first
class award availability when using (and booking through) aadvantage is not the same as award availability using cathay.
i have often been told by aa that there is no first
class award availability when the cathay website shows availability for cathay miles.
Not exact matches
While
award availability in economy
class has generally improved on American Airlines and its partners over the last few years, you will have more options
when you can choose any airline to fly to your destination.
With its generous first
class award availability, they really shine
when it comes to access for families.
When searching, it's best to select Business or First
Class, even if you're primarily focused on Economy
availability, as BA's
award engine.
When I flew to Tokyo in January I had to position from London to Frankfurt to catch a JAL Business Class award flight on the 787 Dreamliner and when I had wanted to try out Cathay Pacific First Class last year I had to position from London to Zurich to catch that award flight — London isn't exactly awash with award availabil
When I flew to Tokyo in January I had to position from London to Frankfurt to catch a JAL Business
Class award flight on the 787 Dreamliner and
when I had wanted to try out Cathay Pacific First Class last year I had to position from London to Zurich to catch that award flight — London isn't exactly awash with award availabil
when I had wanted to try out Cathay Pacific First
Class last year I had to position from London to Zurich to catch that
award flight — London isn't exactly awash with
award availability.
I was doing some research for another blog post I have in mind and I came across a discrepancy between the British Airways website and Iberia's website
when it comes to Business
Class award availability.
United miles are even easier to use
when you hold the MileagePlus card, as you will have access to more economy
class award availability.
On the redemption side, the
award chart to / from Europe isn't too bad (62,500 miles for a transatlantic one - way in business
class) and you get access to much better
availability on AF / KL's own flights that
when booking with Delta.
It's worth noting that it's tougher than ever before to find first
class Star Alliance award space on Lufthansa and Swiss (see How to Deal with No More Lufthansa Advance First Class Availability), so nowadays this is most practical when planning close to departure, as Lufthansa tends to open up award space no more than three weeks
class Star Alliance
award space on Lufthansa and Swiss (see How to Deal with No More Lufthansa Advance First
Class Availability), so nowadays this is most practical when planning close to departure, as Lufthansa tends to open up award space no more than three weeks
Class Availability), so nowadays this is most practical
when planning close to departure, as Lufthansa tends to open up
award space no more than three weeks out.
Given the high fuel surcharges on British Airways, the main other competing product for first
class that actually offers
award availability, Lufthansa first
class remains the one to beat in terms of overall value,
when it comes to
award bookings to Europe.
This used to be an absolute «secret weapon»
when it comes to
award availability, given that there were often at least first and business
class award seats available.
High level airline elite status comes with many valuable perks such as free domestic first
class upgrades (
when available), elite security lines, waived fees (such as free checked bags, and free changes to
award bookings), improved
availability of
award seats, and more.
Award availability became really outstanding
when they put an Airbus A380 on the route, and the aircraft has a pretty good business
class product as well.
Conclusion: China Airlines often offers business
class tickets at much lower prices than competitors or has
award availability when there are few other choices left.