Sometimes when you’re searching for award space, be it on Aeroplan, United, Delta, etc., you’ll find that some seats will show as available when you search for them from origin to destination, but when you call to book the flights segment-by-segment, those flights show as unavailable. Often, this is caused by married segment logic. Today’s Sunday Reader Question is: what are married segments?
Lufthansa First Class award availability doesn’t usually open up until 14 days before departure, and when it does, it’s usually a short-lived glitch. It looks like flights to and from Munich are sporadically available between now and September. I’ve seen it from Washington DC, Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago, and Charlotte. It is bookable using Aeroplan! HURRY!
Phantom availability is when an award search engine shows award seats as available, but when you go to confirm them, they come up as unavailable. However, I’ve been noticing a new phenomenon with Star Alliance availability – “hidden” inventory.
Over the past couple weeks, I started an award booking service, Awarding Canada. Very quickly, I got substantial media exposure from CBC’s The National, and CTV News. As a result, I’ve had a surge in requests, mostly Aeroplan, and have learned some interesting tidbits about Aeroplan in speaking with them so much…
I was able to grab a pair of Global First Class seats on Sydney to San Francisco at the last minute using Aeroplan (no taxes!). I have to say, United’s Global First Class is the single most awesome thing in the sky. Emirates shower? Meh! Lufthansa’s caviar? Too salty! United has captured the essence of what First Class ought to be, and has ruined me for the future.
I recently reviewed Thai’s First Class, and at that time, did not have a very enjoyable experience. I decided to give them another go. To my delight, my new experience with their First Class from Tokyo to Bangkok on a A380, proved to be very enjoyable.
