The idea of flying in economy = making my wife cry and making me want to take some kind of action. Yeah, right, I would bawl my eyes out at the idea of flying in Economy.
Award tickets are simply award tickets that are subject to availability. TG cancelled its flight and UA tried its best to accommodate you.
Just keep calling OR you can always get the KVS Software. It has done wonders for me and I was able to book a crazy trip through the Middle East (Cairo, Riyadh, Istanbul) and through Europe (Amsterdam, Warsaw, Bucharest) for only 105k all in Business Class. KVS can really help you with the creative routing.