Inventory/Fare Class Search?
 

I was reading a reply in a post by "BenjaminNYC" and he was able to pull up the available fare classes for some given flights:

Flight Availability - SEA to BJX - 12/21/06
Airline Flight Stops Departure Arrival Aircraft Meal Available Classes
4 Flights Returned
1 Connection
CO 785 0 SEA
12/21/06 07:15AM IAH
12/21/06 01:19PM 73G B A9 D7 Z0 Y0 H9 K0 N0 B0 O0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0 L0
CO 2232 0 IAH
12/21/06 02:40PM BJX
12/21/06 04:55PM ERJ S Y0 H9 K0 N0 B0 O0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0 L0
1 Connection
CO 166 0 SEA
12/21/06 08:30AM IAH
12/21/06 02:42PM 738 B A9 D9 Z1 Y0 H9 K0 N0 B0 O0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0 L0
CO 2233 0 IAH
12/21/06 05:35PM BJX
12/21/06 07:46PM ERJ S Y0 H9 K0 N0 B0 O0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0 L0
1 Connection
CO 1823 0 SEA
12/21/06 12:20AM IAH
12/21/06 06:20AM 739 S A9 D0 Z0 Y0 H9 K0 N0 B0 O0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0 L0
CO 1773 0 IAH
12/21/06 09:25AM BJX
12/21/06 11:48AM 735 B C8 D0 Z0 Y0 H9 K0 N0 B0 O0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0 L0
1 Connection
CO 366 0 SEA
12/21/06 01:25PM IAH
12/21/06 07:33PM 738 L A9 D9 Z9 Y0 H9 K0 N0 B0 O0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0 L0
CO 2470 0 IAH
12/21/06 09:15PM BJX
12/21/06 11:28PM ERJ S Y0 H9 K0 N0 B0 O0 V0 U0 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0 X0 L0

Where can you perform this type of search to get this information?

I've looked all over FT and could not figure it out.

If you search under KVS Availability or terms like that, you should find something that meets your needs.

Or Expertflyer, or http://flyaow.com/classcwt.htm

Thanks ijgordon! The flyaow worked great.. This is just an example:

Now, I may need some help deciphering this bad boy:

Cabin class: C6 D6 Z5 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B9 O9 V7 U2 Q0 I0 S0 W0 T0
Meal:
Distance: 1608 mi
Stops: non-stop
Flight Time: 3:50
Boeing 757-200Boeing 757-200

Is this the number of seats available at each fare class? But, if that were true, BF would be oversold by significant number of seats.

Continental.com shows 2 BF seats available, this information (above) does not even show A0 or J0. Does that mean A or J fares were never available? X & L are also missing.

So, if I add up the remaining C/D/Z seats I have 17 seats, there are only 16 BF seats on this bird.

How do you read these lists properly?

Thanks!

The key is that the numbers are not added together - they can often refer to the same set of seats, just different fare buckets that they can be sold from. For example, C6 D6 could often mean there are only 6 seats; if one was bought in D then it would change to C5 D5.

Lesson 1: DO NOT rely on seat maps to tell you availability with any level of precision. Sometimes seats look occupied when they are in fact empty, and other times seats look empty when they in fact will be occupied. You have to use the inventory class availability to get a sense of how empty/full a flight really is.

I presume you are looking at a flight from US to either Canada or Caribbean/Mexico/Northern S. America. On these flights there is technically no BusinessFirst, which books into J, D or Z. Instead, it is just plain Business Class, which books into C, D or Z. "A" class is for domestic First Class flights.

Most likely because the service you used didn't have enough "space" to display all the fare classes. If you are looking for a specific fare class, you'll probably need to use a more robust tool that allows you to specifiy a fare class, such as KVS or ExpertFlyer.

Ahh.. I'm finally getting the hang of it.

This flight is actually from EWR - SJU next week. I'm trying to improve my chances on a BF seat on the 752.

The AVOD was pretty cool on the way back from Orlando last week (yup CO393 back from MCO was a 752). Not too mention the leg rest is comfy.

