Understanding how to use ExpertFlyer to your advantage.

Transcription

2 What is ExpertFlyer? It s n secret that being an airline passenger has becme a challenge these days. Changing cmpetitin, rute structures, lw cst and legacy carriers have all cntributed t many chices, and many new issues fr the frequent flyer. Even the mst experienced flyers must have the tls necessary t insure they are getting the mst fr their mney and minimize the prblems assciated with mdern day cmmercial flying. ExpertFlyer was created t give the frequent, and nt s frequent, flyer a wealth f infrmatin in a simple t use, web-based service. It used t be that nly a travel agent r an airline agent had access t the infrmatin available n ExpertFlyer. But nw, this infrmatin is available t subscribers f ExpertFlyer. The key t this infrmatin is understanding that making a flight reservatin is nt as simple as it appears and that the underlying infrmatin is changing all the time. Let s take a lk at the features f ExpertFlyer and hw yu can use it t yur advantage. The Fare Buckets Ever wnder why yu paid ne price fr yur seat n a flight and the persn next t yu paid smething very different? The answer is fare buckets. On a flight with three different classes f service (First, Business and Ecnmy) there may actually be as many as 20 different fares available at any ne time. Airlines allw yu bk these fares up t 11 mnths in advance. T make things mre cmplicated, these fares will cnstantly change at any time during the 11 mnths leading up t the flight. Airlines have revenue management cmputers and persnnel whse jb it is t cnstantly adjust the availability f certain fares and the cst f the actual fare fr each and every flight they ffer. They use past experience fr the same flight, cmpetitive fare infrmatin, seasnality f the flight and ther special events and prmtinal cnsideratins t set the fares. On ExpertFlyer, these fare buckets appear in the Flight Availability sectin. Let s lk at the fare buckets fr a flight frm JFK t LAX n American Airlines (AA): 0 Cnnectins AA 1 0 JFK LAX 01/01/06 09:00AM 01/01/06 12:10PM 762 B P7 A2 J7 D7 I6 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 W7 V7 G0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 AA flight 1 departs JFK at 9:00am and arrives at LAX at 12:10pm lcal time. The 0 after the flight number means it is a nn-stp flight. The 762 is the type f aircraft. Clicking n the aircraft type n the actual respnse screen will give yu a pp-up shw the actual name f the aircraft type. In this example, AA1 n this day is a Being The B next t it, indicates that breakfast is served n this flight. Clicking n the meal letter will give yu pp-up that describes the meal cdes. Please nte, n many flights the level f meal service is nt cnsistent in each class f service. Let s lk at the entries n the right side. These are the fare buckets. They are designated by a letter that designates the bking class and a number that designates the minimum number f tickets that can be purchased in this bking class. Sme f these bking classes are fr First class, sme fr Business and sme fr Ecnmy. Let s lk at them in mre detail: P7 and A2 are the bking classes fr First class n this particular flight. Keep in mind that the letters used fr a particular class f service will vary by airline. In this case, P is the designatin fr a full-fare Premium class ticket. ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 2

3 The A is the designatin fr the same seat but at a discunted price. Ntice the numbers next t each. The 7 in P7 means there at least 7 seats that can be sld at this price. In fact, there are prbably mre. Ntice hw all the bking classes have a maximum number f 7. Different airlines will shw different maximum numbers. Sme use 9 and sme use 4. In this case, it s 7. Lking at the A bking class yu see there are nly 2 available fr sale at a discunted price. S, why nt buy the discunted seat instead f the full-fare P seat? Well, the A discunted seats usually cme with purchase r travel restrictins. Maybe it can nly be purchased in cnjunctin with a larger rund-the-wrld ticket. J7, D7 and I6 are the bking classes fr seat in the Business class sectin f the aircraft. J is full-fare price fr Business class and D and I are discunted fares, each with their wn rules and restrictins. In Ecnmy we see many mre fares. Y is the full-fare price fr Ecnmy and the ther 12 fare classes represent discunt Ecnmy fares all with their wn sets f rules and restrictins. In general, the fare cst ges frm the mst expensive t cheapest as yu mve thrugh the buckets frm left t right. The actual letter used fr a bking class will vary frm airline t airline. D in ne airline may be a Business class cde, but in a different airline it may be an Ecnmy cde. ExpertFlyer prvides a pp-up fr all cdes n each airline. It is this bking class cde that is printed n yur barding pass under Class. S, hw many seats are actually available fr sale n this flight? That s hard t tell. In Business, this flight has 30 seats. Yet we see frm the buckets (J7, D7 and I6) that the ttal is nly 20. Remember, the number next t each bking class letter is the minimum number f seats available at this fare price. Yu may buy fur J-fare tickets tmrrw and that fare class may still read J7. Als, if yu add up all the numbers next t the letters, that is nt the ttal number f seats left n the flight fr sale. It may be mre r less. The number can als be used as an indicatr f hw many seats are left fr sale in that bking class. One final nte abut fare buckets. Sme deep discunt fare buckets are nly available between a specific pair f cities even if a cnnectin is used. S, fr a trip between JFK and LAS yu may see a lw-cst fare by using a cnnectin thrugh DFW r SLC. But if yu lk at each segment individually yu may nt see the same deep discunted fare buckets n each individual segment. This is because the airline is nt ffering a deep discunted fare between JFK and SLC r between SLC and LAS. It s nly available when yu bk JFK-LAS cnnecting thrugh SLC. ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 3

