Help me decode ExpertFlyer seat availability
Aug 30, 2015, 3:57 am
#16
Join Date: May 2011
Location: DXB/MEL
Programs: EK Gold
Posts: 6
Good evening everyone. I too have a question regarding ExpertFlyer and how to decipher how busy the flight is. I'm on EK405 tomorrow night (MEL-SIN) and it's showing the following:
F4 A3 J7 C7 I7 O0 P0 Y9 E9 R9 W9 M9 B9 U9 K9 H9 Q9 L9 T0 V0 X0
Could someone please explain to me what this means?
Many thanks, Andrew
F4 A3 J7 C7 I7 O0 P0 Y9 E9 R9 W9 M9 B9 U9 K9 H9 Q9 L9 T0 V0 X0
Could someone please explain to me what this means?
Many thanks, Andrew
Aug 30, 2015, 4:48 am
#17
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: MAN DXB ✈️
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 6,831
Good evening everyone. I too have a question regarding ExpertFlyer and how to decipher how busy the flight is. I'm on EK405 tomorrow night (MEL-SIN) and it's showing the following:
F4 A3 J7 C7 I7 O0 P0 Y9 E9 R9 W9 M9 B9 U9 K9 H9 Q9 L9 T0 V0 X0
Could someone please explain to me what this means?
Many thanks, Andrew
F4 A3 J7 C7 I7 O0 P0 Y9 E9 R9 W9 M9 B9 U9 K9 H9 Q9 L9 T0 V0 X0
Could someone please explain to me what this means?
Many thanks, Andrew
Aug 30, 2015, 5:07 am
#18
Join Date: May 2011
Location: DXB/MEL
Programs: EK Gold
Posts: 6
Aug 30, 2015, 5:11 am
#19
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 39
9 (or 7 in some cases) is the highest number you will see for any RBD.
This does not actually mean that there are 9 (or more) seats available as availability of all RBDs might drastically change simply with one additional booking.
For instance, if F is empty and J is fully booked, you might still see the J RBDs wide open.
This does not actually mean that there are 9 (or more) seats available as availability of all RBDs might drastically change simply with one additional booking.
For instance, if F is empty and J is fully booked, you might still see the J RBDs wide open.
Nov 11, 2016, 9:46 am
#20
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Explat, SPG Gold, HH Gold
Posts: 56
I am looking at a flight that shows F4, and Google Flights is selling 4 F seats. However when I go to the Emirates website and try to book 9 tickets for the flight, it gives me a price quote- suggesting that 9+ seats are available. In addition, the EF seat map is empty. Would there be 9+ seats on that flight, or only 4?
Nov 11, 2016, 1:01 pm
#21
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: MAN DXB ✈️
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 6,831
I am looking at a flight that shows F4, and Google Flights is selling 4 F seats. However when I go to the Emirates website and try to book 9 tickets for the flight, it gives me a price quote- suggesting that 9+ seats are available. In addition, the EF seat map is empty. Would there be 9+ seats on that flight, or only 4?
Ef states what EK will sell and they don't oversell F but even at F4 A4 it means they will sell 4 seats at either F flex or saver but Likely means more than 4 are left.
I have a flight that is F4 A4 and 6 seats are left...
Nov 11, 2016, 4:14 pm
#22
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
For F the maximum availability is always 4, just like in Y it will never show higher than 9. It means 4 or more, not exactly 4. And like m3red mentions, there are other fare buckets that book into first class as well, not just F
Mar 15, 2019, 3:41 am
#25
Join Date: Nov 2011
Programs: Skywards
Posts: 564
New to EF (yay!), am I right in saying that the following 2 flights are full in economy but some availability in first and business?
How likely is this to change, my flight is in 5 days time.
Thanks in advance.
How likely is this to change, my flight is in 5 days time.
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by S c 0 TT y; Mar 15, 2019 at 3:56 am
Mar 15, 2019, 4:47 am
#26
Ambassador, Emirates
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: LGW / AMS / CPT
Programs: SA KL BA EK
Posts: 4,272
How likely this is to change is difficult to say. I certainly have seen Y availability mysteriously reappear, so don’t get you op-up hopes up too much yet....
Mar 15, 2019, 9:18 pm
#27
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Manchester/London
Programs: Skywards Plat, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 1,226
Litterally it means that the airline is not selling any Y tickets, that they will sell 7 (or more, because 7 is the maximum number here) in business ( but only at the highest fare), and 4 (or more) in first (even at a lower fare, possibly Saver).
How likely this is to change is difficult to say. I certainly have seen Y availability mysteriously reappear, so don’t get you op-up hopes up too much yet....
A few weeks ago I posted my flight availability for BKK-DXB and DXB-MAN. Both were on Y0 with a week to go. Then throughout the week they jumped back up as high as Y7 on both flights.
On the day of departure BKK-DXB was showing Y4 and this was confirmed on check in and DXB-MAN was back to Y0... I was sulking in the lounge resigned to the fact I would not get an OP-Up on the first flight but still had hopes for the Manchester flight. To my delight my boarding pass changed in the BKK lounge and then at this point I was fairly confident of an Op-Up for my second flight. Yet this was not to be on the MAN sector, in fact economy was not even full.
It is good to use EF to get an idea but in reality it can be so unpredictable. A Y0 flight can become empty from missed connections and then likewise a flight that looks wide open can all of a sudden becomes oversold.
Mar 16, 2019, 2:14 am
#28
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,307
Completely agree with the above. I was thinking of gambling on an op-up on SYD-DXB (Gold and Flex Plus) last week based on the availability figures, with Y looking full and J pretty empty with just a week to go. I ended up taking a discounted offer and glad, I did as J went out with one empty seat and Y with lots.
The numbers just can't be relied on, or my knowledge of how to obtain and interpret them isn't up to speed.
The numbers just can't be relied on, or my knowledge of how to obtain and interpret them isn't up to speed.
