Continental is now blocking the IP address of the server where my script resides. I can't even access the front page of www.continental.com from there, I just get the error message:

You are not authorized to access this site. Please contact Continental Marketing.

That was very short-lived. They must really not want people to see how bad the award availability is. We aren't even doing anything wrong, just running a lot of searches!

They are really pissing me off now.

-chris

is anybody else getting errors displaying account activity when you login to continental.com manually? they better not have disabled my onepass account.

I am getting We are currently unable to display your OnePass Account Activity. Please try again later or contact the OnePass Service Center for assistance, but my 'OnePass Elite Status Report' shows all of the correct current information.

Same here (cannot view activity), but for all four accounts, not just the two I used in your search engine. I am very sorry to hear that all your hard work has gone down the drain Chris. It was a terrific tool, and its a shame that CO feels otherwise. IMHO, they should be buying the script from you, so that we members can actually use it to find award availability, rather than the inane way we have to look now. Maybe they truly do feel they have something to hide.

Robin

why wouldn't they want this type of thing? the point of the online search is so that everyone isn't calling their centers, tying up agents that they have to pay.

they should be encouraging this type of self-research. it's better than having us call in and spending an half hour to find flights, no?

and, why is this being blocked? it's not illegal.

i also can't view my recent activity.

[This message has been edited by fly co to see the yanks (edited 04-11-2003).]

I also cant view my recent activity...but this has happened many times before, and it comes back after awhile...seems like a system glitch or update.

I only did a small handful of searches using Chris' original version and less than 10 searches with my Onepass number...the massive searches I did in advance mode did not have my Onepass login, so I dont think there is a correlation.

Can the folks on the board who did not use Chris's script please log into your CO.com accounts and see what you can view? It could be a systemwide update.

[This message has been edited by bocastephen (edited 04-11-2003).]

Chris,

First off, this still doesn't mean we don't appreciate the time and effort you've spent on this!

But I'm not entirely surprised; in fact, it's more surprising to me that the WPAA lister for NW awards has lived so long. Remembering that miles are in fact a giant Ponzi scheme, airlines are going to be concerned about anything that allows a statistical analysis of the system.

Steve

I used the tool but never using my Onepass account number.

I am presently getting the same "unable to diaplay recent activity" message. I think it is systemwide.

What a shame they blocked your IP. A little peek into the company culture, no doubt. Agree with Yanks, this does nothing but help OnePass members maximize the value of their points at no real expense to CO, certainly less expense in that less phone calls.

Just more from 'the customer is our enemy' mentality that has ravaged CO.

i can see the recent activity on my account again. guess that was just a coincidence. phew.

well, i'm still happy to share the script with those who are interested. of course, your IPs may then get blocked as well so maybe it's not the best idea... i still can't believe they blocked it outright. sheesh.

-c

I can see mine too...geez, that was 30 minutes of shaking nerves

The sad part is, I could see CO taking revenge by closing the accounts of anyone using a tool like this.

I think the IP block was a certain warning...and I am sure the company lurkers monitoring this board knew exactly what was going on. They didnt appreciate seeing lots of "no availability" being posted.

With that said, I still think we owe a big thank you to Chris for taking his personal time to develop a search tool that could benefit us as a group.

Well... think it's about time for another letter to DOT... I have printouts of my searches, which do support the "if your not an elite you are screwed trying to use your miles" thinking. Can we make them #1 in DOT complaints agian

It's sad that the co culture is so ingrained in "the customer is the problem" attitude.

I could see this coming as soon as Chriseng posted his original post... Continental put up online searching for reward availability on their website, its not like they are trying to hide the poor availability. Anybody can log in and see it for themselves.

I think what they object too is the unnecessary load that this script puts on their server. I'm willing to bet that 95% of the searches you guys did were merely to show the poor availability of reward seats, and you had no intention of booking the trips you were searching for. Being able to execute 10 - 15 (?) searches all with the push of one button creates the potential for server problems, especially if this tool became widespread. I think whoever blocked the IP was trying to 'stop it before it got started'.

I doubt the DOT would just accept a printout of some guys perl script that he wrote without being able to verify anything as grounds for a complaint. For all they know you typed the results into notepad and printed it out!

[This message has been edited by tann1001 (edited 04-11-2003).]

Isn't that akin to saying that there are standard BF rewards available when you have no intention of making them available?