al

I know Delta is doing poorly but why is it so difficult to find a SkySaver flight? Seems they've made all the good flights SkyChoice flights, which require double the mileage.

If I can't find a flight, why bother to collect SkyMiles?

MikeT

You've got to hunt and be flexible. Consider alternative airports.

rkkwan

Call the partner desk and have them check NW and CO flights for you as well. And before doing that, you can even go onto NW or CO's website and check for award availability. Skymiles usually (but not always) get the same seat inventories as NW/CO's FF members.

If flying internationally, then it's even more important to check partner airlines. DL is a member of the Skyteam alliance and there are lot of airlines you can fly on with Skymiles.

I just cashed in 25K miles for a roundtrip Houston to Edmonton this weekend.

But if your travel plans aren't flexible, then please don't expect to use your miles at 25K level.

Dan

This is nothing new, unfortunately. All the airlines restrict the heck out of seats, esp. since they seem to be running 75-80% load factors (and still losing $)!

I fly Continental. It's almost IMPOSSIBLE to get a seat on many routes. They even say how much the ticket costs when you're searching, hoping you'll get frustrated and fork over dollars rather than use miles!

Patrick

Are you trying to book 330 days ahead? On most airlines that's the best way to get the free flights you want.

astein12

I was able to get 2 SkySaver tix from Neward to Anchorage without much issue (booked them last month for a trip in September). The only complicating factor was that I could only find the Saver tix online for the outbound leg and not the return.

I ended up calling Delta and they were able to find me a flight without any problems.

Another thing is to check the flights daily (same on Continental), they seems to change availability frequently.

Yawn_boring

Delta is really screwy. I found nonstop flights often were listed as Skysaver and the flights with changes were Skychoice. Go figure.

In any case, I'm using mine up as fast as I can.

rkkwan

Yawn_boring - I don't see that as screwy. It cost an airline more (and take out more of their available seats for sale) by flying you on a one-stop.

It's different from tickets for sale. Airlines can command a premium from passengers for non-stop flights, especially when there's no competition, because people are willing to pay more for non-stops.

al

Is there a way to book Skymiles award flights with partner airlines online or do I need to call? Or do something else entirely?

Shea

I recently attempted to book with Delta using my Delta frequent flyer miles. I booked the 330 days in advance for travel from Anchorage,AK to Dallas, TX - nothing but Skychoice seats. Out of curiosity I checked other dates & other locations. Out of probably 20 searchs I found one flight that had Skysaver seats available. What I did I used my Delta frequent flyer miles for an Alaska Airlines flight - one of Delta's partners. Instead of costing me 50,000 miles I got an excellent itinerary for 30,000 miles. I am willing to bet that astein12 is flying Alaska Airlines from Newark, NJ to Anchorage since that is one of Alaska Airlines routes. I also emailed Delta asking why no availability of Skysaver seats. I got the usual answer of got to book early & be flexible. Also I was informed only a few seats are available using frequent flyer miles (info I already knew-thats why I booked early). In this case I booked as early as I was allowed & there was only Skychoice seating so its an indication that no Skysaver seats were ever assigned for those flights. The best bet is fly on their partners using your Delta miles & use them up as I don't think Delta is going to survive.

rkkwan

al - You need to call. And do your homework prior - see which partner airlines have flights on that route. That will help the phone agent and yourself a great deal.

Patty

al,
You'll need to call and speak with a partner award desk agent. They're the most knowledgeable and can check availability on all partner airlines.

You have to be ultra flexible with not only your dates, but also routing/connections, carrier, origin/destination, etc. Consider flying out of or into a nearby airport if that's an option. If you don't have this flexibility, then don't expect to be able to redeem your miles at the standard award level with any ff program and stop collecting them (just means more seats for me )

330/331 days in advance is just the first date that you can start checking availability. That doesn't mean award seats have been allocated on every flight. Availability fluctuates continuously up until the day of departure.