4 The Actual Fare S nw that we knw hw many different fares may actually be available fr a particular flight, hw d we find ut what the actual fare is? On ExpertFlyer we use the Fare Infrmatin sectin. Let s lk at the fares fr this same flight n the same date and see what we get: Fare Basis Airline Bking Class Trip Type Fare 23 Fares Returned SR7GNR AA S Rund-Trip (USD) View Rules View Ruting SA7GNR AA S One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting GA7GNR AA G One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting GR7GNR AA G Rund-Trip (USD) View Rules View Ruting VA3GNR AA V One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting VR3GNR AA V Rund-Trip (USD) View Rules View Ruting WA0GZN AA W One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting WRGNR AA W Rund-Trip (USD) View Rules View Ruting LRGNR AA L Rund-Trip (USD) View Rules View Ruting LA0GZN AA L One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting K26Z AA K One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting YRUP7ZN AA A Rund-Trip (USD) View Rules View Ruting YRUPMZ AA A Rund-Trip (USD) View Rules View Ruting Y3CUPMZ AA I One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting Y26 AA Y One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting Y263CUPS AA D One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting Y AA Y One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting J26S AA J One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting F26S AA F One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting P26S AA P One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting J AA J One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting J AA J One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting F AA F One-Way (USD) View Rules View Ruting The Fare Basis is the airline s cde t uniquely identify the fare. The mst imprtant letter in the Fare Basis is the first letter. The Airline identifies the specific airline that is ffering that particular fare. The Bking Class is the cde that identifies the class f service that yu get when yu buy that Fare Basis. Class f Service refers t where yu will sit n the airplane: Ecnmy, Business, First, etc. Ntice that sme Fare Basis cdes may actually get yu int a higher Class f Service. Fr example: YRUP7ZN (a cach class Fare Basis) has a Bking Class f A (a first class seat) Hw d we knw that A is a first class seat? Click n the letter A under Bking Class and yu will get a pp-up fr that airline which describes the class f service fr each Bking Class. The fares shwn include taxes but d nt include airprt specific and security related fees. S, the actual ticketed price yu pay will be slightly higher than thse shwn. Of curse there are restrictins and cnditins that apply t this Fare Basis. That is where the tw links at the right side becme very useful: ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 4

