Help with nonreving on partner airlines. First time flying INTL.

My wife and I are going on a cruise in July and are looking to get into Stockholm. This will be our first time hopping the pond. While there are options to stay on DAL the entire way, most are through AF and KLM. I've never non-rev'd on another airline and really don't know how to. Also I'm worried about getting back to the USA and not being able to make changes on the fly while in Europe.

For instance when travelling on AF, do I have to buy a ZED ticket or is it just like nonreving on DAL (i.e. free except for taxes, etc.)? Is it more expensive to nonrev on a partner airline? Which airlines are best/cheapest to nonrev on? Does it matter? And lastly (for now) what's the easiest way to get onto another airline?

I've got the domestic non-rev thing down pat but as you can see, with INTL, I'm genrally lost.

Any suggestions or general advice is appreciated.

Cuda

Hello Cuda.
Are you employed at Delta?
Stockholm is a very popular destination in jun-jul-aug. You must expect a lot of sold out flights.
I work for SAS-SK and when I travel nonrev with other airlines I normally have to use a paper ticket that I get from our company ID office.
We normally pay a little extra using NON REV on other airlines but is is normally not a big difference. Maybe 50USD extra for a ticket OSL-EWR-OSL.

I did Stockholm this past winter and barely got back on Boss' flight. last seat using S2--coach. Feb I think it was...
Your cheapest option is usually AF zed which is priced as joint venture fare. If you're using DL metal as afar as possible, maybe CDG is best since they prob have more AF flts to ARN? CPH was tight also, BTW. Make sure you get your ezed prior (you can estimate these on the nonrev calculator on deltanet) Choose the Eu gateway where you can overnight easily.
Can't say much about KLM--haven't used them for zed.
What's your station?

Must important question is who is you employer? If you are a Delta employee, best to fly Delta because you have a higher priority on the standby list. Plus, you get business class if seats are available. You only can fly couch and pay for a zed fare paper ticket with other airlines.

Thanks guys. I'm a Delta Employee out of ATL. I'm going to do my best to stay on Delta birds. My main concern is just getting there. As much as I'd like to fly business class, I just don't want to lose the money on/and miss the cruise. I guess my basic strategy is to get into any city in Europe and get to ARN from there if I have to.

How can I know how many seats are available on AF flights? Can I list for AF flights on travelnet? Where would I buy the ZED ticket?

Thanks again.

you can list for AF on the deltanet page link on interline travel (PS--it does not link on Mozilla) Book oneways on KL/AF using ezed tickets. You'll get an idea of what seats are avail when you get your ezed. They are fully refundable. Tyr a dummy booking and see how it works for you. You don't have to buy yet.
ALso check a website:
whichbudget.com for options to fly revenue (novel idea!?) to ARN
pick orginating country--Neth etc and then Sweden and go from there--you might get lucky with cheap fares but beware the luggage issues!!
I agree you want to get to either CDG or AMS to get most options for ARN at this point. You can try Spain and go for Iberia ezed but the connection have to be MAD or BCN and they are so full these days.
Keep in mind July is the vacation month for all of Germany, so FRA etc may not be good ideas.

What do the seat counts for ARN and CPH like for your cruise? BTW--in case you don't know, the transport is now improved from ARN to city for stayover but WOW--the hotel prices and food are HIGH!! I have few tips if I can help. Are there just 2 of you?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrs767er

you can list for AF on the deltanet page link on interline travel (PS--it does not link on Mozilla) Book oneways on KL/AF using ezed tickets. You'll get an idea of what seats are avail when you get your ezed. They are fully refundable. Tyr a dummy booking and see how it works for you. You don't have to buy yet.
ALso check a website:
whichbudget.com for options to fly revenue (novel idea!?) to ARN
pick orginating country--Neth etc and then Sweden and go from there--you might get lucky with cheap fares but beware the luggage issues!!
I agree you want to get to either CDG or AMS to get most options for ARN at this point. You can try Spain and go for Iberia ezed but the connection have to be MAD or BCN and they are so full these days.
Keep in mind July is the vacation month for all of Germany, so FRA etc may not be good ideas.

What do the seat counts for ARN and CPH like for your cruise? BTW--in case you don't know, the transport is now improved from ARN to city for stayover but WOW--the hotel prices and food are HIGH!! I have few tips if I can help. Are there just 2 of you?

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Yes, just the two of us. We would love any tips you could give us! We're planning to fly out on July 12th.

CPH actually looks really good from ATL right now. 81 in the back but then we have to fly SK to ARN. JFK to ARN is at 24 in the back right now but that's definitely not going to hold. I'll try to book a dummy ezed to get an idea of the process. Thanks so much for your help.

EDIT: Just realized we still have our "One Great Team" confirmed space passes. I'm thinking this is the best time to use them. Has anyone else used these passes and what happens if the flight is oversold while using these passes?

Great catch on the One GReat Team!! I think once you use them (coach only) they are revenue seats--confirmed and all that jazz. Call pass bureau to check--do you have a spare day or two before the cruise departs?

You have a good shot at nonrev on 12th to ARN--plenty of coach and might even get biz since you're active DL, you'd be 3 and 4 for 4 seats but that CPH does look good right now!
I don't think I'd use the OGT passes but I'm a spoiled brat. Gotta say coach return (daytime is better than night, of course) was just fine ARN/JFK

Let me know how the dummy ezed booking works for SA from CPH please.\
Gotta ge5 my travel junk out and I'll add tips in different post.

Ok, I did the dummy ezed for CPH-ARN right up to the point that they asked me for my credit card. The only availability info that they give you is a smiley face. LOL. How reliable is that smiley face? Am I risking my entire trip on a smiley face?

My wife is what you could call a spoiled brat too. LOL. She wants biz class even more than I do I think. So we'll wait on the OGT pass until we get close to the flight.

I did a post under specialty travel--prob the wrong place but it's there.
I can look at trip check on ASU Guide for better info on numbers. We have one SAS member you can send PM for more accurate numbers. I helped him w/DL info. I'm sure he'd assist. Do you have more than one flt CPH/ARN?
I juts find it hard to sleep in coach knowing those comforters and big pillows are up front with nice wines and...

Yes, there are about five flights CPH-ARN after I would land in CPH. I'd love to get specific seat availablility for those flights. Going to look at your specialty travel post now. Thanks!