Lookup request

[StevePER]

I would like to ask a favour. I'm looking for fares for travelling around South America in November. I've found one that sounds pretty good on ITA but I suspect that it's not giving me all the details. Could someone try looking this fare up on Expertflyer for me? If it gives more useful info than ITA I'll get a subscription (I've only had a basic subscription before so I'm not sure what to expect from the fare rules.)

On ITA I'm searching for BUE-RIO on November 2, returning November 9 and it's giving A$167.30 on AR, fare SPROMBR (which is actually a BUE-SAO fare that allows a stopover).

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Dave Noble]

You should have a PM

Dave

 

[StevePER]

Thanks Dave, the info provided by ExpertFlyer is very similar to ITA.

 

[serfty]

Expertflyer does provide routings for that fare where ITA does not appear to:

MPM FARE - ROUTE NOT APPLICABLE
MAXIMUM PERMITTED MILEAGE IS 1267

 

[StevePER]

OK, that info must be separate from the fare rules. This is the sort of thing that I am looking for, so a subscription is probably a good investment. I will try it out tonight.

So how does the MPM restriction work? Given EZE-GIG-GRU is 1450mi, is EZE-GIG-GRU-EZE (2519mi total) valid? ITA suggests that it is.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[serfty]

MPM Definition

Maximum Permitted Mileages (MPM) reflect the distance limit between two specified international points within which passengers can travel at the direct fare, provided that the sum of ticketed point mileage distance is not exceeded

GCM shows SDU-GIG as 1240m and sdu-cgh, gru-eze as 1297 so, I dunno. Even on an each way basis, the return is out of range.

Maybe there's a bonus for the ~18mile CGH/GRU transfer at SAO ("Note: You must change airports in Sao Paulo between Sao Paulo Congonhas (CGH) and Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU).")

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Normally MPM is expressed each way. But the test of allowed mileage is also done each way. For example suppose fare rule allowed MPM of 1000 miles. If doing round trip you couldn't have 1300 one way and 700 the other. Despite the total being 2000 miles = 2* MPM, the 1300 miles exceeds the MPM and not allowed.

Complicating matters, paid fares can exceed MPM (subject to routing, carrier restrictions etc) with a surcharge payable in increments of 5% up to (IIRC) 20% (or is it 25%?). So if 7% over MPM you can pay a 10% surcharge on the fare.

Awards that are MPM based (eg UA mileage plus) do not allow any extra mileage for a surcharge.

 

[StevePER]

Eek! This is getting complicated. EZE-GIG-GRU is 14% over the MPM but the base fare is only US$76 so that would make it about $10 extra. Not too bad. It seems I'll have to visit a travel agent for this trip... hopefully I can find someone competent.

 

[serfty]

... Complicating matters, paid fares can exceed MPM (subject to routing, carrier restrictions etc) with a surcharge payable in increments of 5% up to (IIRC) 20% (or is it 25%?). So if 7% over MPM you can pay a 10% surcharge on the fare. ...

Its up to 25%.


Here's a good dissertation from FlyerTalk's virtualtroy (in relation to one way YY fares but you'll get the drift).

YY fare discussion.

 

[serfty]

Eek! This is getting complicated. EZE-GIG-GRU is 14% over the MPM but the base fare is only US$76 so that would make it about $10 extra. Not too bad. It seems I'll have to visit a travel agent for this trip... hopefully I can find someone competent.

From what I can see, it's a direct flight EZE-GIG @1238 miles to get there. That is under the 1267 max. There is a two segment return from a different airport (SDU-CGH, GRU-EZE) for 1291 miles. (Note, you have to change airports in Sao Paulo)

Perhaps this fare is valid as the total distance (2529) is under 2x the 1267 MPM (2534m).

 

[StevePER]

From what I can see, it's a direct flight EZE-GIG @1238 miles to get there. That is under the 1267 max. There is a two segment return from a different airport (SDU-CGH, GRU-EZE) for 1291 miles. (Note, you have to change airports in Sao Paulo)

But the fare is to Sao Paulo, so I think it should be the EZE-GIG/SDU-CGH distance that is relevant for the first leg. The return leg doesn't bother me - I'm really just looking for the cheapest way to fly to RIO.

Perhaps this fare is valid as the total distance (2529) is under 2x the 1267 MPM (2534m).

I think that's what's happening, but whether this is valid or not I haven't worked out yet.