5 View Rules This is where all the grund rules, cnditins and restrictins are spelled ut fr this particular Fare Basis. Here yu will see rules fr purchasing yur ticket, refunds, valid dates and changes. View Ruting Many fares are nly valid n certain rutes that the airline flies. Sme f the lwest fares may nly be available n nn-stp flights. Sme may nt be available n cde share flights. Here is where yu can find ut if there are any ruting restrictins. The S-Called Hidden Fare Buckets Nrmally, ExpertFlyer nly displays fare buckets n the Flight Availability respnse screen that are revenue prducing. Hwever, mst airlines have separate fare buckets fr nn-revenue inventry. These hidden fares are used t allcate available seats fr upgrades and mileage-nly awards. Presently, nly a few airlines make their hidden fares available thrugh ExpertFlyer. Refer t the Supprt sectin and the FAQ s n ExpertFlyer t get the latest list. Let s use AA as an example t see hw this wrks. The X hidden fare f AA is used t designate the inventry fr nn-revenue upgrades frm cach t first class n dmestic flights with nly tw classes n AA. There are many ways ne can qualify t use this inventry such as an elite status upgrade, 500-mile segment upgrades, etc. AA usually, but nt always, makes this inventry available fr bking starting at 100 hurs prir t departure fr any 2-class dmestic flight. Every airline tries t maximize revenue s they are nt s quick t give away free r mileage upgrades. As a result, ften times n heavily traveled rutes r n flights with a limited number f seats, this upgrade inventry may nt be made available until just hurs befre flight time. Let s see what happens if yu try t use ExpertFlyer t view X inventry within the 100 hur windw prir t departure. Let s lk at LGA t fr the mrning f May 11, 2005 by entering X in the Class bx n the Flight Availability entry screen: 0 Cnnectins AA LGA 0 Cnnectins AA LGA 0 Cnnectins AA LGA 0 Cnnectins AA LGA 05/11/05 06:00AM 05/11/05 06:30AM 05/11/05 07:00AM 05/11/05 08:00AM 0 Cnnectins AA LGA 05/11/05 10:00AM 0 Cnnectins AA LGA 05/11/05 09:00PM 05/11/05 07:19AM 05/11/05 07:48AM 05/11/05 08:28AM 05/11/05 09:30AM 05/11/05 11:29AM 05/11/05 10:24PM B X3 B X2 B X0 B X0 S X3 S X7 We can see that the first tw flights f the day shw there are three and tw seats respectively available fr the X frm f upgrade. The next tw flights shw nne and the tw flights after that shw three and at least seven seats available. We say at least seven because AA s inventry fr all fare buckets will never shw mre than seven regardless f hw many are actually available. ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 5

6 By using this infrmatin yu can see what yur chances are fr an upgrade if yu are nw buying a ticket. Remember, this inventry changes all the time and what yu see nw may nt be there ne minute frm nw. If yu have an upgrade request pending with the airline that has nt yet been hnred and yu see that X inventry is available fr yur flight, yu may want t cntact the airline immediately t find ut what the cause f the hldup might be. But what if yu d this same query n ExpertFlyer but fr a time lnger than 100 hurs befre departure? Let s keep everything the same but just mve the date f the query ut ne mnth. Remember, in this case, the airline has nt yet made available the X inventry based n their rules: 1 Cnnectin CO LGA 06/11/05 06:45AM AA CLE 06/11/05 08:54AM 1 Cnnectin CO LGA 06/11/05 03:00PM AA CLE 1 Cnnectin CO JFK AA 4209 CLE 06/11/05 08:18AM 06/11/05 09:14AM CLE 06/11/05 04:44PM 06/11/05 05:20PM 06/11/05 05:43PM 06/11/05 03:10PM 0 CLE 06/11/05 05:20PM CLE 06/11/05 04:45PM 06/11/05 05:43PM 735 X9 CR7 F Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 W7 V7 N0 G3 Q0 S0 O2 ERJ X9 ER4 F Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 W7 V7 N0 G7 Q0 S0 O7 ER3 X1 ER4 F Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 W7 V7 N0 G7 Q0 S0 O7 ExpertFlyer will nw display flights that best meet yur criteria f the specific date, selectin f AA and the use f X inventry. In each f the abve cases, nte that the requirement fr an AA flight is there in each cnnectin and the requirement fr X inventry is satisfied with a flight n CO whse X inventry is a nrmally available fare that can be purchased. Althugh the result might nt be the intended results, it is a valid ne frm the pint f view f the GDS (Glbal Distributin System) that search fr the results based n ur criteria. Fr thse airlines that make it available, hidden fare buckets fr nn-revenue mileage award inventry that is nt time sensitive can be viewed at any time the flight is available fr bking. Of curse, there are n assurances that inventry will be available but it des change all the time especially as it gets clser t the day f departure. ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 6

