Hello Fellow Travelers. I'm trying to book a last minute trip btwn. Tampa and NY (any airport). The cheapest options are listed with a caveat of "unknown seat availability" and "nonrefundable ticket" and "long lay-over". I'm not too concerned with the long-layover but I'm worried that if I'm buying a seat that is non-refundable and there is "unknown seat availability" that I will end up attached to the wing with duct tape, or will have to forfeit my reservation. Does anyone have any idea what exactly it means when it's stated that there is "unknown seat availability"?

Thanks!

My travel dates are Dec. 18-Dec. 25.

TTT (are you guys all out xmas shopping today, or what?)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here. You can NOT buy a ticket from ITA anyhow. I use just for reference and then go to the airline itself and buy the ticket from the info. given on ITA.
The airline will of course then know if there are seats available.
Merry Christma.

John is correct; sometimes the lowest fare shown on ITA is in a booking class that won't apply to you. Make sure you select the "check seat availability" box on the options screen. When you get a fare you like, make a note of the booking class code ("TSPCUK" or similar gibberish) and if you can't replicate the fare on the airline's website, phone them up and recite the code to the CSR. If you're concerned about paying $5 or $10 for human-assisted reservations via the phone, have them hold the res and give you a reference/locator number (if they will - most have no problem) then call it up on the airline's web site and finish the booking. A bit arduous maybe but a good way to keep the price down.

ITA said in a news release sometime earlier this year that they would be rolling out an online booking service by year's end - maybe tied to the current ITA product, maybe not. Haven't seen anything yet but it sure would be cool.

Ewwww, John, is that right? I hadn't yet arrived at the point where I clicked the purchase button. Which I suppose isn't there.

Thanks. I did find the trip on United's web site. Merry Christmas to you, too!

TG, I use ITAsoftware to find the lowest fares then go straight to the website of that airline to book.

If the flight is using multiple airlines, I use SideStep.com (think Howard steered me there) to book the ticket.

I don't think the lack of seat availability is a big deal on ITA because you can't book with them.