I've redeemed close to 2 million Delta Skymiles (almost half a million of those have been in the last 12 months) and have never once had to resort to using a Skychoice award nor have I ever booked an award 11 months in advance. There are seats and you have to be flexible. Knowing where to look for availability helps too. Like rrkwan mentioned, do your homework and familiarize yourself with all of the options available to you. There are destinations which are inherently difficult (but not impossible) like Europe in the summer or Hawaii anytime.

I just ticketed 2 business class awards to East Africa last week for 120K miles each for November. There was no availabililty to fly back from Nairobi, so I had to book an open jaw and fly back from Kilimanjaro instead. I look at it as an opportunity to spend some time in Tanzania now. If I had to purchase my tickets, they would have cost me at least $10K.

Jacqueline1212

A couple of months ago, I booked two 1st class Skysaver seats for a Jan/Feb roundtrip BOS to DEN with no problem although the flight out of BOS is earlier than we'd like but we'll get to our destination at a decent time. Start way ahead for the best choices.

al

Thank you all.

Cali

I have found that I have better luck on last minute flights than when I plan way ahead. Don't know why but it has been the case several times recently. Problem is one usually can't do things at the last minute. Hope you find something that works.

bebalm

we had some issues this year booking a sky saver flight to maui. We started the day that the tickets would have been available. We are going with a large group of people, and some of them got tickets out, but my husband and I didn't. We ended up using skychoice to get one ticket and purchased the other. Not what we originally wanted to do, but it works i guess. These days there aren't many perks when it comes to frequent flyer miles. Gone are the days of picking a great flight and going. But, when it is free...you can't complain.

airforcecapt

I have been platinum for 3 years now on Delta. I have had nothing but problems booking flights on Delta and/or their partners. Like some of you said, on many flights there are NO Skysaver seats allocated for the flight. I was told this by a Delta Representative. And to respond to the post by RKKWAN, seems to have the same mentality as Delta. These are not "free" seats. I spent a lot of money on tickets for the past several years that I considered that seat paid for. I was trying to book 2 tickets to Africa this fall. I called Delta in March and told them that I was willing to travel from any USA city to any city in Eastern or Southern Africa and I wanted Business/First class tickets. After holding for over 45 minutes I was told that they could only get me one seat on a partner airlines. She said that's all the partner airline would release. I then asked for 2 coach seats and they had no seats available. Delta has pretty much eliminated their SkySaver seats and pathetically offer them on minor routes to keep "dangling the carrot in front of our nose". If you don't believe me, call Delta yourself and ask them for 2 First/Business class tickets from any city in the USA to any city in Africa and see what they tell you. I'm switching to United Airlines. They offer many more seats then Delta.

Therese

I've been having generally very good luck with booking on Delta using the SkySaver option. Recently booked two coach non-stop RT Atlanta/Paris without difficulty, and in the past three years have booked numerous domestic and transatlantic seats, all SkySaver.

I do opt for SkyChoice if the flight's particularly advantageous (and generally expensive) and I know demand is high. It's still better than paying for the ticket.

I will point out that living in Atlanta certainly gives me an advantage.

happytrailstoyou

I have had the same problem. To get best value, use a partner air line. I did, and I didn't have to be the least bit flexible in my flight time preferences. After I use my 54,000 SkyMiles, I'm through with SkyMiles--not Delta, but SkyMiles.

Patty

<If you don't believe me, call Delta yourself and ask them for 2 First/Business class tickets from any city in the USA to any city in Africa and see what they tell you.>

My husband and I traveled to East Africa twice this year using Skymiles award tickets, both times in business class. In January we flew LAX-CDG(stopover)-AMS-NBO-AMS-CVG-LAX, and in November we flew LAX-ATL-AMS-NBO(openjaw)-JRO-AMS-CDG-LAX on a combination of KLM/Air France/Delta. I redeemed the first set of tickets 3 months in advance and the second set 5 months in advance, so the seats are there.