Early Returns Award Availability
Mar 4, 2012, 4:21 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: United Premier Executive ; Frontier Summit
Posts: 119
Early Returns Award Availability
Looks like Frontier just changed Award tickets to 45,000/50,000 miles for a round trip ticket to the East Coast. New availability was opened up thru November 14th. Not one ticket was available for PHL,EWR,or BOS for less than 45,000 during the entire weeks on Oct 27-Nov6th.
I'll be calling the Summit line tomorrow, hopefully it's a computer glitch, if not, they need to change their Award Chart to reflect CHOICE Awards as only being available to certain destinations.
Anyone else find other cities with no availability?
I'll be calling the Summit line tomorrow, hopefully it's a computer glitch, if not, they need to change their Award Chart to reflect CHOICE Awards as only being available to certain destinations.
Anyone else find other cities with no availability?
Last edited by tombourn; Mar 4, 2012 at 4:22 pm Reason: grammar
Mar 4, 2012, 5:35 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,638
I think that the booking engine for award travel is messed up...random itineraries checked with different departure cities all priced at 45,000 miles, roundtrip. A few even showed tabs @45,000 mi each way, till I clicked; it then reverted to 22,500 mi each way. Even one hour flights with no seats booked price out at this level.
I would give it a day, and then call the ER dept, if the system has not updated and made corrections.
It's common to see mileage requirements lowered as the departure date approaches, when there is a sizeable seat inventory. This must be an error.
The website does not show any change in award levels.
http://www.frontierairlines.com/freq...s/redeem-miles
I would give it a day, and then call the ER dept, if the system has not updated and made corrections.
It's common to see mileage requirements lowered as the departure date approaches, when there is a sizeable seat inventory. This must be an error.
The website does not show any change in award levels.
http://www.frontierairlines.com/freq...s/redeem-miles
Mar 4, 2012, 8:32 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,638
http://www.frontierairlines.com/freq...able-donations
I am surprised that there are still a number of Wisconsin non-profits listed, though maybe, for not much longer.
May 10, 2012, 6:53 am
#5
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,638
No more blackout dates for award travel.
For those customers based in cities where Frontier service has been eliminated or deeply cut, it's like being all dressed up, with no where to go.
Checking out FF availability, the blackout dates still seem to be preventing booking on certain dates.
We did it. There are no more blackout dates for award travel! That means you can now redeem your miles for any available award seat, any day of the year.
So keep racking up those miles and start planning a rewarding trip.
Thank you for flying Frontier. We look forward to seeing you in the air soon.
So keep racking up those miles and start planning a rewarding trip.
Thank you for flying Frontier. We look forward to seeing you in the air soon.
Checking out FF availability, the blackout dates still seem to be preventing booking on certain dates.
May 10, 2012, 7:30 am
#6
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,653
Hmm...any available award seat any day of the year might be the catch here.
That's not the same as any open seat, any day of the year.
Potentially they could still block days off -- allocating zero award seats to all flights operating on 11/25 for example. It's not blacked out, but there are no award seats allocated to any flights on those days. That would be kind of snakey if they did that, creating de facto blackout dates systemwide but not calling it that. Hopefully that's not what they are doing, and I give them the benefit of the doubt they are not doing that and publicizing it as some new benefit.
(I think there's a Simpson's reference in here somewhere. A certain percentage of seats are allocated to free travel on every rlight, every day. What's that percentage? Zero percent.)
More likely, in my opinion, is that they are no longer simply pulling certain dates from the award travel calendar. Perhaps a "standard" allocation of award seats is allocated even on the most desirable days. There may or may not be some fine-tuning to those numbers. But what this likely means is that you do have a chance at using award tickets even on the most desirable dates, possibly even in all markets or all flights. But I suspect it does not mean any seat, any flight.
One other note. It's fairly common for the PR side and the technical (pricing, website, inventory, etc) side to not be in perfect synch. It wouldn't be a surprise if PR announced this but award inventory has not been released to formerly-blacked out days or flights. Or....this may be something they rolled out days or weeks ago and waited to do PR until they were sure it was working correctly, and in the mean time people snapped up the available seats on the most desirable days not knowing they were "supposed" to be blacked out.
It might be that PR is often out of synch like this at other airlines, too. But because some of us watch this stuff like a hawk for Frontier, we're keenly aware that it does happen here and wouldn't know if (for examlpe) JetBlue has similar issues.
That's not the same as any open seat, any day of the year.
Potentially they could still block days off -- allocating zero award seats to all flights operating on 11/25 for example. It's not blacked out, but there are no award seats allocated to any flights on those days. That would be kind of snakey if they did that, creating de facto blackout dates systemwide but not calling it that. Hopefully that's not what they are doing, and I give them the benefit of the doubt they are not doing that and publicizing it as some new benefit.
(I think there's a Simpson's reference in here somewhere. A certain percentage of seats are allocated to free travel on every rlight, every day. What's that percentage? Zero percent.)
More likely, in my opinion, is that they are no longer simply pulling certain dates from the award travel calendar. Perhaps a "standard" allocation of award seats is allocated even on the most desirable days. There may or may not be some fine-tuning to those numbers. But what this likely means is that you do have a chance at using award tickets even on the most desirable dates, possibly even in all markets or all flights. But I suspect it does not mean any seat, any flight.
One other note. It's fairly common for the PR side and the technical (pricing, website, inventory, etc) side to not be in perfect synch. It wouldn't be a surprise if PR announced this but award inventory has not been released to formerly-blacked out days or flights. Or....this may be something they rolled out days or weeks ago and waited to do PR until they were sure it was working correctly, and in the mean time people snapped up the available seats on the most desirable days not knowing they were "supposed" to be blacked out.
It might be that PR is often out of synch like this at other airlines, too. But because some of us watch this stuff like a hawk for Frontier, we're keenly aware that it does happen here and wouldn't know if (for examlpe) JetBlue has similar issues.
May 10, 2012, 4:35 pm
#7
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: MKE
Posts: 2,161
When the December/January schedule was loaded a few weeks ago, most flights were at 22,500 miles each way. I called the ER desk, the CSR checked with a supervisor who stated that was because the travel was close to Thanksgiving.
I waited a day, and checked again, plenty of standard award seats available. So much for advice from a Supervisor.
I waited a day, and checked again, plenty of standard award seats available. So much for advice from a Supervisor.