For starters: Part 1,
Part 2,
Part 3Link to "Trick-it" thread on FT, Good Luck!
Booking: "Airline's own site is usually best. It just simply won't work there most of the time, hence the need for OTAs. And some of the smaller OTAs have employees doing manual checks of their tickets, so gotta be cautious there, too." (
Moishebatchy)
See, this is precisely why booking FD's is NOT for the unwashed masses!!!
Here, let me make this nice and clear for you: when booking a FD, you CANNOT call the airline for ANY reason. You cannot call to add an infant, you cannot call to order kosher meals, you cannot call to request seats, you cannot even call to check if your flight is running on time!!!! No human eye (belonging to an airline employee) can ever see your ticket, period. If it cannot be done online, then you cannot do it at all. The risk is too great. Capische?
Oh, and as far as changes/cancellations are concerned... YOU CANNOT CANCEL A FUEL DUMP TICKET. EVER. Even if it's cancel-able online, because online cancellations are often manually reviewed by human auditors. You spent $450 on a cheap ticket to Israel and now your work schedule changed? That's too bad, you're gonna have to eat the $450 loss and let your ticket go into the garbage. If you try to cancel, your greed in saving $450 can trigger the cancellation of tens of thousands of dollars of other people's fuel-dumped tickets. Think I'm exaggerating? I've seen it happen with my own eyes.
NOW do you people understand what I mean by the "dark side of FD"?!
And NOW do you see why we don't like when the newbie, "gimme a cheap ticket to Israel!!!!" crowd gets a hold of these?! Let me tell you, when someone from that crowd gets a hold of these fares and books his family of 10 people for $4,500 total, and then they have to cancel the trip for some reason, I GUARANTEE you he will not resist the temptation to cancel and get his $4,500 back. He WILL cancel to get his money back, and he WILL get the dump killed for many other people. And THAT is a big part of why veterans don't like it when newbies get their hands on this stuff.