Feb 10, 2024, 10:52 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This is an archive thread, the active thread is Fare Class has Inventory - Not Able to Book into?
Common issue
Expert Mode shows ..... T9, L9, K9, G9, N9 but you not able to get united.com or other sites to provide a fare for N or G or .... WHY?
There are three requirements to be able to book a fare class
1) there needs to be a fare rule for that fare class for your O/D.
2) you need to meet all the requirements for the fare rule -- advance purchase, days of the week, min stay, qualified flight numbers, qualified routing (including a possible RT requirement), .....
3) there needs to be inventory in the fare class
So if the cheapest fare rule filed is K, you will not be able to book N or G
Even if a fare rule is filed and there is inventory then you still need to meet the fare rule requirements.
As for searching, if multiple fares qualify, the cheapest will be displayed unless you specifically force a fare class. While the fare hierarchy will generally match the cost, occasionally a high fare class will be cheaper than a lower fare class due to differences in fare flexibility such as refundable, changeability, ....
So there are multiple reasons for why a specific fare class is and not is offered. Confusion on this is one reason UA has been reluctant to make fare class inventory easily available and the reason UA requires one to accept the following terms before providing access to Expert Mode:
How can you see the fare rules?
While booking (on the first "Review trip itin" page) and after booking (on the online view of the reservation) , UA will makes them available -- but this is only if UA will display that particular fare.
Before booking or if unable to get access on UA, there are paid services -- KVS, Expert Flyer. ... can provide access to all published fare rules.
Related threads
Decoding the alphabet soup - New fare buckets for UA
How to get a P class fare to Europe?
Understanding Airline Inventory (non FT blog posting)
Desired Fare Class is available but has insufficient space, what can be done?
Common issue
Expert Mode shows ..... T9, L9, K9, G9, N9 but you not able to get united.com or other sites to provide a fare for N or G or .... WHY?
There are three requirements to be able to book a fare class
1) there needs to be a fare rule for that fare class for your O/D.
2) you need to meet all the requirements for the fare rule -- advance purchase, days of the week, min stay, qualified flight numbers, qualified routing (including a possible RT requirement), .....
3) there needs to be inventory in the fare class
So if the cheapest fare rule filed is K, you will not be able to book N or G
Even if a fare rule is filed and there is inventory then you still need to meet the fare rule requirements.
As for searching, if multiple fares qualify, the cheapest will be displayed unless you specifically force a fare class. While the fare hierarchy will generally match the cost, occasionally a high fare class will be cheaper than a lower fare class due to differences in fare flexibility such as refundable, changeability, ....
So there are multiple reasons for why a specific fare class is and not is offered. Confusion on this is one reason UA has been reluctant to make fare class inventory easily available and the reason UA requires one to accept the following terms before providing access to Expert Mode:
This is not a forecasting tool. Availability levels in certain fare classes should not be interpreted as indicating that we will make other fare classes available.
The presence of a particular fare class does not mean that there is a fare associated with it. For example, we may offer availability in a discounted fare class, but that does not necessarily mean we have published a fare that corresponds to it.
The presence of a particular fare class does not mean that there is a fare associated with it. For example, we may offer availability in a discounted fare class, but that does not necessarily mean we have published a fare that corresponds to it.
While booking (on the first "Review trip itin" page) and after booking (on the online view of the reservation) , UA will makes them available -- but this is only if UA will display that particular fare.
Before booking or if unable to get access on UA, there are paid services -- KVS, Expert Flyer. ... can provide access to all published fare rules.
Related threads
Decoding the alphabet soup - New fare buckets for UA
How to get a P class fare to Europe?
Understanding Airline Inventory (non FT blog posting)
Desired Fare Class is available but has insufficient space, what can be done?
Fare Class has Inventory - Not Able to Book into? {Archive]
Nov 17, 2017, 1:21 pm
#211
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 518
I am looking at a round trip of UA9/8 SFO/CTU. On Sat 12/9 UA9 has W available for booking with the return on Mon 12/18. On Mon 12/11 UA9 has W9 but is not available for booking. I tried to view the fare rules of the W-W round trip for 12/9-12/18 but the web site displayed blank rules after captcha.
Nov 17, 2017, 1:34 pm
#212
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,413
For WJW0ZEM2:
Its pair WJX0ZEM2:
Code:
FROM AREA 1 - PERMITTED FRI/SAT ON EACH TRANSPACIFIC SECTOR. TO AREA 1 - PERMITTED FRI/SAT/SUN ON EACH TRANSPACIFIC SECTOR. PERMITTED 15AUG17 THROUGH 24AUG17 OR 06DEC17 THROUGH 09DEC17 OR 25DEC17 THROUGH 27DEC17 ON THE OUTBOUND TRANSPACIFIC SECTOR. SEASON IS BASED ON DATE OF ORIGIN.
