trouble booking july AA awards trip to TLV

Old Apr 5, 2005, 8:49 am
  #1  
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trouble booking july AA awards trip to TLV

I use miles every summer R/T NY to TLV.

Trying to book a business ticket Boston, NY or Newark to TLV and back, July 8 & 24/25.

I was told LY has the entire month of July on blackout.

I can get there on the 8. Only flight back right now is Saturday morning Tel Aviv Zurich Montreal Boston.

Any suggestions?
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Old Apr 5, 2005, 1:30 pm
  #2  
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Ive got the same prob with June, with BA. So I guess Ill buy a CO tkt.

My only idea was to go onto Coupon Connection and see if you can give AA for DL. 1st call DL and see if theres anyway for them to get you there. If Im correct AA takes 130,000 for a Biz while DL is 120,000. So you might get someone to bite seeing that they will gain an extra 10,000, that way they can get 5 Dom tkts instead of 4, or any combothat they wish from you. Or someone might want to fly AA and DL doesnt go. I dont know what UA would need but that will open up LH,AC maybe someone else. DL has AirFrance,KLM,Czech,Alatila,CO

With LY cutting back I guess its coming to haunt us as it forces people to purchase on the other carriers. LY added 32 flights from all over to meet the Passover demand maybe if the same happens in June/July LY will also add flights.
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Old Apr 6, 2005, 3:52 am
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Originally Posted by craz
Ive got the same prob with June, with BA. So I guess Ill buy a CO tkt.

My only idea was to go onto Coupon Connection and see if you can give AA for DL. 1st call DL and see if theres anyway for them to get you there. If Im correct AA takes 130,000 for a Biz while DL is 120,000. So you might get someone to bite seeing that they will gain an extra 10,000, that way they can get 5 Dom tkts instead of 4, or any combothat they wish from you. Or someone might want to fly AA and DL doesnt go. I dont know what UA would need but that will open up LH,AC maybe someone else. DL has AirFrance,KLM,Czech,Alatila,CO

With LY cutting back I guess its coming to haunt us as it forces people to purchase on the other carriers. LY added 32 flights from all over to meet the Passover demand maybe if the same happens in June/July LY will also add flights.
June/July/August are NO Go's on EL AL for award tickets. It's the season for mass im/migration of tour groups and the like. Nearly everyday you have 150+ pax tour groups going somewhere. The problem you might have on the 8th could be to do with it being a Friday, so EL AL have no direct flight from NY on Fridays, though you can get connected in Europe for completion of that journey. On your return all (W) class are showing W0 though the LY011 is showing Z2 which is the heavily discounted Business ($10 more than Full Y).
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Old Apr 6, 2005, 5:49 am
  #4  
 
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Originally Posted by jonnye
On your return all (W) class are showing W0 though the LY011 is showing Z2 which is the heavily discounted Business ($10 more than Full Y).
jonnye how do you know these things? how can i access that info?
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Old Apr 6, 2005, 6:54 am
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Originally Posted by haniboo
jonnye how do you know these things? how can i access that info?
It's all pretty much accessible, though it's sometimes hard to gauge accuracy closer to the actual flight date. There are a few programs out there which you can use. KVS Availability Tool is one program, though this is a very *A weighted search facility so accuracy has been brought into question. Another program which I use is a web-based facility called www.ExpertFlyer.com this is a subscription based service but basically gives you all the information your travel agent will see.

And finally, experience. Having been a frequent flyer on ELAL over the years you see the trend appear of availability. Around Holiday season you have to be booking your award seats literally 11+ months in advance just to get availability. An example will be in a couple of weeks time for Passover Holiday. I booked 'Z' Class tickets at the end of April 2004 for this coming Passover 2005, come the first week in May 2004 all Z class tickets had been snatched up for the week period before and after Passover!.
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Old Apr 6, 2005, 6:59 am
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jonnye,
thanks for the info, I was wasnt the OP on this topic. I get into TLV 4-5 times a year. and August is a must when not only are fares way up there (July as well) but freebies are hard to come by. For the past 10 yrs I was always able to manage a Free 1st class on BA since most people cashed in for coach or Club. Now that BA did away with 1st it seems Club is not available and forget about coach.
I dont fly LY so that doesnt affect me, but this year seems as the worst year yet to try and book something using miles throughout June/July/Aug , in years past if one checked by mid-April they were still some selections to be had, this year Nothing its like the OP said youd be lucky to find a flight in either direction and one better not be inflex to the dates. Im not talking just about LY but All carriers.

Not only for the summer but its crazy also for mid-Oct = Succoth since the Religious Americans have but 2 time slots that they can fly after Yom Kippur, either Sat night 10/15 or Sun afternoon 10/16 otherwise its 10/10 . CO is way oversold and not offering its 10/15 flight #90 anylonger, CO doesnt have a flight on 10/16 in the afternoon and the 90 on 10/16 gets in too late into TLV on 10/17 (3pm and Israel would have turned the clocks back already so sundown will be around 5:30 if that late, too close any delay would mean spending 2 days at the airport for those who are Religious. When just there it took close to an hour after landing till I got my bags and we were the only flight that was there.
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Old Apr 6, 2005, 10:57 am
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Craz,

The main issue is the NON-open skies agreement thats coming from the Israeli govt at the moment. The travel agents have been begging ELAL/Israel to let Lufthansa/Delta/Continental to allow more flights in but Israel has just said NO. The result is premium prices for seats, especially as you said around chagim (Holiday Times). You know currently the cheapest tickets from LHR-TLV on the days leading up to Passover are around $800! Flight time is anything from 3hrs 55mins to 4hrs 25mins!!! You can still pick up $999 tickets from JFK!!. Hopefully as EL AL have mentioned they should be a major expansion within the airline with the purchase of 10 new aircraft 777/787 though those (787) won't be in the fleet for 5 years. Also it looks as if they're going to have to give into LH/CO and the rest of them on the open skies agreement soon anyway.
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Old Apr 10, 2005, 7:32 pm
  #8  
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I was the OP on the thread.

July 7, 2004 I flew El Al Business class from Newark to Tel Aviv on an award ticket booked through American Airlines. 2003 I flew Turkish Air and in 2002 flew El AL. All booked through AA with points. (back in the good old 90,000 points days, sigh)

I generally fly out on a Thursday afternoon/evening to arrive in TLV on Friday afternnon in time to get where I'm going. (Short hop up to Hatsor)

There was even a thread discussing my dissatisfaction with the upstairs 747
service and layout.

My original comment was in the difficulty I'm having this year versus others,the first time I'm having difficulties. I have to be in Israel prior to 7/10, which was no problem, through zurich. It's getting home that is the problem.
In order to get the ticket, I booked a return flight 7/23 Tel Aviv Zurich Montreal NY. I have no intention of flying 7/23, but I wanted to at least get it booked. I'll take the 24, 25 or 26.
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Old Apr 18, 2005, 12:19 pm
  #9  
KVS
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Originally Posted by jonnye
KVS Availability Tool is one program, though this is a very *A weighted search facility so accuracy has been brought into question.
Actually, the Tool is not all biased toward any alliance, *A or otherwise. As far as accuracy is concerned, if used properly, it can actually be more accurate than ExpertFlyer as it can provide access to 4 GDS systems (Apollo, Amadeus, Worldspan, Galileo) while ExpertFlyer only provides access to 1 system - Sabre.
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Old Apr 20, 2005, 1:04 am
  #10  
 
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Have you tried Iberia?
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