Did you already purchase the ticket? Is it nonrefundable? Then how exactly do you plan to "improve" your chances? Really, there's not much you can do.

Yeah I know. But, I haven't purchased it yet.. Truth be told, I fly down to SJU about 6 times per year. In the past 5 years I've only NOT been upgraded twice (not too bad).

I'm just using it as an excuse to figure out the fare class seating :D

Nothing better than discovering new toys.

OK, in that case, the best (and really, only) way to "improve your chances" are to buy a higher fare class ticket.

Not bad, I assume this has always been as Gold elite? Has it been on the BF-equipped 757 ever? Just so you know, this aircraft has one of the worst ratios of FC-to-coach seats in the CO fleet, so the statistical odds aren't in your favor. But if there are that few elites on this route (or they are flying with non-elite family), then you're probably in good shape...

Be careful, it's dangerous!

I looked at the EWR-SJU flights next week using the KVS tool...I've never seen so much "R" availability!

Yup... Always as a gold (I had a stint as a platinum, but that was before the 1/2 EQM no co.com rule).

I've flown the 752 BF quite a few times down. Great for the 4 hour flight.

I've seen BF fly down 1/2 full (or 1/2 empty) many times (go figure...).

Alright, dumb question... Does "R" simply refer to first (A, C, D, J, Z) class? I know that when I get the AU or EUA (whatever) my ticket converts to "R" fare class.

If the rest of you plats can stay away from SJU next week, that would be great! ^

Not a dumb question at all! "R" is the fare bucket that upgrades come from, at least on domestic flights. If you see "R", you can get an upgrade with miles. I honestly don't know if "R" availability is required to get an EUA (I think so, but sheesh, I should know that...).

Added: Fare Buckets from this thread.


To sum up...
(150% Miles, 150% EQM)
A – Full Fare First
C - Business on Caribbean, Latin American, Pacifc markets with no BF cabin
D – First, First with International Connection
J - Full Fare BusinessFirst
Z - Discounted First or BusinessFirst or Business

(100% Miles, 150% EQM)
Y - Full Fare Coach
AU - Y Fare that has been upgraded at time of ticketing
H - Discounted Full Fare Coach

(100% Miles, 100% EQM)
K - Coach
N - Coach
B - Coach
O - Discounted Coach
V - Discounted Coach
U - Discounted Coach

(100% Miles, 50% EQM)
Q - Discounted Coach
I - Deep Discounted Coach
S - Deep Discounted Coach
W - Deep Discounted Coach
T - Deep Discounted Coach
X - Deep Deep Discounted Coach
L - Deep Deep Discounted Coach

** S, T, L are discounted coach itineraries that include connections. They are not used for non-stop itins from EWR, IAH, CLE**
** I, W, X are only available on CO metal, not codeshares**


(Upgrades)
AU - Y Fare that has been upgraded at time of ticketing, earns 150% EQMs
R - Elite First Upgrade - Milage and EUA

(Freebies)
E - First, Business, BusinessFirst Reward
EG – Platinum BF Reward
F - Platinum Elite BusinessFirst Reward / special BF Reward (e.g. increased availability for HNL/GUM/Asia residents)
M – Elite Coach Reward
G - Non-Elite / Elite Coach Reward or Bump Cert, Coach Certificate (Fly 3…)

(EazyPass)
YN – economy
P – First/BusinessFirst

Instead of starting a new thread I searched and found this, so hopefully I can get an answer to my Question. My girlfriend is flying PHL-IAH-MID (Jul 8-Jul22), she was able to select her seats for all flights except IAH-MID (Jul 8), according to the CO website all coach seats were filled and she didn't have the option to select a seat.

But availability shows:
Cabin class: C9 D9 Z9 Y9 H9 K9 N9 B0 O9 V0 U9 Q0 I9 S0 W9 T0
Meal:
Distance: 717 mi
Stops: non-stop
Flight Time: 2:10
Boeing 737-300

Since this is the last flight of the night to MID, she can't miss the flight or she'll be waiting until the next day. Is there any reason no seats are shown as open on CO's website?

There are only elite seats available (I see about 20 open).