Partner Availabilty - do reservations agents see same options?
Jun 14, 2018, 7:55 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 45
Partner Availabilty - do reservations agents see same options?
Trying to book a RT US-Eastern Europe Y award that has tons of availability on Turkish when I check other *A sites, but not coming up on UA. Do phone agents see the exact same availability we do, or can they search for specific flights?
Similarly, UA is showing XYZ-VIE-CPH-EWR availability as an alternate routing but then when I click to book, claims VIE-CPH has no space. I know this sort of phantom space is super common but the unusual thing is XYZ-VIE-CPH or even VIE-CPH-EWR are both bookable at the saver level. Any ideas? Would a phone rep be able to help? I tried with one but they were pretty useless. Thanks!
Similarly, UA is showing XYZ-VIE-CPH-EWR availability as an alternate routing but then when I click to book, claims VIE-CPH has no space. I know this sort of phantom space is super common but the unusual thing is XYZ-VIE-CPH or even VIE-CPH-EWR are both bookable at the saver level. Any ideas? Would a phone rep be able to help? I tried with one but they were pretty useless. Thanks!
Jun 14, 2018, 8:07 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
In general, agents will see the same inventory as displayed on United.com. United does have the ability to suppress some inventory from display on the website -- Singapore Airlines awards were suppressed for a long time, and Ethiopian had disappeared for a while. Both are back. I haven't heard of any issues with Turkish, though.
Similarly, UA is showing XYZ-VIE-CPH-EWR availability as an alternate routing but then when I click to book, claims VIE-CPH has no space. I know this sort of phantom space is super common but the unusual thing is XYZ-VIE-CPH or even VIE-CPH-EWR are both bookable at the saver level. Any ideas? Would a phone rep be able to help? I tried with one but they were pretty useless. Thanks!
Jun 14, 2018, 8:21 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 45
Jun 14, 2018, 8:33 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
I did not intend to suggest that you use it as your Excursionist Perk, rather that you see if the agent can change VIE-CPH-EWR into XYZ-VIE-CPH-EWR while preserving everything else.
If you prefer, you can also just call to (try to) book it. Say "I see a flight from XYZ to VIE at 7:45 AM; do you see that one?" or whatever the case may be. If the agent mentions a telephone booking fee, ask if it can be waived because you were unable to complete the booking online.