Delta SUCKS for award travel in Europe.. HELP
 

Hi,

I'm trying a HUGE range of dates in July and August... and I can't get any skysaver ticket to spain or italy. Can anyone help? I called and tried all the carriers under skyteam. Any suggestions for europe? I want to go to southern europe and would consider flying into somewhere else in order to be able to GET to spain. This is just sad.... Delta really has let me down over the past 2 months. I had a HUGE ordeal a month ago, wrote a letter of complaint, never heard shiiit back from them. Switching to NWA I think..... well, while I still have miles to burn, anyone got any ideas?

Thanks guys!

DL's award availability may not be the best, but suggesting that DL "sucks" because there is no availability to Europe during the peak summer travel time a mere 1-2 months before you want to travel is flat out rEdiculous.

I don't expect that you'll have much luck finding an award ticket to Europe during the summer at this stage on any airline, whether SkyTeam or not.

If you want to use miles to go to Europe during the summer, in the future, the best bet is to book 331 days (to the day, at midnight) prior to when you want to leave.

I've got a suggestion that might help in the future.
When looking for award seats to Europe during the summer....the most popular time of year for European travel....try looking 331 days in advance rather than a month or two.
Sure you might luck out and find an award seat or two at the last moment but for the most part you'll be SOL waiting until June to start looking for July/August availability.
The fact that AF has arbitrarily shut down all requests for award seats from June-August doesn't help the situation either. It puts enormous pressure on the other ST partners award inventory.
Some other posters have been able to book award seats on AF this summer but they did so 6-9 months ago before AF stopped accepting bookings.
My advice won't help your current situation but it's something to think about for the future.
PS I see mk92 posted at the same time with virtually the same message.

Yes, you can't expect seats to be there just a month or 2 before the busiest travel period of the year.

My parents got 2 C seats TLH-VIE and LGW-TLH earlier this year. They even were able to change the routing to a more desireable one but they were locked in to their travel itinary by March.

Sorry, but you've really got to plan ahead for these sorts of things, and not just on Delta. All airlines are pretty much like that. I managed to snag some award seats on DL/AF/AZ for this May, but I booked them in February/March, and managed to slip in under the AF cutoff as well. I would suggest traveling in the fall when you'd have a much better chance of finding those tickets, or else go ahead and book now for next summer.

Well said mk92

Have you considered buying a ticket to London, for example, or somewhere relatively cheap, and then trying to get an award ticket within Europe? Or if you're not in a DL hub, try availability out of ATL or JFK.

Still, I'd say that this late in the game, those seats are probably long gone.

Keep trying! I have noticed that Delta will open award seats a few days before anticipated departure. At least to San Jose, Costa Rica. I am going in mid-July and I am sure I will get an award seat if I keep trying.

Of course, you have to be flexible.

I do not understand "try booking 331 days earlier comment". How can a person make a travel arrangement almost one year before the trip.

Delta may not suck but it's award program definitely sucks. :td:

I know many people who tried to book an award ticket to Europe from Delta, but they failed although they tried 3-4 months earlier than the planned trip. :(

UA is much better in award travel. In last november, I reserved an award seat 2 weeks before the departure and they offered me many choices.

Are you also surprised when you go to Toys R Us at 6pm on Christmas Eve and find empty shelves? :p

It all depends on where you're going - Europe during the summer, even with nearly every ST carrier flying there, is a beast to get award tickets for. I'll bet if you called UA for Europe travel at the same times that you wouldn't find any cut-rate awards either, it's just the name of the game. As far as the planning 331 days beforehand thing, yeah, it's tough, but to get the best award tickets price, it's necessary. If you have the points, see about getting a biz/first class award. I was able to book Hawaii on DL in first a month out for the SkySaver price. Meanwhile, coach was all SkyChoice. It was well worth the additional 5000 miles.

I am not saying that I should get a ticket within 2 weeks but I should be able to secure a seat if I contact Delta 3-4 months in advance. ;)

3-4 months in advance of a November departure to Europe is VERY different from 3-4 months in advance of February departure.

Apples and Oranges
 

Comparing availability for award travel during the peak summer season, as against Europe in November, is a ridiculous comparison. You are comparing apples and oranges. Now, if you were to say that you could get multiple routings on UA RIGHT NOW for a trip this summer, that would be a valid criticism of Delta. The suggestion that Delta's award program sucks because all of the allocated FF seats to Europe have been taken up by people who are smart enough to plan ahead of time is patently absurd.

It's the same reason that FARES to Europe are $1000 during the summer, and $400 in November. There is much less demand for the seats in November.

I never tried UA for award travel in summer, so you may be right, but reserving an award seat almost a year in advance does not seem reasonable to me. I cannot do that not because I am not smart but because my job does not allow me to make a travel plan one year in advance :(