US Dividend Miles - Award Booking Questions and General Discussion

[Masonic Phantom]

I actually called TG up requesting my "TG" ticket number quoting my TG Reservation Code.

They said 'No, you need to call USDM to request a ticket number' as USDM is the issuing agent.

As far as TG is concerned, the TG Reservation Code is 'all they need'.

So, you're right. There is only one ticket number.

You are OK.... I have had the same info last year & this year that is all they require, you are good to GO!!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You are OK.... I have had the same info last year & this year that is all they require, you are good to GO!!

no. a reservation code does not mean you are good to go.

all it means is that the airline has a reservation for you.

unless the reservation is paid for it will be cancelled. That can happen right up till departure time and you'll be none the wiser. Yuo could even have selected seats and booked the cook. All of which mean nothing.

the airline carrying you must have a ticket number against the booking.

there are some airlines you really do want to check to make sure they have ticket numbers... SQ, OZ, TG are three that come to mind.

 

[bcworld]

no. a reservation code does not mean you are good to go.

all it means is that the airline has a reservation for you.

unless the reservation is paid for it will be cancelled. That can happen right up till departure time and you'll be none the wiser. Yuo could even have selected seats and booked the cook. All of which mean nothing.

the airline carrying you must have a ticket number against the booking.

there are some airlines you really do want to check to make sure they have ticket numbers... SQ, OZ, TG are three that come to mind.

I honestly think we can stop this discussion about PNRs vs ticket numbers vs the word 'confirmed'...it just goes around and around and around in a circle! I'm never talking about it again!

 

[anat0l]

no. a reservation code does not mean you are good to go.

all it means is that the airline has a reservation for you.

unless the reservation is paid for it will be cancelled. That can happen right up till departure time and you'll be none the wiser. Yuo could even have selected seats and booked the cook. All of which mean nothing.

the airline carrying you must have a ticket number against the booking.

there are some airlines you really do want to check to make sure they have ticket numbers... SQ, OZ, TG are three that come to mind.

Under what circumstances does is the e-ticket for some reason not correctly attached to all relevant booking across all carriers?

Now I'm not saying it can't happen. There may be a booking or PNR mismatch with e-ticket when you have schedule changes or the like (where the e-ticket must be re-issued), but having to check almost on a weekly basis (or daily?) that the e-ticket remains attached successfully to the PNR for all carriers (or simply the likes of SQ, OZ or TG) seems mind bogglingly obsessive and bordering on stupefyingly unnecessary.

I could maybe understand checking it upon the booking being initially completed. Maybe again whilst you are processing other booking elements, such as selecting seats. But having to do it on a regular basis seems ridiculous; not so much on the part of the customer being vigilant, but more on the part of it seems airlines actions or mistakes seem to necessitate it.

FWIW I have never done this on any booking on my watch. I have had schedule changes and e-ticket re-issues, but the e-ticket has never been detached from the bookings and thus I haven't a booking that hasn't fallen apart. Maybe I'm tempting fate, who knows.

If an airline's incompetence somehow results in their disconnecting an e-ticket from a PNR for any unknown reason which isn't raised to the customer, someone really deserves to be nailed painfully by their head to the wall with a long rusty nail. Literally. I could maybe "understand" TG (then again, maybe not, the "prostitute" of *A premium can do some strange things), possibly OZ, but to put this kind of imbecilic incompetence upon a carrier like SQ seems incomprehensible and reprehensible.

 

[bcworld]

I could maybe understand checking it upon the booking being initially completed.

That is actually all that is being suggested. I'm not sure where you got the rest of it from. I think what Mel_T was saying was that a confirmed booking can remain unticketed, not that it was ticketed then is suddenly not.

Darn, I said I wasn't going to do this!

 

[bcworld]

this kind of imbecilic incompetence upon a carrier like SQ seems incomprehensible and reprehensible.

As for that, you clearly don't remember the debacle that was and still is to a certain extent the latest incarnation of the SQ website, they are not immune from technical incompetence.

 

[anat0l]

That is actually all that is being suggested. I'm not sure where you got the rest of it from. I think what Mel_T was saying was that a confirmed booking can remain unticketed, not that it was ticketed then is suddenly not.

