V-Flyer

Hi, first time posting here! Hoping someone can help answer the following load check question please - I've done a load check for VS015 this Saturday, and it gives the following results:

J2 C2 D2 I2 Z1 W9 S9 K4 Y3 B3 R0 L0 U0 M0 E0 Q0 X0 N0 O0

However, when I try and find the cheapest UC fares on the VS website, it's only giving me J class seats, which are obviously the most expensive ones! Does anyone know why this is? Is there a way of booking the lower fare seats (e.g. I or Z class)?

Thanks!

Hi and welcome.

The cheaper fare codes, like a Z, all have advance booking restrictions, which I believe is 96 hours, so this is likely to be the reason you are no longer get those options.

Also, if using a site like flightstats for your load check, it can take a little while for it to sync with the VS system, so someone may have booked those cheaper fares already.

Neil

Hi Neil, thanks for the quick reply and explanation!

Were you looking for a one way flight?

Because if you were the VS system will automatically price that as a full J fare.

If you want to try different fare buckets then try this link - it will let you select a different fare bucket e.g. J/D/I for UC

DanielG wrote:Hi, first time posting here! Hoping someone can help answer the following load check question please - I've done a load check for VS015 this Saturday, and it gives the following results:

J2 C2 D2 I2 Z1 W9 S9 K4 Y3 B3 R0 L0 U0 M0 E0 Q0 X0 N0 O0

However, when I try and find the cheapest UC fares on the VS website, it's only giving me J class seats, which are obviously the most expensive ones! Does anyone know why this is? Is there a way of booking the lower fare seats (e.g. I or Z class)?

Thanks!

Please excuse my ignorance, but I am intrigued as to how you do a load check? I would love to have a go myself! Thanks!

blevins wrote:Please excuse my ignorance, but I am intrigued as to how you do a load check? I would love to have a go myself! Thanks!

flightstats.com. Go to flight availability and check the Advanced option

honey lamb wrote:

blevins wrote:Please excuse my ignorance, but I am intrigued as to how you do a load check? I would love to have a go myself! Thanks!

flightstats.com. Go to flight availability and check the Advanced option

Super, many thanks for your help and swift response! Cheers!

honey lamb wrote:flightstats.com. Go to flight availability and check the Advanced option

Hi honeylamb
Im probably just being really dopey but which option do you then select? check availability or check fares? and should you enter anything in fares box?
when I tried it for my flight later in the year it didnt bring anything up

It's the check availability box, you don't need to enter anything in to the fare box, just put your airport codes in and dates.

Neil wrote:It's the check availability box, you don't need to enter anything in to the fare box, just put your airport codes in and dates.

Thanks Neil
That worked for me. ^)
I will be using this next time i book a flight.

Remember it'll only really help you if there are 8 seats or fewer left to buy in a particular fare bucket, in which case it'll tell you exactly how many there are.

If it says 9 though, that could mean there are 9 or 200 seats left - 9's the highest it shows.

And it's not cumulative within each class. For instance if you see J8 C8 D4 I4 Z1 they're all UC fare codes but it doesn't mean there are 25 seats left in UC. It means there are 8, of which only 1 is still available in the cheapest Z bucket but all 8 are available in the priciest J bucket.

Hope that makes sense ...

gumshoe wrote:Remember it'll only really help you if there are 8 seats or fewer left to buy in a particular fare bucket, in which case it'll tell you exactly how many there are.

If it says 9 though, that could mean there are 9 or 200 seats left - 9's the highest it shows.

And it's not cumulative within each class. For instance if you see J8 C8 D4 I4 Z1 they're all UC fare codes but it doesn't mean there are 25 seats left in UC. It means there are 8, of which only 1 is still available in the cheapest Z bucket but all 8 are available in the priciest J bucket.

Hope that makes sense ...

That makes sense. I didn't know that about the numbers.
And just because there are no Gs listed does not necessarily mean there are any remaining? Just that at that particular point in time none are?

It doesn't show reward seats, only revenue ones.

The interesting thing is I did a "what if" based on a flight I am doing shortly - LGW to MBJ UC, 26 Jul out , 7 Aug in and fltstats said there were 9 seats avail both ways, yet the VS website said none! When I checked the seat plan in "manage my flt", sure enough, there seems to be spare (well certainly unallocated) seats!

not everyone chooses their seat before check-in

Flightstats shows no UC seats available both ways

I'm obviously losing it in old age! When I performed this little exercise this morning, I am sure fltstats offered 9 seats. Oh well.

blevins wrote:The interesting thing is I did a "what if" based on a flight I am doing shortly - LGW to MBJ UC, 26 Jul out , 7 Aug in and fltstats said there were 9 seats avail both ways, yet the VS website said none! When I checked the seat plan in "manage my flt", sure enough, there seems to be spare (well certainly unallocated) seats!

Are you sure you checked the right flight/date/cabin?

As Penny says both those flights are showing full in UC - screenshot of the outbound attached.

Yep, must be my bad. Sorry all. I'll get me coat........!

blevins wrote:The interesting thing is I did a "what if" based on a flight I am doing shortly - LGW to MBJ UC, 26 Jul out , 7 Aug in and fltstats said there were 9 seats avail both ways, yet the VS website said none! When I checked the seat plan in "manage my flt", sure enough, there seems to be spare (well certainly unallocated) seats!

Maybe I'm missing something but could this be due to seats still being available through websites such as opodo, Expedia etc and travel agents?

Neil wrote:It doesn't show reward seats, only revenue ones.

Oh wait that means it doesn't show Gs?
Is there a way to know how to book them?

gfonk wrote:

Neil wrote:It doesn't show reward seats, only revenue ones.

Oh wait that means it doesn't show Gs?
Is there a way to know how to book them?

The best way is to do a dummy booking on the VS website and book them there and then if you are doing a full reward flight. If you are seeking to upgrade you need to call VS

Thanks honeylamb
I will do that next time

Flightstats seems excellent. Quick question though..

I looked at a VS flight and it claims that there are 'N3' which I understand to mean there are 3 tickets left in N booking class.

But by playing around with the VS website I've managed to work out there are infact 5 - if you select 5 adults for the flight it offers 5 tickets in N class. If you select 6, it offers 6 tickets in the next class up.

Is this because 2 people have cancelled or because Flighstats isnt that accurate?

gumshoe wrote:

blevins wrote:The interesting thing is I did a "what if" based on a flight I am doing shortly - LGW to MBJ UC, 26 Jul out , 7 Aug in and fltstats said there were 9 seats avail both ways, yet the VS website said none! When I checked the seat plan in "manage my flt", sure enough, there seems to be spare (well certainly unallocated) seats!

Are you sure you checked the right flight/date/cabin?

As Penny says both those flights are showing full in UC - screenshot of the outbound attached.

photo-2.PNG

STOP PRESS Have just returned from my trip - there were 5 empty seats un UC outbound and 1 inbound

blevins wrote:
STOP PRESS Have just returned from my trip - there were 5 empty seats un UC outbound and 1 inbound

is it possible that the remaining seats were perhaps on hold at the time? however on the actual day of the flight there were no takers?