun 27, 2019, 9:39 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SAT
Programs: AA EXP/MM
Posts: 82
Jun 27, 2019, 10:17 pm
#10
Join Date: May 2015
Location: WAS, SZX, HKG
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, CX Green
Posts: 735
This is a married segment problem. AA is only willing to sell the X class with a connection (X-X) but not standalone. Since there is no X class domestically, this space could never be booked using the default interface (which is the same reason that AA does not have a single sAAver three-cabin F award within North America). Now since the space actually exists in the system, you may try to ask the agents do a long sell / using direct access to check for availability. If they can see the X class, you may be able to sweet talk them into having them call RM to book it for you (which has happened exactly once for me).
Alternatively, you can try to hold the SAT-ORD-RDU segment first, and see whether AA's system is smart enough to figure out that you can add the RDU-LHR in X.
Or you can call AA in Hong Kong which uses a different system (amadeus), which handles those mixed class married segment requests better than Sabre.
Don't get you hopes high though... However AA is pretty consistent with releasing X before departure. If you are sure about your plan, you can probably buy a revenue Y seat on the direct ORD-LHR 788 and hope for a complimentary upgrade into PE
Alternatively, you can try to hold the SAT-ORD-RDU segment first, and see whether AA's system is smart enough to figure out that you can add the RDU-LHR in X.
Or you can call AA in Hong Kong which uses a different system (amadeus), which handles those mixed class married segment requests better than Sabre.
Don't get you hopes high though... However AA is pretty consistent with releasing X before departure. If you are sure about your plan, you can probably buy a revenue Y seat on the direct ORD-LHR 788 and hope for a complimentary upgrade into PE
Jun 27, 2019, 10:24 pm
#11
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Arizona
Posts: 5,689
I think the days of calling revenue management to open up inventory or fix inventory fare buckets are gone, Currently Exex Plat and have not had it happen in a long time. Yes it was done often long ago with US Air, America West, American, TWA.
Jun 28, 2019, 2:49 pm
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SAT
Programs: AA EXP/MM
Posts: 82
. . . Now since the space actually exists in the system, you may try to ask the agents do a long sell / using direct access to check for availability.
Alternatively, you can try to hold the SAT-ORD-RDU segment first, and see whether AA's system is smart enough to figure out that you can add the RDU-LHR in X.
Or you can call AA in Hong Kong which uses a different system (amadeus), which handles those mixed class married segment requests better than Sabre.
Alternatively, you can try to hold the SAT-ORD-RDU segment first, and see whether AA's system is smart enough to figure out that you can add the RDU-LHR in X.
Or you can call AA in Hong Kong which uses a different system (amadeus), which handles those mixed class married segment requests better than Sabre.
Anyway: could you please explain the bit about “do a long sell / using direct access to check for availability”? I don’t know what that means. What I do know is that the agents CAN see the X inventory, they just don’t seem able to ticket it.
Jun 28, 2019, 2:59 pm
#13
Join Date: May 2013
Location: LHR
Programs: AA EXP, DL DM, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 1,032
Wow. A lot to parse here, and some things are over my head. First off, I’m on a rev ticket in S/Q, though I could book into P for about $150 more. Problem is that I’m trying to get wife/son (no status) out on same routing and in something comfier than Y. The especially irritating part is that I have to put up about $100 for each of them to fly MCE on RDU-LHR, and if I could just book them into X, then I’d save those $ and have better seats.
Anyway: could you please explain the bit about “do a long sell / using direct access to check for availability”? I don’t know what that means. What I do know is that the agents CAN see the X inventory, they just don’t seem able to ticket it.
(no idea if this would work if you were in a different cabin, but I've done this several times when traveling with statusless friends or colleagues when we're all in Y)
Jun 28, 2019, 4:57 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SAT
Programs: AA EXP/MM
Posts: 82
You don't have to pay for MCE for your wife and son! Just call (or, even better, send a Twitter DM) and provide your/their PNRs and the agent can seat them with you in MCE.
(no idea if this would work if you were in a different cabin, but I've done this several times when traveling with statusless friends or colleagues when we're all in Y)
(no idea if this would work if you were in a different cabin, but I've done this several times when traveling with statusless friends or colleagues when we're all in Y)
For the record. I tried again to book the X inventory, and was given a runaround about X only being available on BA marketed flights and was simply not bookable on AA flights due to it not being the impossible X-X routing. I’ll try again tomorrow.
Jun 28, 2019, 8:33 pm
#15
Join Date: May 2015
Location: WAS, SZX, HKG
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, CX Green
Posts: 735
My lack of familiarity with the rules is definitely showing. I now realIze that I should have “skipped seats for all flights” when booking theirs and then immediately called in to get the EXP desk to grab their seats. Now I’ll have to pursue a refund. (I didn’t call in to book their flights because I was trying to avoid paying the booking fee—which I was charged last time I booked Award travel for them).
For the record. I tried again to book the X inventory, and was given a runaround about X only being available on BA marketed flights and was simply not bookable on AA flights due to it not being the impossible X-X routing. I’ll try again tomorrow.
If an agent said X space does not exist on AA metal, then it is a HUACA. It is a newly minted class for PE Saver award. X class is the Saaver award booking class for Coach on a number of oneworld airlines (like CX/BA/JL)
Long sell / Direct access means that the agent is not using an interface (which is like a more advanced version of the AA website, but it is still 'click click click'), but rather using codes to search and display availability directly (like 1 23SATORDRDULHR and return something like
1LH 4980 C9 D9 Z9 Y9 B9 M9*FRADUB 1035A 1140A 32S S 0 DCA /E
H9 Q9 V9 W9 U9 S9 G0 K0
)
This way they may see that X space listing in the returned result, and they may be able to manually add the segments etc.
I recommend you give the AA Hong Kong office a call, feed them the segments and see what they say.