Darn, I said I wasn't going to do this!

At some point in time, I believe MEL_Traveler advocated that checking e-ticket numbers should be done on a regular basis.

Certainly, he seems alone in actually advocating this kind of action (or at least to a capital degree). I'd put two bits down that most award seat booking services don't do such a check (though they may do this inadvertently when checking in and processing other booking elements with the other airlines).

As for that, you clearly don't remember the debacle that was and still is to a certain extent the latest incarnation of the SQ website, they are not immune from technical incompetence.

Making a website which is somewhat inoperable is one thing; losing an e-ticket due to disconnecting the booking is another. One is a major offence, the other is capital.

 

[bcworld]

At some point in time, I believe MEL_Traveler advocated that checking e-ticket numbers should be done on a regular basis.

I don't recall it but he can speak for himself.

Making a website which is somewhat inoperable is one thing; losing an e-ticket due to disconnecting the booking is another. One is a major offence, the other is capital.

I think 'somewhat inoperable' is a bit of an understatement when the website was sharing pax contact details and passport numbers with other pax! Anyway, it's not really relevant here.

The mechanics of the problem we are talking about are quite simple, the ticket number is not always successfully transmitted to every carrier that needs to be paid. From reading FT, OZ has in the past been a particular problem. We don't know who has the problem, it could be US, it could be OZ, it could be some GDS along the way - it's just a fact that it occasionally happens and people lose reservations because of it. Thinking about it, I have had tickets reissued for seemingly no reason before so perhaps it does make sense to check again after that. Anyway - this time I really am over it.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

At some point in time, I believe MEL_Traveler advocated that checking e-ticket numbers should be done on a regular basis.

no no.

check ticket number once USDM says they have ticketed, and in some cases, if a reissue (rather than a revalidation) has been done.

check your bookings on a regular basis... use airlineroute.net to see upcoming change;, don't rely on LM or USDM to send you notification of a change or cancellation... baby sit your bookings at least weekly. Doing so, and acting as soon as possible, gives you the best chance of finding alternative flights before everyone else starts looking for them.

Sometimes airlineroute is the only method of finding out about changes... every so often UA/CO change planes form three-class to two-class... knowing this will help you change back to a three class aircraft. When OZ changed their suites from ORD to JFK I think everyone was just mapped across to 'business elite' (first class seating with business service) without actually knowing first class had gone. Those who knew early swapped to JFK while award seats were still available.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Making a website which is somewhat inoperable is one thing; losing an e-ticket due to disconnecting the booking is another. One is a major offence, the other is capital.

system glitches occur. It was more of an issue when airlines such as CA and SQ required instant ticketing (no holds). If USDM was a bit slow issuing the ticket then it simply bounced. The PNR was still in the SQ system, but they weren't going to carry you.

USDM probably issues 10s of thousands of tickets a day. One ticket number not pushing to another system doesn't happen very often, but when it does it can have a major impact.

most recently a friend changed a TG ticket. TG had no ticket numbers for the new flights. They found out three days before departure. thankfully TG hadn't autocancelled.

 

[legroom]

no. a reservation code does not mean you are good to go.

all it means is that the airline has a reservation for you.

unless the reservation is paid for it will be cancelled. That can happen right up till departure time and you'll be none the wiser. Yuo could even have selected seats and booked the cook. All of which mean nothing.

the airline carrying you must have a ticket number against the booking.

there are some airlines you really do want to check to make sure they have ticket numbers... SQ, OZ, TG are three that come to mind.

I'm rather confused by all this.

I was advised by TG after they was told of my (TG) booking code (which was obtained by USDM e-ticket number) that (i) it was an already paid for USDM Award booking and (ii) 'no, there is no separate TG ticket number' and finally (iii) 'everything is in order'.

I am not digging further.

Sure, babysitting it I will.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'm rather confused by all this.

I was advised by TG after they was told of my (TG) booking code (which was obtained by USDM e-ticket number) that (i) it was an already paid for USDM Award booking and (ii) 'no, there is no separate TG ticket number' and finally (iii) 'everything is in order'.

