HELP
Mar 27, 2010 | 3:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 2
HELP
After savings NWperks for 15 years (don't fly a lot) I have accumulated 103,000 miles and want to use them on Delta to fly from Mpls to Nairobi, Kenya. I can fly out anytime between 6/20-7/1 and will stay 4 weeks before returning. Struck out! Nothing shows on their website. Over the phone Delta reps can only check 3 dates before they cut you off and are not much help.
I'm seriously wondering if they even open seats up into Nairobi. Just for the heck of it I checked 8 and 10 months in the future and nothing was available.???
It's disheartening to save up for a big trip and not be able to use them.
Does anyone have insights or can give me advise on how to use my miles to get to Nairobi?? HELP and THANKS!
I'm seriously wondering if they even open seats up into Nairobi. Just for the heck of it I checked 8 and 10 months in the future and nothing was available.???
It's disheartening to save up for a big trip and not be able to use them.
Does anyone have insights or can give me advise on how to use my miles to get to Nairobi?? HELP and THANKS!
Last edited by shafferc; Mar 27, 2010 at 3:41 pm Reason: added airlines name
Mar 27, 2010 | 4:03 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: WN, DL, UA, AA, Hilton, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 1,303
Welcome to Flyertalk!
It is a well-bemoaned fact around here that availability can be tough to find, and the award calendar & phone search limits make it even tougher to find. However, here are some things that you should know & can do....
First off, it does not appear that Delta flies into Nairobi. So you will need to use a partner airline for part of the trip. This means that the options probably will not show up online as most (all?) partners don't.
It appears that the best way to do this is to fly to Europe and then on to Nairobi. So, flying Delta to Amsterdam would allow you to connect to a flight to Nairobi on Air Kenya or KLM. You can also connect to an Air Kenya flight out of Paris or London. It appears that there is currently some availability into AMS showing on the way over but not on the way back. This is a popular time of year to fly and fairly close to your departure date.
I would find the availability for the flight to Europe online and then call to try to find the rest. You will do better if you feed them the info. Say, "I found xxx flight number with award availability. Could you search KLM (or Air Kenya) to see if there is connecting availability into Nairobi?"
If that doesn't work, go over your info again & then follow the Flyertalk mantra: Hang up and try again. Although there apparently is some policy limits on the number of searches available, there are other agents who will be very kind and helpful and do the searches you need.
Good luck!
It is a well-bemoaned fact around here that availability can be tough to find, and the award calendar & phone search limits make it even tougher to find. However, here are some things that you should know & can do....
First off, it does not appear that Delta flies into Nairobi. So you will need to use a partner airline for part of the trip. This means that the options probably will not show up online as most (all?) partners don't.
It appears that the best way to do this is to fly to Europe and then on to Nairobi. So, flying Delta to Amsterdam would allow you to connect to a flight to Nairobi on Air Kenya or KLM. You can also connect to an Air Kenya flight out of Paris or London. It appears that there is currently some availability into AMS showing on the way over but not on the way back. This is a popular time of year to fly and fairly close to your departure date.
I would find the availability for the flight to Europe online and then call to try to find the rest. You will do better if you feed them the info. Say, "I found xxx flight number with award availability. Could you search KLM (or Air Kenya) to see if there is connecting availability into Nairobi?"
If that doesn't work, go over your info again & then follow the Flyertalk mantra: Hang up and try again. Although there apparently is some policy limits on the number of searches available, there are other agents who will be very kind and helpful and do the searches you need.
Good luck!
Mar 27, 2010 | 4:17 pm
#3
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: DAB
Posts: 56
AsiaTraveler is right. Your best bet is to go to the SkyTeam site and search for the dates you're looking for. Using 7/1-7/29, I received multiple options, all through Amsterdam, on Delta, KLM or Kenya. For the return, there's flights through Amsterdam and Paris on the same airlines as above, plus Air France.
Hopefully once you've come up with a few options that will work with you a customer service rep can help you with the booking.
Hopefully once you've come up with a few options that will work with you a customer service rep can help you with the booking.
Mar 27, 2010 | 4:24 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 345
AsiaTraveler is right. Your best bet is to go to the SkyTeam site and search for the dates you're looking for. Using 7/1-7/29, I received multiple options, all through Amsterdam, on Delta, KLM or Kenya. For the return, there's flights through Amsterdam and Paris on the same airlines as above, plus Air France.
Hopefully once you've come up with a few options that will work with you a customer service rep can help you with the booking.
Hopefully once you've come up with a few options that will work with you a customer service rep can help you with the booking.
I second the idea to use SkyTeam first. Download the travel desk app and find options. Then see if KVS or Expertflyer to assess award availability. Then try booking each segment pair (MSP-AMS-MSP) to see if seats are still there. Then book! Easy right?