dcanseco

I am trying to book this for the end of the year. So far I've found availability in ITA Matrix(FCO>ZRH>NRT, HND>SYD>YVR>LAX>ZRH>VCE)-. One thing I will need to do is change the last leg (LAX>ZRH>VCE), the schedule is only open up to early 2024 and when the schedule opens I want to switch it to something around September/October 2024. Does the fare rule below mean changes are allowed with a $250 fee (and fare difference) in same class (P)? and is the fee per passenger or per booking?

LX PNCIA
CHANGES
ANY TIME
CHARGE EUR 250.00 FOR REISSUE.
WAIVED FOR DEATH OF PASSENGER OR FAMILY MEMBER.
NOTE -
REISSUE/EXCHANGE PERMITTED.
EXCEPT TO -LGT/-BV/-LQ/-BQ TYPE FARE.

RatherGhastly

Actually, that’s the reverse of what I was saying, which is that ITA Matrix is more reliable than GF for pricing and availability, even if it can and does get both wrong at times. If you find an itinerary that you like on Matrix, the next step would be to verify that there is availability in the relevant fare buckets in ExpertFlyer, taking note of what fare buckets other airlines need to be booked into. If so, it is likely that you’ll be able to ticket the itinerary directly with LX, LH or OS.

As for booking online, although I did not experiment exhaustively, PowerTools seems largely unproductive with these itineraries. Amex Travel excepted, it would appear that there is no good way of booking online, unless one of the segments is on United, in which case it may be possible via their website. Either phone LX, or go through a bricks-and-mortar travel agent.

I don’t have any experience with Amex Travel, but others seem to have been successful upthread in booking these itineraries through them. Have you verified with EF that there is in fact fare-bucket availability, taking POS and married segments into account, for every flight in the itinerary?

luist

Yeah agree Powertools doesn't seem to be very useful in this case. Did manage to get gotogate to price out an itinerary, but would much rather book via an agent/direct.

I checked fare bucket availability and it seemed to be fine. Even tried to get an agent to book via online chat and she wasn't able to do it either (but verified the availability was there). She said it wouldn't book the DNCIA-ZNCIA fares together or something like that.

Have reached out to @nufnuf77 so hopefully he'll be able to help...

yyzprincess

Thanks you for posting reach out to h nufnuf77 and Quail.

I have been looking @ this MXP-AKl-MXP since Dec 2022.
Jan 02 I secured NZeTA. Contacted one TA active on FT. the availability limit to Europe POS (Sent ITA Itinerary same as the one that was issued today)

Decided to give it a try again.. I PMed Quail, after reading Supine's post

Was very impressed how quickly Quail responded. Emailed ITA Itinerary with the question can it be ticketed his prompt email response & I quote: “I don't see any reason that this itin would be an issue.”’ Booked & ticked today MXP-YYZ AC . YYZ-YVR-AKL AC& NZ. AKL-YVR-FRA-MXP NZ& LH POS: Canada!
Would highly recommend Quail

luist

Big thanks to nufnuf77 who helped to get my tickets booked yesterday. Flying FCO-VIE-NRT/HND-SYD/SYD-YVR-EWR/EWR-ZRH-MXP.

Smooth process would highly recommend using an agent.

RatherGhastly

Well done! This looks like a combination of our two itineraries, lol! I’m pointing out the obvious, but just remember that you have to be able to enter Japan with this itinerary. This is so with any overnight layover involving NRT, but, in this case, you do have to change airports.

As for nufnuf77’s help, perhaps I will go with a travel agent next time I need to book such an itinerary. It took 100 mins roughly on the phone with LX to get mine ticketed, although perhaps 30 mins of that was spent on hold while the agent worked to get me on PNCIA-ZNCIA, and then quite a lot of time was spent faffing around with the various incorrect permutations of my name.

dcanseco

Anyone struggling to make this work or if you just don't want to spend an hour with an airline agent, I too recommend @nufnuf77 to make your booking. He got me ticketed in no time and even found a flight I was no longer able to see on ITA Matrix. Flying FCO-ZRH-NRT/HND-SYD/SYD-YVR-LAX/LAX-ZRH-VCE later this Fall. I highly recommend him.

Daniel_Muc

+1 regarding the full recommendation of nufnuf77

I was spending hours and hours of research and checking expertflyer regarding the fare rules, I also tried it many times with airline agents, but none of them were able to get me the flights I wanted, especially not on my preferred dates. With help from nufnuf77 I was able to book the flights I wanted (FCO-NRT/NRT-AKL/AKL-JFK/JFK-MXP). So don’t waste your time and get some help if your struggle to book it directly.

Maple Red

That's a good recommendation. What fee is charged for services?

ledakar

@nufnuf77

Hi! Can I contact with you to help me booking my itinerary? Of course for fee?

Best

nufnuf77

Of course - my pleasure to assist

ledakar

nufnuf77 Thank you! I have write you private message.

freshfish

Add me to the choir singing nufnuf77 's praises. He was patient throughout the whole process and got me exactly what i wanted (despite me changing the requirements more than a few times). I can't recommend him enough.

tomsundstrom

I ultimately wound up booking my itinerary through Quail, who was super helpful and responsive. Thank you, and thanks to all the others who recommended top quality travel agents. The itinerary is MXP-(MUC)-SFO-AKL-TYO-(FRA)-MXP, and it ended up costing US$3,677.

black_takara

I'm also chiming in here to endorse nufnuf77 !!!! Not only did he find an itinerary that fit all my date and location constraints, he did me one better and found first class suites on SQ and long-haul first class seats on LX. Total price per ticket came in under $5k USD. Entire exchange was quick, pleasant, and transparent. I almost didn't want to post this here bc I don't want other ppl to catch on to nufnuf77 's mad skills! I will definitely be booking flights and other travel arrangements through him in the near future. Thank you!!