Subject: Eaasy Sabre, OAG, and other on-line airline information FAQ Newsgroups: rec.travel.misc,rec.travel.air,rec.answers,news.answers,alt.internet.services,alt.answers From: john@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Date: Sun, 20 Nov 1994 13:15:09 GMT Archive-name: travel/air/online-info Last-modified: 1994/11/01 [[ 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? Yes, finally, but the longer answer is more complicated. See below. * Is there a way to get airline schedules on the Internet if I pay for it? Definitely. See below. * What's available for free? PC Travel is an on-line travel agency that lets you telnet in, check fares and schedules, and make reservations. Credit card number required to check fares and make reservations, but they won't issue tickets or charge you until you specifically say to do so. Data come from APOLLO, the United Airlines reservation system. Tickets are issued through PC Travel, paying with a credit card, generally delivered the next day by FedEx. I find it relatively slow and clunky compared to Eaasy Sabre, but considering that it's free, it's great. Telnet to pctravel.com. * What other 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? Eaasy and Travelshopper are only available via gateway systems, OAG directly or via gateways. Eaasy Sabre: GEnie, Compuserve, Delphi, Prodigy, AOL, eWorld 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: oag.com, no surcharge. Telnet to Compuserve: compuserve.com, hostname CIS. AOL: experimental MacTCP and Winsock software available from FTP.AOL.COM Compuserve has a front-end program called CIM which runs under Windows and can make access and navigation somewhat simpler, is only intended for direct dialup use, not via telnet. A program called COMt, available at ftp://ftp.std.com:/customers/software/rfdmail/comt.zip, makes a Telnet connection look enough like a dialup port to make CIM work. 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 except for Prodigy. Delphi offers a five-hour free trial when you sign up; you can use PARS and Eaasy during that time. AOL also usually offers a free trial period. 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 is much cheaper, per-minute rates are lower than the surcharge. Call 800-342-5624, ext Q714 for a 15 day free trial, $25 signup if you continue. 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. * Isn't there anything available without signing up? Canadian Airlines has an experimental WWW server with schedule info. You get to it using a WWW browser that supports forms such Mosaic. The URL is http://www.cdnair.ca. Lufthansa has some info at the Electronic Newstand, gopher to enews.com or telnet to enews.com, login enews. * What about on-line travel agents and clubs? Eaasy Sabre offers Traveller's Access, run by Comp-U-Card which for $49/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 , 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. Rebates mailed automatically quarterly. Lots of useful coupons and discounts. That's the agency I use. Compass Point Travel is a full service agency that welcomes Internet customers. Stephanie Alford is a full service travel agent who welcomes Internet customers. Edward Hasbrouck at Travel Time, San Francisco around-the-world specialists; also other discounted international tickets; NOT a general-purpose, corporate, or domestic travel agency. The Travel Tree is a full service travel agency that welcomes Internet customers. They use consolidators and offer discounts. For more information send email with the subject of "info" to tree@io.com. Jason Chase represents Hotels Plus which offers discounted hotels world wide and discounted rental cars in Euurope. Internet users get a 10% discount. WWW at file://ftp.netcom.com/pub/jchase/html/info.html. Dave DeVore represents the Star Travel Club of Let's Go Travel in Portland OR. They offer a no-fee rebate travel club as well as discounted consolidator tickets and tours. Lloyd Colston is an outside sales agent for Integra Travel in Cincinnati, OH. The agency is a general travel agency which offers complete service for both domestic and international trips. Germantown Travel in Germantown Md is a full service airline ticket agency suppling information and discounted tickets for domestic and international travel. Travel World is a full-service Carlson Travel Network Agency also offering tours and colsolidator tickets. Prices are competitive. Leigh Ann Hildebrand-Chupp is an outside agent with Ambassador World Travel in Atlanta, specializing in travel for special interest groups, including the leather community. She offers a free bi-weekly email travel newsletter. Dave Rose at Planet Travel <73632.3401@compuserve.com> or is a full service travel agency for the Gay and Lesbian community. AOI Travel offers air travel and Eurail services, and discount air to Europe. They have a WWW site with travel information at http://xmission.com/~aoi. Mike Espinosa is a travel outfitter, specializing in trips to south and southeast Asia, including consolidator tickets for Asian airlines. Roberto Torrini of Interpro Travel Service of Laguna Niguel, CA is a full service bilingual agency specializing in trips and tours to Italy for individuals, families, and groups. Jack Diem at Blue Skies Travel Agency, in Brea, CA. He specializes in Mexico and the Pacific. CTM Travel in Coral Springs FL welcomes business from the Internet. AESU Travel in Baltimore operates tours to Europe for 18-35 year olds and is also airticket consolidators (Europe only). WWW page is http://www.charm.net/~aesu/ [[ 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 "Space aliens are stealing American jobs." - Stanford econ prof