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Jul 21, 2019 | 5:06 pm
#1
mridley2
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM. 1MM
Posts: 2,129
We're sorry. The fare for the flights you selected just sold out. Please search again
Hey everyone
I have not seen this in a long time. woah boy. here goes. I'm trying to book a flight JFK-XXX-DPS next February. The flight is on Delta, Garuda and Virgina Australia metal. so 3 airlines all delta partners. Price is $853. Delta.com shows the flights available and the price. it's great. But you cannot book it. Delta.com gives this error. We're sorry. The fare for the flights you selected just sold out. Please search again to view and select alternate flights.#100503R
BLAH BLAH BLAH. Ive called delta a few times this evening. multiple supervisors. No help. They all end up saying it's the partner airline that doesn't have space and we cannot do anything about that. yet the price is still up there on delta.com.
What other options do I have? I will file a complaint with the FAA for false advertising and deceptive pricing. What else can I do? I guess I'll go to Bali another time. le sigh.
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Jul 21, 2019 | 5:33 pm
#2
Duke787
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,269
Have you tried any OTAs? See if Expedia or Orbitz can ticket it
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Jul 21, 2019 | 5:34 pm
#3
Weekend Away
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: Skymiles Gold
Posts: 705
Are you willing to fly MU? I routinely see that route for around $450. I've flown them JFK-PVG-XYZ several times now and can't complain much about the seats/services.
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Jul 21, 2019 | 5:39 pm
#4
TheHorta
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: HSV
Programs: Bellevue Lifetime Premiere Mega Elite Supreme
Posts: 1,513
Perhaps it is your browser restrictions prohibiting the transaction. Have you tried not flying through XXX?
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Jul 21, 2019 | 5:53 pm
#5
moondog
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 45,327
Apart from MU, CX, SQ, CI, BR, and JL fly JFK-DPS on their own metal with reasonable connections
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Jul 21, 2019 | 6:25 pm
#6
Duke787
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,269
Originally Posted by Duke787
Have you tried any OTAs? See if Expedia or Orbitz can ticket it
FYI I can get EWR - DTW - ICN - DPS (on DL / DL / KE) with return DPS - ICN - DTW - EWR (GA / DL / DL) to price out at $877 and I can get all the way to the final DL.com purchase screen
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Jul 21, 2019 | 8:38 pm
#7
xliioper
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 25,623
Did you initially search on delta.com, or did you first use ITA Matrix, Google Flights, or other third party fare search to bring it up on delta.com.
Last edited by xliioper; Jul 21, 2019 at 8:45 pm
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Jul 21, 2019 | 9:32 pm
#8
mridley2
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM. 1MM
Posts: 2,129
Originally Posted by Duke787
FYI I can get EWR - DTW - ICN - DPS (on DL / DL / KE) with return DPS - ICN - DTW - EWR (GA / DL / DL) to price out at $877 and I can get all the way to the final DL.com purchase screen
Yes. but click the purchase button. That is when you get the error.
yes I tried Expedia, etc. they actually do not show the flights I see at the same price, even google matrix does not have the flight.
but delta.com. Where i started my search. still has these flights at $853.
btw the XXX is no issue. to be specific. I'm trying to book JFK-ATL-ICN-DPS (DL,DL,Garuda Idonesia) and the return is DPS-SYD-LAX-JFK (Virgin Australia, DL,DL)
on another call a supervisor called the Virgin Australia ticket desk and they claimed the issue was Virgin Australia would not ticket the flights because there were more than 2 partner airlines involved. Maybe that is true. but it should not be my problem. I could not find any agent on delta to manually ticket this itinerary. even the global ticket desk could not do anything.
GRR. I will keep trying. So frustrating!!
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Jul 21, 2019 | 10:01 pm
#9
Duke787
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,269
What are the dates? I would guess this has to be an end-on-end ticket? The DPS - SYD is likely what throws it off -- having flown to the region a few times over the past 18 months, I find that DL doesn't seem to permit any routings from US ---> Australia or v.v. via Asia -- which I'm guessing is where it's getting tripped up.
I have tried many many times to route SYD/MEL - ICN - XYZ (DTW / ATL / SEA) - RDU in an effort to get more miles when I've got time to come home on a more leisurely route and there is no way to get such a routing ticketed which is what makes me think a similar scenario is at play here.
So you need it make it into a multi-city so it treats DPS - SYD as a separate leg instead and presumably tap into a different set of fare rules
Try doing this as a multi-city, I can pull it up on Priceline and Virgin Australia (with DL flight numbers on all but DPS - SYD) doing the following:
NYC - DPS
DPS - SYD
SYD - NYC
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Jul 22, 2019 | 12:58 am
#10
GrayAnderson
Join Date: Jan 2014
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards (SE), Virgin America Elevate, Hyatt Gold Passport (Platinum), VIA Preference
Posts: 3,582
[MENTION=391752]mridley2[/MENTION] I don't think that routing via Grand Rapids will help.
All joking aside, as a serious question: Have you requested International Ticketing (versus "just" a supervisor)?
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Jul 22, 2019 | 1:30 am
#11
frankflieslots
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 162
perhaps you should screen shot the page and call delta. it happened to me a couple of times before, but those were all delta flights. i called the diamond number and they saw the itinerary and the fare but was not able to issue it. they put me on hold for a while and managed to secure the fare for me. good luck!
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Jul 22, 2019 | 6:45 am
#12
TerryK
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,657
Originally Posted by mridley2
..............yes I tried Expedia, etc. they actually do not show the flights I see at the same price, even google matrix does not have the flight.
but delta.com. Where i started my search. still has these flights at $853.........
Phantom availability. Delta.com shows phantom availability for many partner flights. They show as available but cannot ticket. Nothing new unfortunately. 
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Jul 22, 2019 | 7:51 am
#13
reimero
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: SkyMiles, HHonors, Marriott
Posts: 129
I've run into this as well. I called Delta (was PM at the time) and told them what was going on, and that the fare was showing available then sold out, and that when I re-attempted the search, that same fare kept coming back up. The phone rep was able to replicate the issue. After the usual platitudes of "we can't guarantee a price till you click "purchase" etc. etc." when I informed them that the old price kept coming back up and they confirmed that the price I saw was the price in the system, they did a manual override and honored the price.
Short version: if this happens, call 'em, and they'll honor the quoted price if they can replicate the issue.
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Jul 22, 2019 | 8:18 am
#14
flyerCO
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,981
Originally Posted by reimero
I've run into this as well. I called Delta (was PM at the time) and told them what was going on, and that the fare was showing available then sold out, and that when I re-attempted the search, that same fare kept coming back up. The phone rep was able to replicate the issue. After the usual platitudes of "we can't guarantee a price till you click "purchase" etc. etc." when I informed them that the old price kept coming back up and they confirmed that the price I saw was the price in the system, they did a manual override and honored the price.
Short version: if this happens, call 'em, and they'll honor the quoted price if they can replicate the issue.
Was your ticket all DL flights or did it involve OAL other than AF/KL.?
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Jul 22, 2019 | 10:10 am
#15
Often1
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,261
In any event, DL could make the sale and the ticket would still hold for as long as 72 hours for the downstream partners to confirm. If they do not, the reservation is cancelled.
Your sole recourse here is to ask DL, as you have already done, to reach out to the onwards carriers and ask them to confirm positive space. That may take a few days. The answer will likely be no and that is the end of the issue. It is your problem because DL cannot require another carrier to open (or create) space.
It has been this way for 50+ years and is as frustrating today as then. Just more self-evident online.
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