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- Newsgroups: rec.travel,rec.travel.air,rec.answers,news.answers,alt.internet.services,alt.answers
- Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!news.kei.com!world!iecc!johnl
- From: john@iecc.com (John R. Levine)
- Subject: Eaasy Sabre, OAG, and other on-line airline information FAQ
- Message-ID: <sabre-199416@iecc.com>
- Followup-To: rec.travel.air
- Summary: access to on-line airline schedules, fares, and reservations (weekly)
- Sender: johnl@chico.iecc.com (John R Levine)
- Supersedes: <sabre-199415@iecc.com>
- Organization: I.E.C.C., Cambridge MA
- Date: Sun, 17 Apr 1994 12:15:04 GMT
- Approved: johnl@iecc.com
- Lines: 121
- Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu rec.travel:39341 rec.travel.air:14981 rec.answers:4937 news.answers:18170 alt.internet.services:20457 alt.answers:2454
-
- Archive-name: travel/air/online-info
- Last-modified: 1994/02/28
-
- [[ This Q&A is a response to a flood of questions about access to Eaasy Sabre
- and the like. Suggestions for improvement welcome.]]
-
- * Is there a way to get airline schedules on the Internet for free?
-
- The short answer is no. The longer answer is maybe, kind of. See below.
-
- * Is there a way to get airline schedules on the Internet if I pay for it?
-
- Definitely. See below.
-
- * What reservation systems are available?
-
- There are three computer reservation systems available to the general public:
-
- EAASY SABRE: Run by American Airlines, lets you check fares and schedules
- on all airlines with computerized reservations (all but the most obscure),
- and make reservations for yourself and others. Tickets can be sent by
- mail, issued by airlines at the airport or city ticket offices, or by any
- travel agent with a Sabre terminal, which is nearly all agents in the U.S.
- You can keep a lot of profile info on-line such as frequent flyer numbers
- and meal and seat preferences which are automatically inserted into
- reservations you make for yourself. Your ID is your AAdvantage frequent
- flyer number. Official Recreation Guide available at extra cost. Line
- oriented command language, e.g. to ask for flights from Boston to San
- Francisco on July 4 around noon:
-
- /AIR,BOS,SFO,4JUL,1200
-
- It will prompt you field by field if you don't know all the parameters.
-
- Travelshopper: Run by Worldspan (formerly PARS), which is Delta, Northwest
- and TWA, similar features to Eaasy. Interface is a little clunkier, but
- there are some features not available on Eaasy such as open date tickets,
- and experienced users can type through menus faster. Same ticketing
- options, but fewer agents have Worldspan terminals. No travel club, less
- detailed profile. Line oriented command language with optional prompts,
- same query as above would be:
-
- A;BOS;SFO;4JUL;12n;1
-
- The 1 means one person travelling.
-
- ON-LINE OFFICIAL AIRLINE GUIDE: Similar data and commands to the other
- two. It used to be better than Sabre and Travelshopper, but now
- everyone's updated in near real-time. Lots of other random stuff, e.g.
- frequent flyer newsletter and flight departure and arrival info (they can
- show you the contents of the flight info TV screens from some airports.)
- Airlines and a few agencies can issue tickets.
-
- * Are these the same systems that travel agents use?
-
- The underlying data are the same, but the interface is different. Some
- data are visible to agents, but not to these systems. A good way to work
- is to make the best reservation you can on-line, then call a travel agent,
- tell him what you've reserved, and see if he can do better.
-
- * How do I get access to them?
-
- [[These lists aren't complete. Please send updates]]
-
- Eaasy and Travelshopper are only available via gateway systems, OAG
- directly or via gateways.
-
- Eaasy Sabre: GEnie, Compuserve, Delphi, Prodigy, AOL, NVN.
- PARS Travelshopper: Compuserve, Delphi.
- OAG: Direct subscription, Delphi, Compuserve, GEnie, Dow Jones News Retrieval,
- AT&T InterSpan.
-
- Telnet to Delphi: delphi.com, no surcharge.
- Telnet to OAG: hermes.merit.edu via Sprintnet, no surcharge.
- Telnet to Compuserve: hermes.merit.edu via Sprintnet, hourly surcharge, in
- the near future direct telnet to compuserve.com should work.
-
- Compuserve has a front-end program called CIM which runs under Windows
- and can make access and navigation somewhat simpler.
-
- For dial-in access, Delphi is on Sprintnet and Tymnet, no surcharge nights
- and weekends. Compuserve has its own extensive network, or is available
- via Sprintnet at a surcharge. OAG is on Sprintnet and Tymnet, no surcharge.
-
- * How much do they cost?
-
- Eaasy and PARS are available at the base rate for all of the on-line
- services that offer them.
-
- Delphi offers a five-hour free trial when you sign up; you can use PARS
- and Eaasy during that time.
-
- Gateway systems charge a substantial surcharge for the OAG, e.g. Delphi
- charges 59 cents/min peak, 42 cents/min off-peak. A direct subscription
- to the OAG (call 800-323-3537) is much cheaper, per-minute rates are lower
- than the surcharge. [[ what's the extension number to waive the signup
- fee?]] If you subscribe directly, the OAG waives session charges if you
- make or cancel a reservation during the session. The OAG has no monthly
- minimum, which is good for occasional users.
-
- * What about on-line travel agents and clubs?
-
- Eaasy Sabre offers Traveller's Access, run by Comp-U-Card which for $39/yr
- rebates 5% on air, hotel, and car rentals for you and family members that
- they've ticketed for you and family members when you send in receipts. In
- my experience, their agents are not very good.
-
- Travel-by-Modem (travel@delphi.com), is run by a small company in Belmont,
- Mass., primary access via Delphi, but Internet e-mail is fine, too. Costs
- $39/yr, sliding rebate on tickets depending on price and how delivered.
- Don't have to send in receipts, they mail a check quarterly. Lots of
- useful coupons and discounts. I like them.
-
- Compass Point Travel (bert@cptravel.com) is a full service agency that
- welcomes Internet customers.
-
- [[ I know there are others, tell me about them and I'll add them ]]
- --
- John R. Levine, IECC, POB 349, Cambridge MA 02238, +1 617 492 3869
- johnl@iecc.com, jlevine@delphi.com, 1037498@mcimail.com
- "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - MIT econ professor
-