I am not digging further.

Sure, babysitting it I will.

there is no separate TG ticket number.

there is a single USDM ticket number (beginning with 037), which should appear in the TG reservation. (this is the same as when QFFF issues an award on say CX, the ticket stock will be that of QF, ie 081)

if TG can't read back the ticket number you need to ask why. Either (a) they can't see it or (b) they're just being difficult for no reason.

(a) is a problem. (b) is annoying (but I've never had an airline refuse to read a ticket number)

there are other sources now to check the ticket number is against a booking. This has not always been the case though. So these days if you can retrieve your reservation and see the ticket number then it will be ok.

 

[get me outta here]

There is a slight confusion in that TG call it a 'document' number beginning w' 037 - .... They may save everyone a lot of work if they referred to it as a tkt number for a start.

 

[ferni]

I've always just emailed Thai saying "Can you please confirm what eticket number you have against my booking with reservation code ABC123 for Mr ferni" and they have always replied with it, I then check it against what USDM website tells me and all good. From memory Thai is always missing the last number on the e-ticket number they provide me, otherwise it matches.

Also if you ever have to make any changes forced or unforced that involves new flights then you need to get it reticketed by USDM, go through the above process again to make sure they have the new ticket number.

 

[get me outta here]

I emailed TG on 01 Apri w' the same question as ferni and here's the reply I got:

"you need to request your electronic ticket details from your booking office.
We cannot generate information to you as we are not the booking or ticketing office.
Regards,

Maria
Thai Airways International


Last night I called USDM yet again to clarify this etkt question. He was completely flummoxed on what and why I needed an etkt and told me to look at the 037 - ..... number and told me that was all I needed.

I've always just emailed Thai saying "Can you please confirm what eticket number you have against my booking with reservation code ABC123 for Mr ferni" and they have always replied with it, I then check it against what USDM website tells me and all good. From memory Thai is always missing the last number on the e-ticket number they provide me, otherwise it matches.

Also if you ever have to make any changes forced or unforced that involves new flights then you need to get it reticketed by USDM, go through the above process again to make sure they have the new ticket number.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I emailed TG on 01 Apri w' the same question as ferni and here's the reply I got:

"you need to request your electronic ticket details from your booking office.
We cannot generate information to you as we are not the booking or ticketing office.
Regards,

Maria
Thai Airways International


Last night I called USDM yet again to clarify this etkt question. He was completely flummoxed on what and why I needed an etkt and told me to look at the 037 - ..... number and told me that was all I needed.

US airways will always have a ticket number. but that doesn't mean TG has it. and that's where potential problems come in.

its no good having the US ticket number unless you confirm through other means that TG (and any other partner airline) also has it.

you can either do that on line, or by calling.

(as for the missing digit... that's a coupon number)

 

[ferni]

US airways will always have a ticket number. but that doesn't mean TG has it. and that's where potential problems come in.

its no good having the US ticket number unless you confirm through other means that TG (and any other partner airline) also has it.

you can either do that on line, or by calling.

(as for the missing digit... that's a coupon number)

Whats a coupon number?

@get me outta here: Try emailing a different Thai Office (there are plenty of them!) doesn't have to be your local one or Bangkok

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Whats a coupon number?

quoting KVS it's actually this:

The format is, actually, X xx_ xx_xx_xx_X X. The first digit is the coupon number (1-4). This is followed by the numeric airline code (3 digits), the document number (10 digits), and the check digit.

 

[hummel]

FWIW I emailed Thai Melbourne asking if everything is confirmed and they have a ticket number against the booking. And they said all is good to travel.

 

[stueyjones]

Hands up, I recall saying the move to oneworld might be a good thing for us, based on the ability to move around Australia to find routes out. I totally take it back.
Been looking for routes to Europe stopping off in Asia (bkk). Can get bkk to lhr, lhr to hkg, and hkg to bne (my home town). Can I get out of Australia (31/5 in j or above)? Can I buggery. Nothing. Anywhere.

Oh how I miss the ease of tg. I never knew quite how good we had it!!