100% Star Alliance Award Availability Coverage via [Awards/StarAlliance]
 

Good news, indeed -- the KVS Tool website has now been updated accordingly:
So KVS Tool members can now get the best of both worlds!

Need help with search for AA award on CX
 

I am not sure what I am doing wrong

With Amadeus: Awards/CX, I could find YS+ on CX 879 (SFO-HKG) and CX 765 (HKG-SGN). Cathay website shows that those flights are available for economy standard award.

ExPlat desk insisted that there was no coach award on those flights, only first. Does it mean that I can't use Amadeus: Awards/CX to search for AA awards?

Please help!

Thanks!

No, it just means that you may need to call AA again (and again, and again ..., until you get a competent agent).

Thanks for the quick reply. Do you have tips on how to guide an agent through this process so she can find that one seat?

Yes -- please see http://FAQ.KVSTool.com

More questions on Awards/CX
 

I noticed something strange

When I searched for SFO-SGN (on July 4), I saw FS/ CS- YS+ for CX 879 (SFO-HKG) -> CX 765 (HKG-SGN)

However, when I searched for SFO-HKG, I saw FS+ CS- YS- for CX 879.

What could cause this discrepancy? Does the economy award to SGN really exist?

Cathay website was able to bring up CX 879 & CX765 together for an economy award ticket, but I don't have Asia miles so will need to go through AA to book, and AA Explat desk only sees Z (first) inventory. Of course I can call back, but the discrepancy between 2 searches makes me less confident in what I am asking for.

Looks like an issue on CX's end -- [Awards/OneWorld] also shows that only F is available:

[KVS Availability Tool 5.4.2/Diamond - Amadeus: Awards/OneWorld/AU-QFA-SP1]

Do whatever you can, move heaven and earth if necessary, to redeem for CX F. Best seat I've ever slept in. ^

Idea for KVS option...
 

Hey KVS,

Great tool. I'm not sure if this function exists at the moment, but its something I've always thought would be useful.

The ability to search an entire month (or date range) for the availability for a particular class on a particular flight.

So for example, if I want to search the entire month of June for availabiltiy in Q class on TG 955 between BKK-OSL. At the moment, its a pain the rear to check each day one at a time.

Any idea if this sort of thing could be implemented?

Cheers,
AB

Thanks! I'll do that some time soon. Unfortunately, this search is for a friend, who will not even entertain the idea of traveling in C! She'd rather buy a ticket than redeem for anything other than coach.

Thanks for checking for me. Oh well, I guess finding a coach award to Viet Nam in July/August is impossible on OneWorld now :(

It would require the app submitting the 30 requests for you rather than you clicking the buttons every time. The app is just reading the data from a website so it would have to repeat the query a bunch and then come up with a UI to display it in. Not likely to happen, I don't think. If nothing else, the query time would be pretty long as it runs 3-10 seconds per query for a basic inventory search, longer for things like the ANA queries for *A. Multiply that out by 30 days in one shot and you're looking at a few minutes of waiting for it to do something.

As you know, KVS Tool members continue to enjoy a number of exclusive features, including the most comprehensive award availability coverage across all 3 global airline alliances (including a 100% Star Alliance award coverage). Unfortunately, automated multiple-date search functionality would not currently be 'compatible' with these features for a number of policy and technical-related reasons.

However, you can start from 01 Jun, set a [Filter] to TG and Q class and then simply keep pressing <Ctrl>+<PgDown> until you hit an available date.

Hi KVS.

Great tool....just found a great fare LHR-AKL and told my travel agent (a moron on contract with my employer who only knows how to book NZ) which fare bucket to look for.....she had no idea!! Got RT fare for NZ$1,297 a.i. My accounts manager wants to use this instead of the TA now. ^^^^^^^

On another note, I have been trying to check award availability on OW for the US domestic portion of a OW - NZ-US R/T....I have the return booked (LAX-AKL), but in checking the segments BWI-LAX for 13 Jul, it give me a message of "Data cannot be checked for the specified origin / destination / Route Too Complex." Any ideas? I need this to link in with my saved award Itin for the LAX-AKL....

Many thanks....

You need to make sure that you are using the latest version and that the POS is set to "AU-QFA-SP1".

Thanks KVS. That did the trick....man this is fun!!

