Award availability on IT using DL skymiles
 

All,

I posted this in the delta forum but wanted to post it here to see how to find availability on a kingfisher flight using DL skymiles.

Is it possible to check it online - expertflyer had it but now does not show it any more.

Would opening a kingfisher account help?

I am looking for dates around 10/14 to go from LHR to BOM in biz and then return around 11/6 from BOM to LHR again in Biz.

- naroowal

Having an IT account will do nothing to help you redeem DL miles. The inventory you see on IT's website is not necessarily what's made available to DL.

It would a guideline. In general i have noticed that when an airline releases a seat to its members, it will release to others as well. There are several exceptions (SQ?) where the airline wants to give its members more opportunities to redeem and so may allow awards to its members and not others.

At a minimum if an airline does not release seats to its members then it won't release seats to its partners. One strange exception is CX where I saw its members not being able to get a particular flight, but I was able to get it with AA miles.

Slightly OT, in general how is IT availability with IT miles?

Yes, it's a guideline. Even if every award seat that was available to IT ferquent flyers was available to DL, the seats could be gone, by the time it takes one to call Delta.
IT is twice removed from DL. Often the inventory is the best for an airline's own FF's, followed by the alliance and then other partners.

When CO was a NW partner, sometimes you could see seats on CO's website, but NW agents (Platinum line) could not see those seats in the inventory available to them, although you could go back and look at CO's site, the seats would still be available. If you have status with the airline, sometimes they would try a little harder, with mixed results.

What do you mean?

I was talking about its relationship with DL. IT's relationship with OneWorld is closer than with DL. For IT, first priority is its own FF members, followed by those of OneWorld alliance partners, followed by non alliance partners and with every body esle at the end. Before IT joined OneWorld, you would come up with itineraries like DTW-LHR (NW) and LHR-DEL/BOM (IT) on NW website. I have not seen anything like that on Delta's website.

I once considered this option, but the timing made it impossible, unless you spend a night in LHR. IT's LHR flight at one time was at an unusual hour.

Did you actually make such a trip?

Not Bad - a darn side better than 9W's for sure.

is IT already introducing some benefits for fliers from OW member airlines? because the entry to the alliance is still not done.

+1 ^

In that case, IT is once removed from DL. I am not up-to-date on when IT's alliance with OneWorld would be effective.

i agree....i have found kingfisher to be extremely generous with award availability....this is the one area i would rank them a lot higher than jet....

I remember seeing very good availability when the nwa site was running, so it does not look like much has changed.

I second Keyser
 

I am finding generally good availability up to 2 seats when calling Delta. So it is a shame that Kingfisher is going to OneWorld.

- naroowal