7 Strategies fr Using ExpertFlyer There is a wealth f infrmatin that yu have access t thrugh ExpertFlyer. The questin is, hw t use it t supprt the types f pre-flight activities frm planning t the day f flight. Let s lk at a few f these. The Mileage Run There are thse amngst us wh will take advantage f fare sales and circuitus ruting t maximize the cllectin f miles at the lwest pssible cst per mile. Sme d it t extend a business trip fr sightseeing at n additinal cst, sme t btain qualifying miles, pints r segments twards higher elite status with an airline and sme d it just fr the jy f flying and visiting different destinatins. Whatever the reasn, the s-called mileage run requires a gd deal f planning t maximize the mileage fr the least cst. ExpertFlyer can be used in a number f ways t help achieve this gal. Frce a cnnectin city In the Flight Availability sectin, enter yur query t frce a cnnectin thrugh a particular city. If yu want t g frm JFK t LAX, put in MIA as a cnnectin city and legal cnnectins thrugh MIA will be shwn, usually at the same price as the nn-stp but with substantially mre miles. Check the Ruting and Fare Rules If yu have cme up with a rute that invlves ne r mre cnnectins yu can check n the Ruting and Fare Rules if yu are a Premium subscriber t ExpertFlyer. Frm the Flight Availability respnse screen, click n the View Fares link at the tp f the screen. This will bring yu int the Fare Infrmatin sectin and shw yu all the fares. Nw click n the Ruting Rules link n the right side f the fare yu are interested in t see if there are any cities that yu are restricted frm ruting thrugh r which yu must rute thrugh fr that fare. Als check the Fare Rules link t see if there are any ther restrictins such as seasnality r advance purchase requirements. Award Availability Getting a mileage award r mileage upgrade award is ne f the tughest and mst frustrating prcesses fr frequent flyers. Even when bking many mnths in advance it is all t cmmn t find n awards are available. Smetimes awards are available fr a flight at a different time f day than desired. Smetimes it is available fr a different day f the week than desired. Yu can use tw features f ExpertFlyer t maximize yur search: Time f Day In the Flight Availability query screen the time f day drp-dwn serves as a starting pint fr which t search fr flights based n yur criteria. Direct flights will always be displayed first fllwed by cnnecting flights starting at r near the time f day yu specify. The ttal amunts f flights returned will vary but n heavily serviced rutes, nt all flights fr that day will shw. It is best t try tw r three time f day changes t insure that yu see all available flights fr that day. Variable Date ExpertFlyer nw has the ability t make a query frm the Flight Availability screen by specifying nt just ne but up t seven days fr the same query. Use the Exact Date drp-dwn feature t shw available fr up t seven days. Upgrade Availability The rules fr upgrades vary greatly frm airline t airline. But there are sme strategies yu can use t try t maximize yur chances f an upgrade based n thse rules. Lk befre yu bk Let s say yu need t bk a flight fr ten days frm nw. Upgrade award inventry is usually nt made available by the airline that far in advance. But, yu may ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 7

8 be able t garner sme insight int the prbability f availability when the time cmes by lking at the fare buckets in Flight Availability. Enter yur dates and rute and lk at the fare buckets fr the class f service yu want t upgrade int. Des it still shw plenty f availability particularly at the discunted fares? Maybe the direct flights shw pr availability but the cnnectins are wide pen. Perhaps by changing yur desired departure time yu can increase yur dds. Is it available nw If yu are abut t bk a flight that is currently within the upgrade windw, d a Flight Availability query fr the day and time yu desire. Des it shw up upgrade availability? If nt, change the time f day r frce a cnnectin t see if upgrades are available fr an alternate time r rute. Finding the best fare value Premium service subscribers t ExpertFlyer have access t the wide range f fares ffered by an airline. As we saw befre, there are many fares even fr simple rutes. S which is best fr yu? In sme cases it may be the ne that is least expensive. In sme cases, hwever, it might nt be the cheapest but the ne that ffers the greatest ruting flexibility fr a mileage run r has the best refund plicy. The cheap seats One f the simplest ways t get the lwest fare seat is t be flexible with the time f day yu want t depart. Certain rutes are heavily traveled by an airline. LGA-ATL n DL is ne example. It s pssible the cheapest seats may be available nly n the first tw flights f the day but nt the nes after 9 am. Lk at the fare buckets in the Flight Availability respnse screen t see which flight with the lwest fare buckets still have availability. Upgradeable fares It used t be simple. Buy a cheap Ecnmy ticket, use miles r a special VIP certificate and sit in the next class f service. Nt anymre. Airlines nw have restrictins regarding upgradeable fares and rutes. The miles needed t upgrade are nw usually based n the fare basis fr the ticket yu are upgrading frm. Knw the rules. They vary by airline, change at a mment s ntice can be quite cmplex. But ne thing is usually true, the mre yu pay the easier and less expensive it will be t upgrade. S-called full-fare cach fares are usually upgradeable with a minimum number f miles. Fr AA, these are the Y and B fares. B fares can be substantially less expensive than Y fares but carry sme restrictins that will vary by rute. But a B fare frm Nrth America t Eurpe n AA, fr example, can be upgraded with just 10,000 miles ne-way. Cmpare that t the discunted cach fares that require 25,000 miles and $250. Yu may find it less expensive verall and less restrictive t buy a B fare rather than a less expensive cach fare. Lk fr B fare inventry using Flight Availability n ExpertFlyer and ask fr it when yu bk yur flight. Stpvers and ruting Certain fares cme with many restrictins regarding what rutes they are valid n. Sme are nly fr nn-stp rutes. Sme ffer a great deal f flexibility fr stpping in a city befre traveling nt the next destinatin. Lk at the rules and ruting restrictins fr the fares yu are cnsidering. Yu may be able t cnstruct a mre cmplex itinerary n the same fare. The Saved Query feature Premium subscribers t ExpertFlyer have a unique and cnvenient feature. Repeated queries can be saved using any naming structure yu chse. This feature is useful t find ut if upgrade inventry fr a particular flight has becme available r t see if yur favrite seat has pened up. Yu will find it t be a great time saving cnvenience. ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 8