Its pair WJX0ZEM2:
Code:
FROM AREA 1 - PERMITTED SUN/MON/TUE/WED/THU ON EACH TRANSPACIFIC SECTOR. TO AREA 1 - PERMITTED MON/TUE/WED/THU ON EACH TRANSPACIFIC SECTOR. PERMITTED 15AUG17 THROUGH 24AUG17 OR 06DEC17 THROUGH 09DEC17 OR 25DEC17 THROUGH 27DEC17 ON THE OUTBOUND TRANSPACIFIC SECTOR. SEASON IS BASED ON DATE OF ORIGIN.
Nov 17, 2017, 3:08 pm
#214
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,693
Yes, lots of people headed to China for an extended break.
Dec 15, 2017, 11:42 am
#215
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Boston
Programs: UA GS MM
Posts: 129
P9 but not an available fare
I am trying to search p fares on flexible dates, BOS-HKG round trip. United.com only show Z as the lowest fare available. When I click on details pull down menu, it shows P9 in most dates I am looking at in Jan. What could I be possibly doing wrong? I tried advanced search too and specify P fares, but no luck in that way of searching neither. Please help.
Dec 15, 2017, 11:46 am
#216
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 155
Not an expert here but I find this behavior often. Certain fair buckets have rules like minimum stay, roundtrip, etc. Perhaps there's a rule that you're not adhering to (not that I know what it could be).
Dec 15, 2017, 11:46 am
#217
formerly FrequentFlyKid
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Programs: United Global Services, Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador, National Executive Elite
Posts: 981
You're not doing anything wrong. Just because a fare class is available on a particular flight doesn't mean that United is offering it for sale on that route. In your example, the lowest business class fare United is offering from BOS to HKG is Z even though the individual flights consisting of BOS-HKG (BOS-EWR-HKG, BOS-ORD-HKG, BOS-SFO-HKG, etc.) have P class available on them.
Dec 15, 2017, 11:48 am
#218
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,693
This is explained to you where you sign up to see the fare buckets:
United.com Expert Mode
Expert Mode is a fare class availability feature designed to help our most experienced travelers with the planning process. This feature is intended for informational purposes only, and may not always match our exact availability or reflect the stages of our upgrade processes.
Please keep the following considerations in mind when using Expert Mode:
...
The presence of a particular fare class does not mean that there is a fare associated with it. For example, we may offer availability in a discounted fare class, but that does not necessarily mean we have published a fare that corresponds to it.
United.com Expert Mode
Expert Mode is a fare class availability feature designed to help our most experienced travelers with the planning process. This feature is intended for informational purposes only, and may not always match our exact availability or reflect the stages of our upgrade processes.
Please keep the following considerations in mind when using Expert Mode:
...
The presence of a particular fare class does not mean that there is a fare associated with it. For example, we may offer availability in a discounted fare class, but that does not necessarily mean we have published a fare that corresponds to it.
Dec 15, 2017, 11:48 am
#219
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: CT/NY
Programs: UA 1K/1MM, AA EXP, Marriott LT Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Plat Amb
Posts: 6,020
Just because the bucket is available does not mean there is a fare available. Fare can be based on a variety of factors, such as non-stop vs. connections, one-way vs. roundtrip, duration of stay, advanced purchase requirement, day of the week, time of the day, etc....
Dec 15, 2017, 11:54 am
#220
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Boston
Programs: UA GS MM
Posts: 129
I am trying to search p fares on flexible dates, BOS-HKG round trip. United.com only show Z as the lowest fare available. When I click on details pull down menu, it shows P9 in most dates I am looking at in Jan. What could I be possibly doing wrong? I tried advanced search too and specify P fares, but no luck in that way of searching neither.
Dec 15, 2017, 11:58 am
#221
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,201
I am trying to search p fares on flexible dates, BOS-HKG round trip. United.com only show Z as the lowest fare available. When I click on details pull down menu, it shows P9 in most dates I am looking at in Jan. What could I be possibly doing wrong? I tried advanced search too and specify P fares, but no luck in that way of searching neither.
Dec 15, 2017, 12:00 pm
#222
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Boston
Programs: UA GS MM
Posts: 129
I have even tried flexible dates with 9 days round trip, BOS-HKG, specifying P fares. The monthly view indicates that the entire year of 2018 is not available! I must be doing something wrong here.
How and where do I get that tool, expert flyer? Thanks
As explained upthread, the presence of P inventory has nothing to do with the presence of a P fare. If you want to check for P fares, you need another tool like Expert Flyer that will show you if, and when, a valid P fare may be available on your route. There is no P fare available or perhaps even published for your dates/routing, hence the lowest fare is Z.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Dec 15, 2017 at 12:43 pm Reason: merging Update posts by same member
Dec 15, 2017, 12:03 pm
#223
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,454
Dec 15, 2017, 12:12 pm
#225
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,454
UA withdrew a whole bunch of discount international fares last week, including the P fare on this route. There was a thread about it.
IIRC, there's a discount fare from YYZ, and UA just added back the discount fare from EWR.
Last edited by Kacee; Dec 15, 2017 at 12:18 pm