ExpertFlyer vs. AA.com Availability - VERY Different Results
 

Searched for "ExpertFlyer" but found nothing relevant. Why are the published inventories so different for me? I just searched EF and see Z inventory (MileSaaver First) both ways, but AA.com shows absolutely nothing available for weeks! Any insight? Is EF showing "Expanded EXP Award Availability" that I don't see as a lowly Plat?

EF is real-time and matches what AA reservationists see.

www.aa.com uses a cached front-end, which causes all sort of issues with actual bookings. There's an entire thread about this.

If you see something on EF that's not on www.aa.com, I'm afraid you'll have to call AA.

Please report back.

Are you using the AA.com award calendar view as a way to judge the lack of availability?

There has been some reports about how the calendar view is not fully accurate. Have you tried clicking on the individual dates and see if flights show up?

As hillrider mentioned, EF is connected with the AA reservation and is about as accurate as it gets for award availability. It doesn't display the expanded EXP availability, but should otherwise show all general AA award availability.

As others have noted the EF award availability is accurate. AA Award availability can be subject to married segment logic, so please make sure you are searching for your full itinerary and comparing to the actual day results on AA.com and not the monthly calendar. If that doesn't work please call AA.

I see something on EF (7 milesaaver award seats) but when I call AA to book (10 minutes ago), they say they don't see that availability. And it's not a married segment issue.... so I don't know that it's always accurate.

Please follow this topic in the Travel Tools Forum.

Thanks, JDiver
Senior Moderator/Moderator: American AAdvantage, iDine, and Talkboard Topics

It would be helpful if you could cite a specific example. Also make sure you are looking at the correct class code as sometimes people look at Z when they should like at U or visa versa. Also sometimes people mistake AAnytime awards for saver awards.

Without knowing the OP's specific routing and number of days before departure I can only relate my own experience with this. AA loads inventory for booking at, I think, 330 days prior to departure. The day before this, when it is not bookable, EF will show the inventory, including Z, with all 7s. Your first thought is "wow, lot's of award seats!" only to find out they don't show on AA.com or by calling AA. The next day when the flight is open for booking, poof!, the 7s are gone and replaced with "real" inventory levels perhaps Z=0. This has been my experience with the Hawaii flights. YMMV.

I see this on EF:

AA 107 0 LHR
07/04/13
5:00 PM JFK
07/04/13
8:00 PM 77W
Daily
77% / 24m
Coach - MileSAAver Award T 7



But when I call aa platinum desk to book it (6 seats), they say they don't see it at all and it can't be booked.

Ok, just a guess here on my part looking at EF at this moment. I don't know where you are located or what date preference you are using on EF and with AA so please don't take offense but July 4th for AA107 is T0 on EF but April 7th is T7. Although looking at the difference in aircraft I suspect you want July 4th.

AA 107 0 LHR JFK 77W Daily Coach - MileSAAver Award T 0
07/04/13 5:00 PM 07/04/13 8:00 PM 77% / 24m


AA 107 0 LHR JFK 777 Daily Coach - MileSAAver Award T 7
04/07/13 5:00 PM 04/07/13 8:00 PM 77% / 24m

Yes -- looking at July 4th. And actually coming from BCN through LHR and when I search the BCN-LHR-JFK route, AA 107 is showing T7. And the BA leg from BCN to LHR has plenty award seats, so that's not the issue. Yes, I do see where if I search lhr-jfk for July 4 there is T0. So why the discrepancy?

If I want to see AA availability over a month's date range, I use aa.com. If then I see dates that are available, I then confirm with EF the specific dates to make sure it is indeed available in "real" time.

Sometimes, even the agents may not see available seats. On one booking, I was able to see available seats using ONT-XXX as the itinerary but it would give me LAX-XXX as an alternative but plugging in LAX-XXX, nothing available.

I advised the agent to look up ONT-XXX and have her book the LAX-XXX flights. I was using the Citi AA reduced awards so I would not be able to book online even though it would have been much easier/quicker to do so!

It is too bad that AA will not let me book online the Citi AA reduced awards. Quite often (not trying to be overly bragging!) I may know more than some phone agents. (the EXP agents know alot more than me--they are usually very good!)

That is the issue right there. Please read the Help for the Award & Upgrade results page, which under the AA section states:

•When searching for award/upgrade inventory to a destination that AA doesn't fly to, it is best to only do the search for segments that AA itself operates, and not include the segments that it doesn't. This will insure the most accurate results.

As such, a LHR-JFK award search properly returns T0.

We are working with our GDS provider to exclude the code-shares in the results so that code-share options are excluded, in which case your BCN-JFK search would only have shown the AA non-stop, not any options to connect with BA flights thru LHR.

Ok... thanks for the clarification!