Indeed, there has been a bit of a delay due to the recent major changes on the SkyTeam/DL and UA fronts, which required significant development resources...

Rest assured, LX awards are still very high on the priority list.

That would be very strange -- did you actually complete a booking via AADV or did the agent just thought that there was availability?

If it is former and happens again, then please report the flight details via the Contact Form at www.KVSTool.com right away...

yes, I booked the ticket.

i looked at the kvs site for first time. seems complicated but if i figured out Ef i guess i can figure this one out. but looks like its tricky if i use a mac. which program should i download and can i get the program for free? thanks much.

Which method were you using to pull CX availability?

It wouldn't surprise me if Awards/Oneworld showed the flight unavailable when in fact it was... Were you using Awards/CX? And searching only for CX segments rather than origin/destination involving another carrier in addition to CX?

Unless you are willing to run a windows VM on your Mac the KVS option is a no-go.

As for which to use, it really depends on what you are looking for in terms of information. The two are very different in terms of what they provide.

And, no, they aren't free. :p

Please see http://Help.KVSTool.com/#Compatibility for links to some of the Windows VM solutions for Mac users...

I looked on awards for oneworld, and as I know its primitive, I searched the specific leg only.

i did look. am i right that you have to buy a 60 or 70 dollar program to run kvs on mac?

Essentially, yes. However, once you have it set-up, you can use it to run virtually any other Windows application, so the expense/effort required would not be attributable solely to the KVS Tool ;)

looking for a reason to choose one over the other
 

Ok first things first.. i'm not a techie so anything that involves installation is already on strike one.. I run windows; IE (all on my work computer and I can't change it.. work laptop is where I'd do this from since this is what I travel with).. and strike two is that if my laptop crashes.. which it has.. the techies only install company approved software.. hence they would not be reinstalling KVS.. so right now i'm starting with a lean to EF.. although the ads have pretty much brought KVS back into the picture

on that note

here is what I want from the tool I select

I am EXP on AA.. 3P on UA.. 95% of my flights will be on AA/OW carriers with 95% fo those on AA metal... I'm interested in AA data

the data I'm interested in; or the reason for this purchase would be

I want to take my two kids to Oz.. and Not In Y.. I'm looking for J/F tickets in 2011.. no specific dates but the summer (US Summer) or around breaks would be my starting point.. I've been researching and I don't care which way I go.. although all things being equal I would prefer JFK-SYD.. but again that is the wish list.. I'll take any route even the EZE route.

I also want to take said kids to HNL Aug 28, 2010 (give or take a day) to Sept 8 (+/- a day) and come back via LAX (stopover) on 9/12 (must be 9/12). I want buy these tickets and upgrade them with my VIP's

those two things are my primary agenda for this purchase.

other uses would be for AA 'X' fares on domestic flights; i'm also taking a couple IAD-DFW-LHR flights in May but in paid J.. thinking of using VIPs to F and it would be nice to see that inventory too...

I'm guessing it would show me by fare basis; availability on certain routes and certain dates when I'm doing personal travel (read football games) in order to find the lowest fares to purchase.

any ideas which way I should or should not lean? and why?

thanks

TH

Considering Expertflyer is the only way to see the C, X, and R inventory on AA, I'm not sure what choice you have. Also EF allows you to set class availability alerts as well as seat alerts. As for the ads, they only have a banner ad at the very top and very bottom, nothing in the content area of the site. I really don't mind since they've never raised their prices.

There isn't much AA data at all on the KVS tool because the various public sites used as sources for the different queries don't have much AA data. For you UA needs I suppose the "X1" searches could work since they are querying .bomb but no guarantees.

Sortof. You can run bootcamp for free (I think) but you also would need to secure a full license of Windows XP, Vista or 7. That is actually much more than $60-70 to do legally.

Actually, virtually all AA data is viewable via the KVS Tool, including awards. The only exception are upgrade-related classes: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...l#post11971225

Good point -- a link to http://www.Apple.com/macosx/compatibility/ has now been added to http://Help.KVSTool.com/#Compatibility

I've read through this and related threads, and could use some advice. I mainly have AA, UA and BA miles, and am interested in EF and KVS purely for finding award and upgrade availability. The airlines for which I'm likely to want to find upgrades are mainly AA and UA, but possibly BA as well. The airlines for which I'm likely to want to find awards over the next couple of years are those three, plus CX, LH and possibly EK.

So based on the following info from KVS and my review of the EF list of airlines for which it tracks awards and upgrades, it sounds like KVS is a better tool for me. EF is better for AA and EK, but KVS is better for the rest (and I'm aware, by the way, of the problem with UA doing Starnet blocking, which can affect the accuracy of the results I'd get from KVS for LH).

Do I have that right? Am I missing anything?

Thanks for any help.

FYI, not only is ExpertFlyer the only web source for AA upgrade C, X, & R classes, but a full UA Award/Upgrade search is also available after you login. Not to mention ExpertFlyer exclusive services such as Flight & Seat Alerts across all supported airlines. Also we allow you to enter and send your frequent flyer information for QF, BA, JL & UA seat maps so that you can see expanded seat availability if you have elite status on that or a partner airline (also exclusive to ExpertFlyer).

Either way, we have a 5-day no credit card required free trial so you can see for yourself. Let us know if you have any questions via [email protected]

Also, you should know that you can search *A award availability for free by using AwardNexus.com, it also covers BA, CX, JL, and general OW award searches as well. So between the ExpertFlyer and AwardNexus web-based services, you should be covered.

Hope it helps,
-EFV