Seems to me that there is still one grey area that could or should have been addressed when the new program was announced, and that concerns upgrade awards...whether on KLM, NW or any other partner..... You phone the helpdeskfor possible availability on your preferred flights...they tell you that it's maybe 'likeley, or no way, or at present no problem,' but no more than that, and without a confirmed ticket they are unable to do anymore. So you then decide to 'take a chance' and book your ticket...then you have to wait a few days until you can get hold of the ticket number.....call back to the helpdesk with your number...too late , WBC completely full...'but hang on, you told me to book my ticket quickly as it was more than likely'...so what goes on ?
Wouldn't it be more sensible for the helpdesk to work more closely with the salesoffice and confirm it there and then ?...without all this uncertainty ?
Has anybody else experienced this frustration...or has anybody found a way around it ?

I know the feeling and so do a few friends of mine!

As I understand it, you do not need to provide a ticket number. As soon as the ticket has been issued, the help desk will be able to see this in the reservations system, and they can then process the award request.

johan

Johan....I wish.... I have just called them again this morning...'We need the ticket numbers'

Mike

Here is something I did the other week. I could not get a straight answer from them, so I got my agent to book me 2 tickets in WBC. She then booked me another 2 tickets in economy. I then got the number and told the help desk you will see I already have my seats in WBC and I want the ticket for economy upgraded as whilst we were talking my agent cancelled the WBC reservation.

Confused the hell out of him at the helpdesk, but did the job

How strange.

I rarely see my ticket before the day of departure, and haven't a clue beforehand what the ticket number is. Nevertheless, I've upgraded 12 flights in the past year. Not once was I asked for a ticket number.

Edited to add that I always start by giving the help desk agent the relevant KLM PNR.

johan



[This message has been edited by johan rebel (edited 12-16-2002).]

You were lucky this time, but generally this is not possible.Even if there are seats in WBC, FD Award inventory is certanly not always available....

As posted a couple of times before, the award inventory for Platinum elites and Gold elites comes right out of the "C" bucket, if you buy two tix out of the J bucket, there is still no way a get an award, even if you cancel your WBC seats !!
As you posted, you were able to get a full refund, so I guess they came at least out of the C or J bucket, probadly not out of the "Z" bucket....

Therefore it is relatively easy to check award availabilty for KLM metal, as long as there is availability in the "C" bucket you will get a seat, if "C" is sold out, you are out of luck, but I would recommend to check availabilty daily, because basicly all airlines sell flights up to a special point. but release seats some days ( or weeks ) in advance....

Happenend to me just some weeks ago....

The FD desk does not need the Ticket number at all, it comes simply down to the level of laziness of the FD agent.They can certainly find your booking with your name and flight number.Beside that let me recommend to ask your TA for a trip summary.All booking engines have these pages, for example www.checkmytrip.com lists all your segments plus the ticket number, plus the KLM code, plus the NW code.....

We were lucky as BC was pretty empty and on the front section of BC on the DC10 there was only 5 people. Even so it does go to show that there is not a clear line of communication and the people you speak to will either help you or they will not. Johan is correct, once your ticket is booked they can see it on the screen. I have also remembered that we reserved our seats as well yet I still see people complaining you cannot pre-book your seats.

Threy...how do I say to the helpdesk....'you don't need the ticket number'..if you know what I mean. Is there something I can refer them to ?

If your ticket has been issued, there should be a note of your ticket number in your PNR. With a little effort, any agent should be able to retrieve your ticket number from your PNR.

Alternatively, as your travel agent for the ticket number, or look it up using one of the web itinerary sites. You'll need to know which booking engine your TA used to book the tickets (or use trial-and-error -- there are only four sites to try!)

Hope this helps.

Thanks....it's that interim period, between booking your ticket and actually obtaining the releveant number. With KLM they print the tickets within 2/3 days of confirming (and paying) for your booking. It's during these 2/3 days that the helpdesk are saying that they need the number/s before actioning a request....albeit that they can see that the booking is confirmed....so why can't they action the request immediately ? Sorry to be a pain, but it really bugs me, as it's easy to miss out on an upgrade during those 2/3 days, after having been told , and maybe misled, that it's 'looking good.'

If you book through a travel agent (or many of the big internet booking enginess like Travelocity), ticketing normally takes place within a matter of hours. A travel agent can ticket while you wait.

Good question, I don`t have these problems anymore since they introduced the Elite Helpdesk, but before that I had to tell an agent a couple of times to do it "my" way.Always a strange situation, but what can I do ??
She refused to do so and after some argueing she was willing to ask a supervisor, who talk her that my suggestion can be done.

But as posted earlier, the agents working at the elite desk are normally more competent and helpful.

ALWAYS call the elite desk not the general number, I've never had my ticket number for upgrades they always pull it up on the screen with the PNR. All they have to do is punch your name in ! My tickets are booked usually within 2 or 3 days of my departure on the web /Amex AFTER ringing FD for upgrade availability, I call them back within an hour and no problem (so far ).

THREY

I've heard before that PE comes out of the C bucket for upgrades but does it work for for a biz ticket ?

I ask because I've looked at a few flights to Montreal this weekend in C and the FD web award engine says there is no availability, However when I check online I see that there are 5 seats in C and 5 in J outbound and 7 inbound !

Nigel

With apologies to those that have read this elsewhere.
I thought that I would give those of you interested a final update on my upgrade saga. This morning, around 10am , called Norwich (KLM ticket desk) for news on ticket numbers....confirmed that they were posted in to the PNR record a little earlier.......great, now to call the PE, (note), helpdesk to request upgrades......'sorry Mr Turnbull, there seems to be a problem.....you have been sold tickets for flights that do not exist !! From April, KLM will no longer be flying their metal to Detroit'..(so, I was sold KL617 going out, and 618 inbound......hoping for anything but a NW DC10, knowing that they would not entertain an upgrade) 'let me see what I can do' he says,'You'll have to call Norwich as it is their error, but I'll book you on the NW flights instead and it will be in the record'. 'But what about my upgrades, as using NW I might as well have booked out of Gatwick and saved myself time and hassle ?' ' Yes sir, you're quite right, and NW will be a problem for us to request three WBC seats.......leave it with me' Call back to Norwich...'There is no way, sir, we would possibly sell you tickets for flights that are not scheduled' 'Oh no?...then I suggest that you take another look in my PNR'......goes away and returns with many apologies. Meanwhile, receive a call from Holland....due to the fiasco, NW revenue management were called by KLM...who agreed to release three seats for the NW portion..(Atlantic plus Domestic 'First' Class), plus the LHR/AMS klm bit. So there you have it....despite trying to avoid the NW hassle, by going AMS, or so I thought, I've still ended up on an old NW DC10..out of AMS !!.....after all that I could have gone ex LGW, but the big unknown is, would I have got three WBC seats ? I will never know !! End of story.
ps Strange, but the direct KLM flight 617/618 is still showing up on the on-line timetable during April !

[This message has been edited by mike turnbull...spelling. (edited 12-17-2002).]

[This message has been edited by mike turnbull (edited 12-17-2002).]