Free registration is required to read the article. “Everybody mutters darkly about the difficulty of redeeming frequent flier miles for free travel. Long telephone sessions trying to pin down that elusive seat are typical, and sometimes the experience is almost as frustrating for the airline agent as for the customer.

Well, here is a little good news. Soon it will be easier to find out what is available in the murky realm of frequent flier travel redemption. This is not to say that airlines are suddenly tossing rows and rows of free seats into the mileage lottery. But because of new technology, it will be more convenient to go online, view the options and claim a seat.

Continental Airlines is hoping to lead the way. To retool its online travel-award search engine, it turned to ITA Software, the company behind the booking tool on the travel site Orbitz and on airline and other third-party travel sites.”