Sep 14, 2017, 7:20 am
Last edit by: Flame3601
Information on Load requests
The number of seats for sale for a flight are available via ExpertFlyer.com, a subscription-based service with a 5-day free trial. A subscription is $9.99/month and can be enabled and disabled any time. It is encouraged to subscribe rather than post repeatedly in this thread.
NB: Op-up changes or overselling of a flight cannot be determined with certainty from this information, only inferred to be more or less probable.
For a once-off load request please follow these guidelines:
Flight loads >7 days out are not very useful, as the airline could still sell many seats, unless availability of a specific fare bucket (e.g. Business Saver upgrade) is requested. If you wish to know the general flight load please don't post >7 days before departure.
When requesting a load please provide the following information:
- Date of flight (departure date)
- Flight Number
- Origin
- Destination
These four fields are mandatory in searching on ExpertFlyer (see screenshot below) and it isn't fair to except those who pay for their subscriptions to also have to go look up which cities a specific flight number is from and to (also some flight numbers are onward flights (5th freedom routes, e.g. CMB-MLE) and loads will differ significantly depending on which sector of the flight is checked.
The number of seats for sale for a flight are available via ExpertFlyer.com, a subscription-based service with a 5-day free trial. A subscription is $9.99/month and can be enabled and disabled any time. It is encouraged to subscribe rather than post repeatedly in this thread.
NB: Op-up changes or overselling of a flight cannot be determined with certainty from this information, only inferred to be more or less probable.
For a once-off load request please follow these guidelines:
Flight loads >7 days out are not very useful, as the airline could still sell many seats, unless availability of a specific fare bucket (e.g. Business Saver upgrade) is requested. If you wish to know the general flight load please don't post >7 days before departure.
When requesting a load please provide the following information:
- Date of flight (departure date)
- Flight Number
- Origin
- Destination
These four fields are mandatory in searching on ExpertFlyer (see screenshot below) and it isn't fair to except those who pay for their subscriptions to also have to go look up which cities a specific flight number is from and to (also some flight numbers are onward flights (5th freedom routes, e.g. CMB-MLE) and loads will differ significantly depending on which sector of the flight is checked.
Flight Load Check request
Jun 16, 2019 | 11:30 pm
#661
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Dubai
Programs: EK Gold
Posts: 213
Y, J and F are their own fare buckets, but also used as umbrella terms for Economy, Business and First. When I said "In Y EK will Show availability as high as 9" I meant in all Economy fare buckets, which are Y down to X. On PC now so can copy the loads of 415:
F4 A4 J7 C7 I7 O0 H0 P0 Y5 E5 R5 W5M5 B5 U0 K0 Q0 L0 T0 V0 X0
As you can see another seat has been sold since the earlier check and now down to 5.
From left to right it pretty much follows the F, J and Y pattern:
F & A = First Class (F)
J, C, I, O, H & P = Business Class (J)
Y to X = Economy Class (Y)
Generally speaking the further left within a cabin the fare bucket is the higher the fare, e.g. Y, E & F are Flex Plus fares while X is a Special fare.
The flight can be oversold because Emirates will sell the total number of seats on a flight. Meaning if the combined unsold seats in J and F are 20 they will oversell Y by around 20. It's not always exact, sometimes they over-oversell and this results in IDBs (Involuntary Denied Boarding). On EK this can be quite lucrative as they will rebook you on a later flight in addition to giving you a free return ticket which you can use within the next 12 months, so if you have some flexibility and travel more than once a year this can be very useful.
F4 A4 J7 C7 I7 O0 H0 P0 Y5 E5 R5 W5M5 B5 U0 K0 Q0 L0 T0 V0 X0
As you can see another seat has been sold since the earlier check and now down to 5.
From left to right it pretty much follows the F, J and Y pattern:
F & A = First Class (F)
J, C, I, O, H & P = Business Class (J)
Y to X = Economy Class (Y)
Generally speaking the further left within a cabin the fare bucket is the higher the fare, e.g. Y, E & F are Flex Plus fares while X is a Special fare.
The flight can be oversold because Emirates will sell the total number of seats on a flight. Meaning if the combined unsold seats in J and F are 20 they will oversell Y by around 20. It's not always exact, sometimes they over-oversell and this results in IDBs (Involuntary Denied Boarding). On EK this can be quite lucrative as they will rebook you on a later flight in addition to giving you a free return ticket which you can use within the next 12 months, so if you have some flexibility and travel more than once a year this can be very useful.
I've recently subscribed to EF and learning the ins & outs. I've noted that there is no Z or D inventory listed in the results (not even 0'd out) unless there is space available. In yours (and other members) experiences, do you either search for the inventory before booking - and if not available, set an alert for when seats are released?
