Issues search a specific Delta flight- Error message
 

Good morning,

I am trying to search a specific flight on Delta (I have been looking at flights for months, but finally ready to book). I am obviously looking from my specific city to my destination for a certain date span. Every time I enter it in to search I get the following error code: Oh no! We're sorry, but there was a problem processing your request. Please go back and try again. #ROF5004_500.

I have tried from multiple computers (also using Incognito Windows as well), my phone and the Delta App. Only for this specific search I get the error message. I have cleared my cache and cookies with no success. I have chatted with Delta twice and no effort on their part to fix the issue. They offered to book the flight by text messaging or I can call. I do not want to do either of those, I want to book online so I can see the specific flights available, with layover times and seating charts.

Does anyone have a fix for this issue? I am very frustrated! Thank you in advance.

What cities? What dates? Hard to tell issue without knowing those.

FWA (Fort Wayne) to HND (Haneda/Tokyo) from June 27th to July 12th.

I can search flights for other cities, for instance leaving from IND instead and flights come up. I know there are flights available because I have been searching for months and I can see the flights in the flight schedules on the app, but it will not bring them up for me to book.

I’ve had this same issue before when repeatedly searching for flights in the DL app over a specific range of dates between two cities over a period of days/weeks/months. Any modification to the city or dates will allow me to move forward, but the original throws up the same error message. I think it’s somehow that the repeated searching essentially gets to a point it is blocked. I know that’s not a technical answer, but it’s the best I can think of.

My work around was to use the mobile delta.com website via my phone’s web browser and that allowed things to be booked.

I think there's an issue with the fares DL has filed for FWA-HND for RT travel. OW fares have no issue. However RT it appears there's an error with filed fares. I can't even pull up the actual details of some of them, it gives an error.

It's definitely an issue with fares and restrictions on date of week travel. It appears something has been misconfigured. It may be DL IT misunderstanding the date restrictions in fare or bad info in the fare. Since DL has been updating reservation systems, my guess is DL IT. Ie if you change to Sunday departure and Tuesday return, no issue booking on DL app.

I've had the available options vary depending on the connection time, which at least for domestic travel needs to be 4 hours or less, and which often changes with minor schedule changes when the connection time was already close to 4 hours. Look at each portion of your hypothetical itinerary (either as nested roundtrips or as one-way booking for each segment) and see what combinations meet the 4 hour rule. With just the right amount of bad luck, there may not be any "legal" connections for the route you are planning within the allowed time window. (I don't know if Delta has different rules for connections to international flights.)

I've had flights for a particular time of day disappear and then later reappear when a later schedule change puts the connection time back under 4 hours. You could always book two roundtrips (nesting the Japan flight within your trip from Fort Wayne) but that will likely be more expensive. Delta did link the trips the one or two times I've had to do that. Or travel out of alternate airport.

Thank you! I can book Delta flights on third party apps and see the flights (Skyscanner, Hopper, Expedia, ect.) One of the flights only had an hour and 15 minute layover in Minneapolis, I would never book that flight because of the short window, but there are at least two other flights that have 5 hour layovers available.

I'm looking at prices for booking two one way tickets but the Japan to US is showing in Yen. How do I change that to US dollars?

You can't, really. Tickets are sold in currency of the origination point, so the one-way origination point of your return will make it return prices in Yen. The translation to dollars happens during the payment transaction (your CC will be charged in Yen and your bank will convert it dollars). A third party site may offer it in dollars for you but that would an be an already-converted figure and the FX may not be very favorable, so check before you buy.

have to call in to book in US dollar via DL. Online delta always goes to country of origin.

Looks like an issue with delta.com fare search. Works just fine on Google Flights which you can then use to pull up fares on delta.com. FYI, departing on a Wednesday instead of a Thursday saves $100 in total fares due to day of week requirements on cheaper V class fare filings.


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DL IT it is. i would've thought DL would verify (validate) the same, regardless of where selected flights at. If you change the dates, it'll return results in app.

Weird thought, but does looking for cash tickets vs award tickets affect this at all? Or do the underlying cash fares always have the same type of relationship to award fares.

There are a number of differences between award and revenue fare searches. Among other differences, DL only generally maintains revenue fare filings and will sell you revenue tickets for routes that either begin or end in the Americas region or US territories. Just because DL has codeshare flight numbers on partner flights doesn't mean they can sell you a ticket on those flights if it does not begin or end in Americas/US territories or if it is not part of an itin that does so (fares are priced on an O&D basis, not hop-by-hop). In addition to no fare filings, cabotage issues may also be a factor (they can't sell revenue fares for an itin that both begins and ends within Canada, for example -- you'd have to book them on separate tickets). Meanwhile, award bookings are not subject to such limitations (note that when booking awards as partners, it will always book as a partner flight number even if there are DL codeshare numbers on flights).

Skymiles awards to/from US/Canada now have a number of similarities with revenue fares. They duplicate a lot of the revenue fare filings with award "fares" on routes which includes largely duping the fare rules restrictions (advance purchase, roundtrip booking, day of travel, etc) -- it's not one-to-one, but it's close enough that award mileage rates mostly correlate with revenue fare prices. They have also duplicated the revenue fare classes with award fare classes on DL metal flights. While bucket inventory availability between the two is not always identical, it's generally pretty close. However, they don't always duplicate routing rules and married segment inventory availabilty from revenue fares to award fares (many have noticed cases where there is no married inventory on a particular route for revenue fares, but there is still married inventory for awards and you can still book award fares on the routing).

Whatever the delta.com bug that is currently affecting revenue fare searches on FWA-HND, it is not impacting Skymiles award searches on route. The revenue fare search bug on delta.com doesn't look to have anything to do with fare filings or married segment inventory (other fare search engines can find DL fare availabilty just fine). With revenue fares going for $2K range roundtrip for Main on this route for summer travel, award fares are in the 200K mileage range roundtrip in Main for this time period (before Amex 15% discount), as expected (US/Canada awards are generally in 1.0 - 1.2 CPM range before Amex discount).