Often1

Just another Silver upset with the process announced months ago. Can't figure out why anybody would go to T/velo. since it's backed by the same engine as ua.com and doesn't have access to anything that ua.com doesn't show. Only risk on T/velo is that it's out of synch w. ua.com and those seats really aren't available and OP's sister finds out that bad news at the airport.

Then there can be a post about how the third-party vendor is a racketeering.... or whatever.

redwoman

Your statement about travelocity being out of sync with ua.com is the one thing about this thread that is useful (OK, the replies were funny too). I have seen a Z itin available for purchase on sites such as TV, Pricline, etc. that was no longer available on ua.com (they were only selling higher C/D/J fares). I never tried to purchase the itin at the end of the day, but I thought that perhaps ua had made available to those discount sites certain itins that weren't selling. You seem to think that it's merely a sync issue, and if I had indeed purchased it from the discount site, I wouldn't have seats or something similarly unpleasant. I never buy from discount sites so I have no experience with them. Has it been your experience that the discount sites will sell you something that you don't actually receive? If so,

VPescado

Most likely UA had pulled the fare. Even though availability is checked in real time, fares can only be published or retracted at specific time (several times a day). The airlines typically stop selling a fare when they decide to pull it, but TA's can continue to sell (as long as inventory is available) until the next time fares are published (sometimes a matter of hours).

redwoman

Thanks VPescado. That's good to know if I ever see a US-Europe biz fare on a discount site for $3000 when UA is only offering them in the $8000-10,000 range!

Often1

Your post is about seats in fare buckets and OP's post (and my response) deals with the availability of specific seats for assignment, so apples and oranges.

OP reported that her sister told her what somebody at a UA call center supposedly told her sister. So, it's a bit of a game of telephone to figure out what her sister asked and what the CSR said.

The question posed to OP was why anybody would look for specific seat availability on T/velocity when it's the same as UA.com and if there is a difference, it's the UA system which will control.

exbayern

Is nobody else interested in 'the pervs' apparently flying UA?

clublounger

How many of the 5 are kids, and how many are pervs?

jadenus

I sure am. Maybe I can get a date!

LIH Prem

Because they are flying on American and not on National?

(rim shot)

Japanese version: Because they are flying on American and not on all Nippon?

(very cute subway door closing music)

Version for age challenged and otherwise challenged friends: Never mind. Take my wife, please.

(a couple of violin strokes ala Henny Youngman)

weren't the "5 adjacent seats to keep an eye on the kids and the pervs" all part of their party?

(another rim shot)

I'll be here all week folks.

-David

skimple

Remember to tip your waitresses! ^

mike2200

Isn't it standard flight Regs. that 3 pervs' are assigned to each flight and seated between the children?? Or am I confusing planes with city busses?

exbayern

Well, the sister may know. It appears that she is posting her own version of events and doing her own form of UA bashing as well...

lewisc

I'm assuming the 5 seats the OPs sister is looking for is for some combination of kids and pervs. I think it's admirable the sister understands some of their traveling group are pervs and wants to be able to watch them, and hopefully stop them from bothering other passengers.

I've read many posts regarding kids being a nuisance to other passengers. Loud. Kicking seats. Spilling stuff. Insisting on using speakers instead of headphones on entertainment devices.

I don't recall reading any real posts regarding child molesters on planes. Aren't most kids molested by a family member? Shouldn't kids be safer sitting next to a random stranger then a family member?

exbayern

I have, Lewis, I have... In all the years I have been reading here and on leisure fora I have read one confirmed instance of a child/teen being molested by a perv on a plane.

It was here on FT, and the poster was quite eloquent. They shared quite a bit of detail about the experience flying while a teen, and being molested by the passenger next to them.

All the mamas who insist on bringing their male sons into the women's restroom until the age of 18 may want to rethink their strategy, as the poster was MALE and the passenger next to him who molested him was FEMALE. The same holds true for those passengers who try and bully others to protect the children from 'pervs'.

(One of the things which annoys me most is the overprotective people who view all of you male posters as perv potential - which ironically means that the OP falls into that classification too)

jn in ca

With a little luck, the OP's family will be so unhappy that they will swear off UA forever and fly another airline. Good thing, because I don't want to sit next to her pervy family. They might smile at me, the pervs, or momentarily brush my hand when they pass me the Diet Coke from the FA, pervs. Keep them off my airplanes!

I'm really happy to have the Ma Kettles show up and ask questions, but no one wants to help when she shows up and accuses the rest of us of being "pervs" and "racketeers."

We read stories around here about FAs having bad days, well, think about being the purser on the flight with this family. You couldn't pay me enough.