ummm, excuse me Tann, but if I found availability (the purpose of using the tool), I would have booked the tickets on the spot, faster than you could say "Aloha!".

The purpose of the script and our using it, wasn't to expose CO, but was to turn up availability in an easier format and method...so we could book our reward trips. The problem here is the script turned up CO's lack of availability. Had the script turned up some trip options, I am sure most of us would have been very pleased. This wasnt some kind of organized trick or trap we were playing on CO!

I was in fact searching for award seats to attend the Freddie Awards in Colorado and looking for trips I have planned for the summer.

No... they wouldnt, but with this search i can see what days, if any, had award availability. When it did not, I'd print out screen shots of 2 months worth of searches from co.com and send that it to PROVE how available awards really are.

Even as a silver (which did have more availability than a nobody) I saw little availability for domestic travel at other than SleazyPass levels.

Guys - listen to what I'm saying...

I didn�t say nobody had any intention of booking any trips. I said that I would bet that 95% of the searches performed were done with no intention of booking.

Bocastephen even said him self that he did 'massive searches' without logging in. I'm sure he had no intention of booking most of them.

I'm willing to bet that most of you guys did at least 10 searches for itineraries you didn�t want to book, while you may have done a couple of searches for itineraries you may have booked had you found availability.

Lets face it, you were all trying to prove to yourself and each other how hard it is to come by CO's standard award seats - something that we all already knew. Look at what Thezipper says "Well... think it's about time for another letter to DOT... I have printouts of my searches" indicating he's done a lot of them with the intention of proving poor availability.

I think CO are right to disapprove of the use of this script. Of course, everybody is entitled to their own opinion

No idea what you exactly need but I'd be happy to host it for you (for as long as it lasts...)

Methinks that that would get your IP address blocked soon as well.

Wouldn't bother me too much...

Chris -

Great tool - just wondering, is there a way we can modify this script to have as an executable? (Use a VB script or something to call your Perl script).. CO can't block ALL of our IP addresses- that way it's a local "application" on our computers - write a VB program or something to trigger your Perl script.. then compile it as an EXE.. then you can distribute the EXE and Perl script, to deliver results directly to our computers... just wondering if that is technically possible.

Did you try and contact CO marketing like the message said??

Also - I have a personal website that I buy from a hosting company...I'd be glad to host your script as well -- just send me some details on what the requirements are, etc.

perl2exe can make an executable out of it

Even better, make it a P2P app. Sign on to the "search network" and random machines can submit portions of the search for you and return partial results, which the engine on your system builds into a result page. Block THAT one, CO. :-)

Hey chriseng! Good work on this great tool for probing OnePass award availability. Was it my email to you a few weeks ago that inspired you to develop this?

I'm not surpsied CO blocked the IP. CO's web site is so dog slow already maybe they feared the extra load would create a problem

It seems that everybody was checking for trips to Hawaii...perhaps it would be a good idea for someone to check the 4 daily flights to Hawaii (EWR-HNL, 2x IAH-HNL, LAX-HNL) and create a web page with the results in the form of a calendar. That way instead of repeatedly hitting CO's with redundant requests with each and every person's search, one person could do the search once every few days or so and post the results in the form of a calendar for all to see...

If you guys are serious about writing to DOT.......

USDOT is staffed by individuals that really do read and pay attention to complaints. They're not lost in "government bureaucracy".

Check my profile.....

While airline complaints fall under a different office than mine, letters that you submit will be received and considered.

Could this just be bog standard IP blocking to prevent DoS attacks?

Or short of that, just a resource usage limiter? We had to do that once to prevent rogue client applications to our ASP from hogging disproportionate amounts of system resource and reducing service levels of our other clients.

excellent idea! That would be a great help to alot of folks here...but, I fear it will be a pretty blank web page Any technical idea on how we could get that done?