Is there a way to tell if a flight is a connecting/thru flight before booking?
Sep 23, 2013, 10:18 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Programs: AAdvantage, HHonors Diamond, WN RR A-list+
Posts: 584
Is there a way to tell if a flight is a connecting/thru flight before booking?
I fly SJC-SAN a lot and my boarding number has gotten higher recently and I suspect with the adjusted schedule that the flight is now originating somewhere else.. is there a way to find out ?
Sep 23, 2013, 12:02 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,975
Yes, http://info.flightmapper.net/search can give you the full routing of that flight number. After you get the first response, covering that number for the full schedule, you can fill in your date of interest.
A flight being continuing doesn't influence your boarding number, but it does how many seats are occupied before the first pax boards. Your boarding number is influenced by how many people connect from other flights. Since individual airport PDF schedules are no longer showing, it isn't so easy to tell how often that flight is listed as a connecting flight; you can use geography to guess what places might have flights connecting at SJC, and search those.
If you do T-24 check-in, it's also been noted here that more A-listers are being added as the year goes on, so that can influence your number.
A flight being continuing doesn't influence your boarding number, but it does how many seats are occupied before the first pax boards. Your boarding number is influenced by how many people connect from other flights. Since individual airport PDF schedules are no longer showing, it isn't so easy to tell how often that flight is listed as a connecting flight; you can use geography to guess what places might have flights connecting at SJC, and search those.
If you do T-24 check-in, it's also been noted here that more A-listers are being added as the year goes on, so that can influence your number.
Sep 23, 2013, 2:39 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Bay Area, CA
Programs: AAdvantage, HHonors Diamond, WN RR A-list+
Posts: 584
Yes, http://info.flightmapper.net/search can give you the full routing of that flight number. After you get the first response, covering that number for the full schedule, you can fill in your date of interest.
A flight being continuing doesn't influence your boarding number, but it does how many seats are occupied before the first pax boards. Your boarding number is influenced by how many people connect from other flights. Since individual airport PDF schedules are no longer showing, it isn't so easy to tell how often that flight is listed as a connecting flight; you can use geography to guess what places might have flights connecting at SJC, and search those.
If you do T-24 check-in, it's also been noted here that more A-listers are being added as the year goes on, so that can influence your number.
A flight being continuing doesn't influence your boarding number, but it does how many seats are occupied before the first pax boards. Your boarding number is influenced by how many people connect from other flights. Since individual airport PDF schedules are no longer showing, it isn't so easy to tell how often that flight is listed as a connecting flight; you can use geography to guess what places might have flights connecting at SJC, and search those.
If you do T-24 check-in, it's also been noted here that more A-listers are being added as the year goes on, so that can influence your number.
Sep 23, 2013, 9:53 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: CMH usually
Programs: AA PLT, WN A+ (and Sometimes CP) | Hilton Diamond | Avis Preferred | National Car Exec
Posts: 414
I can tell if a flight is a continuation flight (e.g. there are thru pax on the plane) or if it's a turn (everyone off, empty plane).
Here's how I do this:
I use FlightBoard to pull up the departing flight I'm on. Let's say I'm on flight 1072 ORF->BWI. I figure out the outgoing gate of my flight, it's A5. I pull up the Arrivals for ORF, and look up what plane is coming and arriving at A5. If it's the same flight number, that tells me it's a thru, and if I'm A1, that won't guarantee much for me, since there are pax that could have boarded in an earlier city.
If I'm on a desktop or laptop, I can do the same exercise via Flightstats.com, since it also show gate info.
Obviously, last minute gate changes breaks this process.
Here's how I do this:
I use FlightBoard to pull up the departing flight I'm on. Let's say I'm on flight 1072 ORF->BWI. I figure out the outgoing gate of my flight, it's A5. I pull up the Arrivals for ORF, and look up what plane is coming and arriving at A5. If it's the same flight number, that tells me it's a thru, and if I'm A1, that won't guarantee much for me, since there are pax that could have boarded in an earlier city.
If I'm on a desktop or laptop, I can do the same exercise via Flightstats.com, since it also show gate info.
Obviously, last minute gate changes breaks this process.
Sep 23, 2013, 9:54 pm
#5
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 3,975
Or they could have lucked into those spots when an A-lister cancelled. Are people with EBCI flying A-B-C checked in ahead of A-listers flying B-C? As long as you were booked by T-36, you should have a number ahead of connectors who checked in at T-24 of their first flight (barring cancelled bookings).