headingwest

I've been searching around for flights to the US and came across this.



It seems a bit odd that two separate AA flights have an identical flight number. Is that normal?

The _Banking_Scot

Hi headingwest,

I was pricing flights from MAD to SFO for March and some good fares are coming out ( c£1500 return in Business with AA/BA/IB)

There is an AA flight ( 69 IIRC ) MAD-MIA then SFO ( change of aircraft in MIA)

The same flight number for 2 destinations has been common in the US for a while but have not seen it internationally until now.

Would it be the case that if we booked flight 69 we would only get 1 set of tier points ( for effectively MAD-SFO rather than MAD-MIA and MIA-SFO) and the MAD -SFO mileage rather than the separate mileage?

Regards

TBS

greg5

Flight with a plane change. I was once on a UA flight that kept the same number from FRA to AKL while stopping at IAD, LAX, and HNL. I boarded at HNL. UA also had a 'Direct' flight from ZRH to SFO with a plane change at IAD.

headingwest

Thanks guys.

I'm actually looking for a cheap booking when I visit my mother next year, basically lots of flights to earn maximum Avios. Currently up to 11 flights for £500! But if this is a flight with a plane change, then maybe it only earns one set of Tier Points/Avios. Not so sure...

BTS-BRU
BRU-LHR
LHR-MIA
MIA-LAS
LAS-PHX
PHX-DFW
VPS-DFW
DFW-MIA
MIA-LHR
LHR-BRU
BRU-BTS

Dicksbits

Surely this IS (sadly) the Xmas sale as you can book until Jan 27th…

… or is it possible there will be more added to the sale later in the month or NY?

chalf

I think it varies by airline, but I understand in many cases the credit will indeed look through the stop, and consider just the origin and destination.

Interesting that you are starting /ending in BTS. I have been there a few times on business over the past few months, but flew to/from VIE. My local colleagues are quite excited about the new HG services. It could just be nationalist pride more than practicality, however.

headingwest

Thanks chalf. I live in Bratislava, and the prices that I've found so far seem lower from BTS than from VIE, so I'm sure lots of Slovaks will change travelling plans. It's good to see oneworld finally arrive!

Calchas

Yes this is normal.

Yes this is widely expected because of the circumstances.

The usual rule is that if you get a new boarding pass, it counts as two flights. If you use the same boarding pass to go straight through, it will count as one.

Because of the change of aircraft, you will inevitably get a new boarding pass.

However I would not rely on this.

headingwest

Thanks Calchas

So it's just a case of finding out on the day. Although the price suggests that it's classed as one flight.

crazy8534

Well that has to be the worst sale in terms of CW/F fares I have seen for a while- am I missing a sweet spot somewhere?

OTOH, lots of decent ex-DUB CW fares for Easter and summer holidays next year.

Blueboys999

I agree especially as in this instance there will be need to clear Immigration and go through security again and the seat assignment almost certainly won't be the same. I see it as highly unlikely that a single BP would suffice then.

For many years I used to fly MAN-BOS-MCO which was a similar situation in that the 2 legs had the same AA flight number but I don't recall an instance where only 1 BP was issued. I confess to being a little cynical about what AA do here because the timetable misleadingly shows that AA operate routes like this as a single flight. In the instance I cite above, the departure board at the MAN gate always showed "Orlando" as the destination but it was actually going to BOS of course.

corporate-wage-slave

That's correct for AA and for this service given AA prime codes. For US Airways not necessarily so, even if there is European to USA1 to USA2 with different aircraft swapped in the middle. Moreover US has some "tramp ship" services which wander around in obscure ways (there used to be one with 4 stops on it). These typically only get 1 credit, in line with their own frequent flyer programme if done on one day under one US flight code. Not sure about AA "codeshare" services operated by US, but hopefully this is just a temporary deviation anyway.

haasha

They usually get mentioned here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...dont-know.html

CGRA

Same situation with CDG-JFK-LAS. IIRC AA 45 & 44

chalf

Airline pricing and yield management is so dynamic that I always view the concept of a "sale" as more marketing than reality. Except where there are truly special offers, such as the GBP1,000 business class or QR 2-for-1, all that the airline is doing is adding extra availability in lower fare buckets that might otherwise have been sold out. That said, if the airline wishes to advertise that they have added extra availability, then so much the better for the customers. The airline will also only do this when bookings are lower than they might desire--thus, there is no guarantee of the 'discounted' fares being available on the flights one actually wants, as compared to less desorable times/routings (just as in a ship the preferred models/sizes/colors will inevitably sell out quickly).

As others have noted, if one finds a fare that one believes to be an appropriate price, one should just buy it, and not wait for a "sale".