Upgrade Availability- KVS says YES, US says NO
 

Good F availability on our flights to MCO next week, Apr 18th from BUF:
BUF-CLT 1123-F-8 and CLT-MCO 1729-F7
Got an email from US saying no availability. In KVS is's showing FS+ for the BUF seg and FS- for CLT. Why didn't we get the first leg? Their email lists them separately, and we've gotten split u/g's before. Any ideas?
Eileen

Have you called US directly to ask?

Yep. Chairman's line says it will probably happen eventually. I was asking because I didn't think the FS+ showed up on KVS unless US Air had released the seats for upgrade. Guess your source is getting the info before it's actually released to the system.
Eileen

The seat is likely available but US IT systems haven't swept for it so you haven't been auto-upgraded. Or something else about your record is out of sync.

Datasource Error with 5.4.3
 

Doing a fare search using Sabre: Fares/Dotres
Datasource Error
"login"

Sabre Fares TVN and Galileo: Fares/PSH work OK


Update 7:40 Wednesday morning
Working OK this AM.

Availability not matching what the airline offers
 

CO720 is supposedly zeroed out tomorrow, but CO will sell me an "M", "B", or "Z" seat depending upon how I search.

Doesn't look like it's zeroed-out anymore:

[KVS Availability Tool 5.4.3/Diamond - WSpan: Availability/ITN/US-WOT]

I am now not seeing IT (Kingfisher) Z-class availability on your Sabre systems.

Note that a TA is reporting to me that he can see it in his Sabre systems.

Looks fine from here:

[KVS Availability Tool 5.4.3/Diamond - Sabre: Availability/GTC/US-LTR]

My bad - was using Apollo instead of Sabre, due to close-in flights I needed to take - why does KVS/Sabre limit us for these types of searches?

Any way around this?

Yes -- please see http://Help.KVSTool.com/#Methods

I've been getting a Host Error SERVER I/O ERROR on MPM searches for the better part of three days. It happens on two of the computers where I have KVS installed, so I don't think it's a local issue (but could be wrong).

Anybody else having the same problem? Anybody have working MPM?

Thanks!

It's a mainframe issue -- please keep re-trying and it should come back up eventually...

What reservation system does CZ and CX use that only use five digits?

Those are probably not the actual PNR locator codes, but just order reference numbers ...

ok ive applied to use this, not really sure if ill know what im doing but hey...desperation has set in.

was due to fly DUB-ORD today on a 20k award, that was cancelled and ive been auto moved to 28th ( a week later).

It totally screws my plans up but if i could get on an earlier flight say friday/saturday i could have my holiday minus a coupla days.

Can anyone using this tool tell me if there would be any spare seats on AA93 for 22/23/24 APril and i could use info to call AA and beg/cry?

If all you're going to do is call and beg anyways does it really matter what the inventory is? Beyond that, are you hoping for reward inventory to miraculously appear on a specific flight via a search tool that queries a source comparable to (albeit not exactly the same as) that which the AA agents have?

sorry ive gone through a week of will i/wont i due to this poxy volcano and was hoping for some guidance from the experts out of sheer desperation.

it seems im magically sorted now tho so sorry if ive stepped on toes.

The guidance is to call the airline and beg at that point, which it seems you did and it seems that a seat opened up earlier.

All these tools are pretty good for doing research but they do not make things magically appear.

No need to apologize. Actually, you were on the right track with your OP. Please don't let the misguided "guidance" above discourage you.

As many current KVS Tool members will attest to, having access to availability is often invaluable in irregular ops. situations.

Please refer to http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...l#post11971225 for AA-specific info.

Indeed, there's no question that this software paid for itself for me several times over (1) during the February DC snowstorms, (2) during the recent volcanic ash, (3) when I booked my recent oneworld F award.

Is there any information about problems concerning award availabilty with NZ? I can´t find a single seat on all routes.

Agreed. And it's showing F with 0 availability, as opposed to the class being unavailable on long haul routes which of course it is on NZ. It's ANA's site that's doing this, I don't think it has anything to do with KVS. Kind of aggravating actually.

There have, indeed, been reports regarding issues with NZ award availability (incl. availability displayed via the KVS Tool, and availability as seen by agents of other *A member carriers). These problems appear to be on NZ's end ...