'Helping' ICC see mixed class availability
 

I've made a couple of unsuccessful attempts to redeem for a two-leg, one way trip for two people from LHR to IAH, travelling on AC via YYZ.

The ANA tool and EF are both showing enough C availability on the TATL segment, which the ICC can see and grab as well. But there are only two award seats currently available on the second flight we want, one each in C and Y. We'd be more than happy to take them -- we can always change the booking later, either to grab a second C seat if one opens up, or to switch the whole booking over to CO if they have availability once they've joined *A.

The problem is that neither of the ICC people I've spoken to (different people, different days) is doing whatever's necessary to be able to see both of those AC seats.

Is there a magic word, or do we need to go through the laborious process of booking two separate tickets (probably by means of two separate calls)?

EDIT: I intended to select "redemption help", not "newbie question". Sorry. Feel like a complete newbie today, though...

You could try making two bookings, but on the same call. They won't be ticketed in that time, so if there is a problem by any chance with the 2nd booking, you can always get the first one cancelled without charge.

Thanks. It almost worked... My fourth ICC person seemed to be much more on the ball than the first three, coped with the mixed-class itinerary fine, and was even all set to ticket it straight away (!)... Until he decided that because the booking classes were mixed, the miles for my wife's ticket needed to come from her account. Yes, really, that was the explanation. And that apparently means she's got to "authorise" me to do that for her. No problem, just means more time and more calls. What the nice man from the ICC then went and did for me, though, was to finally ticket a different booking from last week -- and deduct the miles for that from both our accounts... ;)

There is no choice but to make 2 separate bookings (as you already found out). Bookings for 2 pax on the same PNR will have to book into exactly the same booking classes for all segments.

However there is no reason at all for the miles to come out another account :rolleyes: You can book both tickets from your own miles if you want to do that.

You're right, of course, but once the ICC guy had told me something different he wasn't about to back down.

Current situation is that I called again and managed to book one ticket, for one person. While I was on the phone, availability in C on the TATL segment went down from 3 to 1 to 0... I followed it live on EF and am hoping that all three seats were temporarily grabbed by the ICC (first trying to book two, then one) -- if not, then someone else was booking the other two :( . Let's see what tomorrow brings!

I hope everything works out for you in the end.

How wonderfully simple that sounds. Briefly lulled me into a completely unfounded sense of warm fuzzy security. Then I remembered it's the ICC we're talking about here.

Thanks. We're not quite at "the end", but -- after a total of seven calls -- we have got both of us booked onto both the flights we were after. Not ticketed, of course, but let's assume for now that that will be straightforward.

Highlight :rolleyes: of this morning's call was being told that they'd have to issue (and charge for) separate tickets for the TATL leg in J and the YYZ-IAH segment in Y. No way -- as a supervisor swiftly agreed.

Side note: seven calls, seven male agents. A record?

I've had this problem on very simple mixed-class itins comprising no more than four segments.

First step is to suggest they try booking each segment individually (that doesn't mean it gets treated as such for redemption purposes, but no harm in being clear on the point when it comes to completing the transaction).

As a last resort, ask for a supervisor to come on the line. In most cases this works.