plewis

I am trying to use the F bc= exclusion in advanced controls. My search uses multiple airlines with different fare classes required. how can I use the F bc = with multiple airlines

How would I enter the following in ITA Matrix

Origin LHR
Dest PER

Via IAH and SYD

Airlines

LHR to I AH - LH in bc W, V or Q
IAH to SYD - UA in bc W, V or Q
SYD to PER - QF in S, N or O

Thanks

Paul

ChocolateFactory

Split it up using the multi-city search.
But note that the BC option searches for fares with that code.
You could have one LH fare that spans LHR-PER, which I think would be excluded then.
You might be better off using the +cabin option if that’s what you want.

plewis

I've tried that and you have correctly pointed out where it causes problems

I need particular fare classes rather than cabins because I am looking for upgradeable fares

Omitting f bc = gives me the routing but in fare classes that are too low for upgrading using my United Global upgrade certs.

But when I try to force higher classes I get either a syntax error or a no flights available message while expert flyer shows 9 seats available in the class I want

Globaliser

Welcome to FT, plewis!This is probably a job for the multi-city tab.

Flight 1
lhr
lh
f bc=w|bc=v|bc=q
iah

Flight 2
iah
ua
f bc=w|bc=v|bc=q
syd

Flight 3
syd
qf
per

I omitted the booking class restriction for flight 3 because specifying only S, N and O classes excludes the fare that works, which is a LH Q class fare, even though it books into O class on the QF flight.

You can actually see this in action if you use this for flight 3:-

syd
qf
f bc=q
per

You will get a result that books into O class on QF. The f bc=q restriction is a limitation on the fare rather than the actual booking class for the flight.

plewis

Thanks - i now understand - the fare v booking class issue was what was stumping me

Calchas

This is an important point which is often missed.

bc=X specifies the prime code of the covering fare, not the booking code of the sector. The two are often different for some sectors on long haul journeys. (e.g., long haul F fare may book into Y on a short feeder flight, but bc=F is still true for that sector.)

ChocolateFactory

That’s the thing, you don’t just need availability in the booking class, you need a fare that covers it as well.
So there might be a LH fare that covers LHR to PER on all the carriers and in all the booking classes you want, but from LH’s side, it would simply be a W/V/Q fare with routing rules specifying which partner booking classes are allowed. But you can’t access those using the matrix filters, only the fare(s).

I would do it like this:

- Use “alliance star-alliance” (or other ways to filter the route and airline)
- Possibly disallow codeshares (if that’s relevant for your upgrade)
- Finally filter out fares one by one that don’t fit your criteria (using the F option)

So I would simply exclude specific fares that are useless to you, until you get a good result.
I’m not an expert though, maybe there is a better way.

veeRob

I'd try:

f (lh,bc=W,V,Q|ua,bc=W,V,Q|qf,bc=S,N,O)

plewis

Thanks everyone- I have learned heaps from.one question

Ty Vil

I'm trying to search for only oneworld AND skyteam fares and I'm getting all kinds of errors though I followed the instructions as specified. Help?

ChocolateFactory

You'd have a lot of higher chance of getting help if you posted your search query AND the error messages.
That description is about as useful as "My computer doesn't work, what shall I do?"

Ty Vil

ChocolateFactory

Usually you separate commands with a semicolon when you want to filter by both ("AND" logic). But that would mean you'd only want flights that are both Oneworld and Skyteam at the same time, which doesn't make sense.
If you want one or the other or both (inclusive "OR" logic), you use a vertical bar (" ").
But I've tried with both "alliance skyteam oneworld" and "alliance skyteam alliance oneworld" and I can confirm it doesn't work.
I've also tried with "NOT" ("~alliance star-alliance" and "alliance ~star-alliance"), but that didn't work either.

Maybe somebody else has an idea. But then again, you're probably better off checking for Oneworld and Skyteam separately anyway, as too broad searches tend to not find all fares anyway, and it's unlikely there's a fare that mixes Oneworld and Skyteam carriers.

Ty Vil

I used the vertical bar per the instructions - it didn't copy over and apparently doesn't paste well on this forum.

bdsklar

Having an issue and challenge - know how to use ITA but having an issue with fare codes, trying to mix Y with PE on AA and BA.

Example:
set preference to cheapest fare

jfk-lhr on AA,
lhr-jnb on BA, f bc=w e t
jnb-lhr ba, f bc=w e t
lhr-jfk on aa

have tried using +cabin 3 for AA an d+cabin premium-coach for BA on the multi-city setup, but all flights show up as PE.

Only able to pull up ALL coach, or ALL PE fares, not mixed fares....can anyone help as to why this happens


all fares come up as in PE, not mixed coach and PE

Thanks for the help