Aer Lingus reward flight availability

[TreborMint]

Hi, hoping someone here might have some insight or suggested actions. I often travel LHR-ORK return on an Avios Reward Flight redemption. I check availability on Avios.com and availability is always great.

Now when I look there are no ORK-LHR flights available AT ALL from 1st October to 10th November, then only the late afternoon flight each day from 11th Nov to 16th Dec, then it goes back to the great availability I’m used to from 17th Dec.

This is so weird I can only assume the flights haven’t been loaded up into Avios correctly, experience tells me no way have all the seats gone. It seemed to be very similar when last week I checked for EI flights DUB-LHR over the same period, when only BA reward flights were showing. No EI availability.

Tried Avios live chat to see what’s going on but they just say no seats available, and they can’t see if any reward seats were ever available and have been taken.

Any idea what’s going on here, and who I could contact to try to get a reward seat on this usually very available route?! Many thanks in advance for your help.

[NorthernLass]

I don’t know if it’s linked but something really odd seemed to happen with EI award availability around the same time as they came on board with the 241 BAPP voucher. Whenever I search for avios seats from MAN, e.g. to JFK, I get 13k avios plus £444 in economy, one way, which is just crazy! “Taxes” used to be about £150 on this route, so maybe partnering up with BA broke their IT (if it’s anything like BA!)

[TreborMint]

I agree, something has definitely broken the system. I checked DUB-LHR again after I posted. EI reward flights show on Avios.com until 30th Sept, then it’s only BA flights listed from 1st October until 10th November, after which the EI flights come back into the pot and can be booked (as is the case with ORK-LHR).

Most frustrating as this is how I spend my Avios, and we need to make a booking for 3rd Oct. Avios live chat don’t know anything, spoke to Aer Club on the phone and it was “speak to Avios”. I’m certain this is a glitch and don’t know who I can speak to who might be interested in looking into / fixing it.

Am loathe to make the cash booking when my gut is the reward seats aren’t taken, they just haven’t been loaded correctly for possibly all EI flights during this period!