Thread: See availablity from the seat reservation maps on websites of airlines?

Originally Posted by flassher

For seat availability try using:

http://www.flightstats.com/go/Flight...vailability.do

You have to register and sign in but it is free...

Cheers.

I just tried checking the accuracy of that site by plugging in identical DL flights on Delta.com and Travel-net. Flightstats.com was way off on some and on one major route did not even show an available direct flight that had lots of available seats. Sorry - Two big thumbs down on that site.

Originally Posted by Just Bob

I just tried checking the accuracy of that site by plugging in identical DL flights on Delta.com and Travel-net. Flightstats.com was way off on some and on one major route did not even show an available direct flight that had lots of available seats. Sorry - Two big thumbs down on that site.

That surprises me....when you say it was way off is that because the loads you were looking at showed more seats available than Flight Stats showed??
Cheers

Originally Posted by flyer146

Now, my question is: can pax also somehow book a ticket on CO or UA without selecting a seat (or be given one randomly by the system)? Because if they can't, then those seatmaps are actually a fairly accurate and up-to-date outlook on the total load of each flight and definitely a great tool for non-rev travellers to check the loads.

I work in UA reservations. NEVER rely on the seatmap as an indicator. You can definitely book a tickets without getting a seat assignment, and the system won't "automatically" assign you a random seat, whether you booked through UA, another website like Orbitz, or through a travel agency. I have seen many flights that were overbooked with quite a few seats still showing open on the seat map. Not a good indicator at all.

I have not checked or used Flightstats but it could be possible that they only show 9 seats whenever there are more than 9 seats available.

Not a good indicator if that is what they do.

Tony

Flightstats use Sabre as their source data. (note, this excludes all AA flights). There is also an issue that for several airlines their classification of 'coach' vs 'business' cabins is not correct, hence they sometimes show zero coach when there is availability and vice versa.
idDeals.com does a better job of forecasting actual loads and takes the hassle out of trying to decipher or guess. It does require a membership fee, but worth it especially for the hotel discounts

Try www.NonRevCheckin.com They take into consideration overselling and cancellations. You can also sign up for update alerts to be sent automatically to your phone or email to keep you updated to load changes.