How to Check Loads on MyIDTravel

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Like it or not, you will have to use MyIDTravel in order to purchase ZED tickets. While the basic functions are self-explanatory, checking loads for your flight on MyIDTravel is far from intuitive. Look beyond the smiley faces and use this guide to learn how to check loads accurately using MyIDTravel.

Checking Loads on MyIDTravel

If MyIDTravel was real life

Don’t be fooled by the smiley faces. Most people logically assume they give you relevant planning information on a flight. But in reality, they’re useless. Instead, use this trick to check the loads:

After selecting “New Flight / Ticket” and entering your search, MyIDTravel shows you the “Flight Schedule Display.” Find your desired flight and click “Show details.” This brings up a new window showing flight details such as flight number, date, aircraft type, etc. On the bottom, you will see “Seats available.” This will be followed by a string of letters and numbers. They may seem confusing at first, but these fare codes provide a good picture of seat availability.

Using fare codes to check loads

Each letter, or fare code, represents a category of airline ticket available for purchase. The corresponding number indicates the quantity of tickets available for sale. Here are some of the most common fare codes:

• Business/first class: A, C, D, F, I, J

• Premium economy class: W

• Economy class: B, E, Y, X

Let’s look at a few examples:

This is an easy one because Southwest is a single-cabin airline. “X6” means Southwest has 6 tickets left to sell on this flight. Now, let’s look at a slightly more complicated one…

Delta flights show three fare codes: “F” for first/business, “W” for premium economy, and “Y” for economy. On this flight, there are a total of 20 tickets remaining; 2 in first, 9 in premium economy, and 9 in economy. Finally, here’s an extreme example:

Most airlines return a dizzying amount of fare classes. Take this American flight for example. Each cabin has multiple fare classes. While the sum of the numbers (2 1 1 7 7 7 7 7 7 3 6) equals 55, that does not equate to the number of open seats. Everything to the right of the first business class fare (J) is part of the business class fare bucket. Likewise, everything to the right of the first economy fare (Y) makes up the economy class fare bucket. Simply take the highest number from each bucket and add them together. So instead of 55 tickets for sale, this flight actually has 9 tickets for sale (2 in business and 7 in economy).

Caveats for checking loads on MyIDTravel

• MyIDTravel will not show a number higher than 7 or 9, depending on the airline. So a “7” or a “9” actually means “7/9 or greater.” How can you tell if 7 or 9 is max for the airline you’re using? Search for a flight a year from today and check the loads. These flights should be wide open so seeing the “7” or “9” will tell you the limit for that airline.

• Most airlines overbook flights. These numbers tell you how many tickets the airline has left to sell, but not necessarily how many seats are open.

• Transavia does not share their load information with MyIDtravel. The red frowning faces next to every one of their flights means nothing.