Award booking web system improved?
 

It used to be that it was impossible to find award tickets for itineraries involving domestic NW flights when using the web, and you had to call the FD helpdesk to get help.
Now, it seems like they have fixed the problem, and finding tickets involving domestic NW flights is now possible. I put in a couple of different itineraries (CPH-AMS-DTW-ERI, CPH-AMS-MEM-MCO, etc.) and found availability most of the time. A few months ago, such itineraries would have resulted in the dreaded 'Sorry, no suitable departure flights were found' message.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Still working poorly for me.

Hi

Can you log in and search for awards and then is it like an on line shop where at the end after keying your credit card details it asks you to confirm the purchase?

I was always afraid to search for an award in case it just gave me it!

pmcg

Never actually got the ticket. Seems to work:
select your flights, select where you want to get the ticket. Next page is then miles necessary and taxes.
If you stop there no ticket is issued and no miles deducted.

By where you want to get your ticket, is picking up at an airport counter an option? As I am rarely home it would be easier for me to use whatever KLM counter I come accross next. I suppose it is too much to want to think I could pick up at an NW counter?!

You can pick up your ticket at any ticket office/airport ticket counter (not in the U.S.).
Make a trial booking and go to step 3 and check out the different pick-up locations.
It seems like it's not possible to pick your ticket at a NW/KLM ticket office in the U.S.


[This message has been edited by Vunder31 (edited 11-25-2002).]

It is even possible to collect the ticket at a ticket counter which was not selected. I selected once AMS as pick up point, but happened to come through STR before and got it there.
In another case FRA was the selected issue point, but as they had difficulties to issue the ticket, they referred me to AMS.
I really like this option for last minute travel.

Getting back to awards on line...it seems to me that it's still only KLM flights that you can pull up...if you try to include a NW city, ie LHR,(via AMS) to GSP, (Greenville/Spartanburg),....then you're stuck.

Getting NW flights to show up only works for some itineraries...
LON-RDU shows up as LCY(KL)AMS(KL)MEM(NW)RDU, and the return is RDU(NW)MSP(NW)LGW.

LHR-GSP does not work, LON-GSP works.

I never said the system worked properly, but it works better than in used to do http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Accenture and KLM have this week announced that, following a successful test phase, they will move ahead with a long-term "co-sourcing" agreement - under which Accenture will help KLM enhance its Web-based Internet and intranet systems.

The six-year agreement will see Accenture help KLM lower its system development costs, improve the quality of systems development and reduce the time it takes to complete information and communications technology projects.

To handle the more than 20 related projects that are part of the agreement, KLM and Accenture will establish a new group, called UnIT, combining skills and expertise from both organisations.

"Together with Accenture, we are breaking new ground, initiating a change that will spread like wildfire within the information and communications technology community and the airline sector as a whole," said Cees Koster, KLM's chief information officer.

It's true for award tickets. NW cannot print KL or CO award tickets. And of course, the same is true for KL or CO printing award tickets of the other 2 airlines.

In case of revenue tickets, either of NW, KL, CO can print revenue tickets of the other two.

Jano

LCY shows up because of the NW codeshare on that route.

Well, what can I say..........
Call the DF "Helpdesk" to get some award tickets, (Had check their website first, but wanted to try to combine some flights) the girl's answer to all request was - Not available, all sold out , etc. etc- When asked how come the website showed available seats, no explanation why plus a lecture on how "it has to be booked on a specific class of service, blah, blah, blah (As if I wasn't aware of all ff procedures. Hung up, went on line. all flights still available........
It looks like KLM FD has a new programme (or revised programme) but the same clueless agents are answering the phones

Sometimes the flights do show as available on single routes but if you try and connect them the award seats disappear. Apparently this is due to KLM allocating only a certain number of seats to certain routes. In the old system it was possible to reserve as two separate bookings, albeit you paid some extra airport taxes but in the new system it would cost a lot more miles as the connecting segment to AMS is effectively free if it is on the same reservation.

It would seem that there is no way to bypass this in the helpdesk reservations computers and equally not on the website but I suppose the choice is always there to spend the extra miles to get the flights that you want or to buy a flight to AMS to then connect to the onward award flight.

Nobody seems to be able to explain this strange phenomenon completely and unfortunately it would seem that we just have to live with it. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

Flights were available booking all the way through as a connection or booked separate. I am afraid in this case, as in many, the person I talked to, either had no idea, or just didnt want to allow members to book award tickets. Actually even after confirming the tickets, "There still are seats available using miles".
By the way anybody that has successfully booked award tickets vie the web engine, how long does it take to see the miles deducted from the account and tickets to be mail out ?