Flights
Getting a dozen people to a city on the right day is most of the job. This page covers where flights live, the two ways to get one into the system, and what your staff can and cannot see.
Where flights live
Open an event and press the Travel tab. That is where flights, ground transport, and rental cars for that event all sit together.
There is no tab called “Flights”. It used to be called that, so the web address still says /flights, but the tab reads Travel.
There is also a Travel page in the left menu. That one is the whole-season view — Cross-event booking status and at-risk items. Use it to see everything still outstanding without opening events one at a time.
The roster
The main part of the Travel tab is headed Roster, with a line telling you how many active assignments there are. Under each person you will see two slots — Inbound and Outbound — plus an Arrive by time worked out from the event’s brief start.
Three small buttons switch how the roster is grouped:
- By staff — every person’s flights.
- Arriving — grouped by the car to the event.
- Departing — grouped by the car home.
When you are within about four weeks of the event, a line appears at the top: N flights still unbooked with N days to go — you’re inside the booking window, and fares usually climb from here.
Further out it reads The sweet spot for booking opens about four weeks before the event. Treat both as a nudge, not a rule.
Add a flight
There are two ways, and the second is much faster.
Paste the confirmation email
- Find the person and the leg
On the Roster, find the person, then their Inbound or Outbound slot. Press Add flight.
- Switch to Paste confirmation
The box that opens has two tabs: Manual entry and Paste confirmation. Choose Paste confirmation.
- Paste the whole email
Copy the airline’s confirmation email and paste it in. Plain text or the formatted version — it does not matter. Press Parse with AI.
- Check what it filled in
The form fills itself and says Filled from confirmation email. Read the fields, fix anything odd, then press Add flight.
If the confirmation is for a different person, you get a warning naming both people. You can still save it — just make sure it is on the right person.
Type it in by hand
Choose Manual entry in the same box. The fields are:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Airline | |
| Flight # | |
| Origin | Required. The three-letter airport code |
| Destination | Required |
| Departs | Date and time |
| Arrives | Date and time |
| Confirmation # | |
| Cost (USD) | |
| Status | Not booked, Booked, Confirmed, or Conflict |
Press Add flight to save, or Save changes if you are editing one.
When somebody does not need a flight
Some people drive, or live in town. In their flight slot, turn on the No flight needed switch. It explains itself: Drives, local, or otherwise covered. That stops them showing up on your unbooked list.
Let it find flights for you
Press Suggest flights at the top of the roster. A box headed Flight suggestions searches real fares for everyone on the event and shows you options.
Press Apply on any option to put it on that person’s assignment.
Suggest flights is hidden until the event has a destination airport set and at least one person assigned. If you cannot see it, check the event’s airport first.
Removing a flight
Open the flight and press Remove. You are asked Remove inbound flight? and told: This clears the flight from this assignment. If you have the confirmation email, you can re-enter it later.
Removing a flight here does not cancel it with the airline. That is still your phone call.
Who can see what
Flight costs are visible to admins and coordinators. They are not visible to staff — not in their portal, and not through any other route. This is enforced in the system itself, not just hidden on screen.
And it is worth knowing the other half of that:
Today, a staff member’s portal shows their venue, hotel, room, load-in and load-out times, and on-site contact — but not their airline, flight number, times, or confirmation number.
So keep sending your people their itinerary the way you do now. Do not assume they can look it up themselves.
Flight credits
When a flight gets cancelled, the airline usually hands back a credit. Those get lost in inboxes. Record them instead.
On the Travel page in the left menu there is a section headed Flight credits, with an Add credit button.
- Press Add credit
The box is titled Record flight credit.
- Say who it belongs to
Belongs to — either a specific person, or leave it company-wide so anyone can use it.
- Fill in the money and the deadline
Airline, Amount (USD), Expires, and Deadline means — either Book by this date or Travel by this date. Airlines mean different things by “expires”, so this matters.
Add the Confirmation # and any Redemption fee (USD).
- Set the two switches
Transferable — The airline lets someone else fly on this credit.
Single use — Any leftover value is forfeited after one booking. Turn it off if the airline keeps the remainder usable.
Credits show badges telling you where they stand: Expiring soon, Transferable, Used, Expired.
Once a credit is on file, it surfaces automatically when you are booking a flight for that person, and when Herding Cats is suggesting who to put on a roster. You do not have to remember it exists.
If you have a pile of vouchers, use Import flight credits — it reads a voucher email, an unused-ticket list, or a travel-bank statement and turns it into tracked credits. Nothing saves until you press Import {number} credits.
What to do next
- Hotels and rooming — where everyone sleeps.
- Ground and freight — cars, rides, and the truck.