Jun 17, 2019 | 1:39 am
#662
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,791
Thanks for positing this skywardhunter! Funnily enough I was chatting with m3red on the weekend with some similar questions.
I've recently subscribed to EF and learning the ins & outs. I've noted that there is no Z or D inventory listed in the results (not even 0'd out) unless there is space available. In yours (and other members) experiences, do you either search for the inventory before booking - and if not available, set an alert for when seats are released?
I've recently subscribed to EF and learning the ins & outs. I've noted that there is no Z or D inventory listed in the results (not even 0'd out) unless there is space available. In yours (and other members) experiences, do you either search for the inventory before booking - and if not available, set an alert for when seats are released?
Generally I don't base my flight choices based on D being available, unless it's a flight I absolutely want to upgrade (not most, earning miles in the back means it takes a while to earn enough for am upgrade)
Jun 17, 2019 | 2:31 am
#663
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: MAN DXB ✈️
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 6,930
there was a time when D showed but Ive not seen Z or D listed - would be Great if they did and you could see how many - now its yes or no depending on how many z or d seats you search for
Jun 17, 2019 | 2:43 am
#664
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 10,043
sleepy_jean - With only 2 days to go these numbers may jump around a lot. For example, I'm seeing no economy class available now, just 6 hours after skywardhunter's post, and although I use a different system to check they usually give the same figures. That seems more promising for you, but you just never know until you have a J boarding pass in your hand.
I was in a similar position ex SYD a few months ago and ended up taking a discounted miles offer to ensure Business Class to DXB.
Jun 17, 2019 | 3:55 am
#665
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 30
Thanks for he explanation skywardhunter! It all makes much more sense now.
Ft101, im flying to Dublin again in December with the whole family so saving our miles for that trip to upgrade 3 of us. Hence no miles or $$ to upgrade this time round
Ft101, im flying to Dublin again in December with the whole family so saving our miles for that trip to upgrade 3 of us. Hence no miles or $$ to upgrade this time round
Jun 17, 2019 | 4:51 am
#666
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,791
Jun 17, 2019 | 11:17 am
#667
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: MAN DXB ✈️
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 6,930
Jun 17, 2019 | 12:18 pm
#668
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,791
Jun 19, 2019 | 5:57 am
#669
Join Date: Nov 2005
Programs: skywards
Posts: 13
Load Checl VS29 (to BGI) 12 July 2019
Hi , been a while since i have posted. I am looking for a load check for Vs 29 on 12 july 19 to BGI from LGW. We x5 perons booked in premium and I was looking to bid for an upgrade via Virgins website which is not avaiilable. presume beacuse Business is near enough full. Thanks
Gian
Gian
Jun 19, 2019 | 6:23 am
#670
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,791
Hi , been a while since i have posted. I am looking for a load check for Vs 29 on 12 july 19 to BGI from LGW. We x5 perons booked in premium and I was looking to bid for an upgrade via Virgins website which is not avaiilable. presume beacuse Business is near enough full. Thanks
Gian
Gian
Jun 20, 2019 | 5:11 am
#671
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: DXB
Programs: EK, CX, AA, DL, UA, MAR, HGP, Amex
Posts: 1,211
Hi , been a while since i have posted. I am looking for a load check for Vs 29 on 12 july 19 to BGI from LGW. We x5 perons booked in premium and I was looking to bid for an upgrade via Virgins website which is not avaiilable. presume beacuse Business is near enough full. Thanks
Gian
Gian
VS 29 Jul 12 2019
J8 C8 D6 I2 Z1 W4 S0 H0 K0 Y9 B9 R9L1 U0 M0 E0 Q0 X0 N0 O0 V1 T9
Jun 21, 2019 | 2:03 am
#672
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 10,043
Can someone look up GLA-BKK (EK28/384) departing 27th June on Expert Flyer please? I can see H Fares on this (and many other dates) which are not there on the EK website. I wonder if these new H fares are confusing my system so curious to see if EF is reporting correctly.
Jun 21, 2019 | 3:52 am
#673
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Dubai
Programs: EK Gold
Posts: 213
EK384 / 28Jun - J7 C7 I7 O7 H7 P0 Y9 E9 R9 W9 M9 B9U9 K9 Q9 L0 T0 V0 X0
Jun 21, 2019 | 6:20 am
#674
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 10,043
That's pretty much the same as me. Try to make a booking and there's no Business Saver or Special so the O7 and H7 seem incorrect on both systems.
Jun 21, 2019 | 6:31 am
#675
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,791
Nope, not a glitch, EK doesn't have any H fares files for GLA-BKK, so even though there's availability there is no fare against which to compute a reservation