9 Seat Maps Let s face it; the airline seat is nt the czy lunge chair in yur hme. But there are sme things yu can d t minimize the pain. ExpertFlyer ffers yu seat maps fr ver 100 airlines. These airlines feature seat maps nly fr select flights and classes f service. ExpertFlyer will display which seats are presently assigned r blcked fr the particular flight and date yu are interested in. Use this infrmatin alng with infrmatin frm sites like SeatGuru.cm and SeatExpert.cm t pick the best seat. In sme cases, airlines will blck seats nly fr tp paying and elite frequent flyers. On ExpertFlyer s seat maps, this will shw as Premium seating if the airline s designates it. In any case, pick and ask fr the best seat yu can find. If the ne yu want is nt available nw, Premium subscribers t ExpertFlyer can save the seat map query and recall it ften t see if the desired seat has becme available. This is a great feature t use, especially as the day f departure appraches. Peple rutinely change their flight plans especially in the business and first class cabins where penalties fr changing flights are almst nn-existent. ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 9

10 Glssary f Terms Bking Class A single letter designatin that defines the categry f fares available fr a particular flight. A bking class can encmpass mre than ne fare. It is used in cnjunctin with fare buckets t shw hw many seats are available fr that particular bking class. The letter designatin and definitin f a bking class may vary frm ne airline t anther. Class f Service The general categry f service n the flight. Usually there are frm ne t fur classes f service n a particular flight. The name f the class f service will vary frm airline t airline. Fr example sme airlines refer t the lwest class f service as Cach, thers call it Ecnmy. Direct Flight Any flight between a departing and arriving city that des nt require a change f planes. Nn-stp flights are ne frm f direct flights, but nt all direct flights are nn-stp. A direct flight may stp in several intermediate cities withut a change in flight number. Elite Frequent Flyers Airlines have multi-tiered frequent flyer prgrams t recgnize their best custmers. Sme airlines may have as many as three elite tiers in additin t the general frequent flyer ppulatin. The higher the tier, the mre perks and benefits yu receive. These benefits vary depending upn the airline. Fare Basis The fare basis can be a cmplex cde f letters and numbers that uniquely defines the price, rules and ruting restrictins fr a fare n a specific rute. There may be mre that ne fare basis fr a bking class. Fare Bucket The fare bucket is the number f seats available n a particular flight and date fr a specific bking class. Fare Cde Smetimes used t describe a bking class. Fare Inventry The actual number f seats fr sale fr a particular fare basis. This number may be greater than actually shwn n ExpertFlyer. GDS Glbal Distributin System. The GDS acts as distributr f airline and ther travel infrmatin between the surce (airline, htel car rental cmpany) and the user (travel agent, airline reservatins peratins, ExpertFlyer). Sme additinal services may be ffered by a GDS such as bking and ticketing capabilities. Galile, Sabre, Amadeus are sme f the wrldwide GDS netwrks. Hidden Fare These are bking classes nt directly viewable by travel agents and ther GDS custmers. These are typically nn-revenue classes that are used t inventry upgrades and mileage awards. Mileage Run An activity used by frequent flyers t accumulate the maximum number f miles at the lwest cst per mile. It is smetimes dne t achieve r maintain a higher level f elite status r just fr the jy f travel. Nn-Stp Flight A flight that des nt stp between the departure and arrival city. Stpver A stpver is defined as a minimum perid f time, usually 24 hurs r less, in a city between flights. It is measured between the scheduled arrival time f a flight and the scheduled departure time f the next flight. Sme fare ruting rules allw stpvers and sme d nt. What may appear t be a cnnectin n sme self-cnstructed itineraries may actually be defined as a stpver accrding t the fare rules. ExpertFlyer.cm Understanding Hw t Use ExpertFlyer t Yur Advantage Page 10