Last summer my husband and I went to Paris on July 24. My husband used his USAir Dividend Miles for a free round trip ticket. We made our arrangements on Nov. 1 and had no trouble getting the date we wanted.
This year we have enough for each of us to get a ticket to Europe, so he called yesterday to make reservations to Munich. The clerk told
him that USAir was concerned about "revenue enhancement" June-August and has not designated any coach seats for Dividend Miles Awards. She said there was one seat available in Envoy per flight. She suggested checking
back after Thanksgiving to see if there were any change.
Questions: What is the likelihood that there will be any seats available after Thanksgiving?
What is the likelihood we will ever be able to use our Dividend Miles, considering my vacation time is always in the summer?
I'm sure there are many others in the same boat (or should I say plane?) who would be interested in any insights you might have.

Allison, first of all welcome to FT!

I am not too familiar with US's award booking. I have only used 40k for a domestic trip and I had no problems. Also this is the first time that this has come up on the boards that I can remember.

I may suggest to call back and try again. Although this may seem tedious, it is very possible that another booking reservationist may give a completely different answer and allow for your planned travels. Just a thought!

Would flying to Frankfurt be a big inconvenience? With three flights a day, award redemption might be less problematic.
Rail in Germany is fairly good (albeit expensive) and the connections from Frankfurt Airport station tend to be pretty convenient.

Just some food for thought.
Yonatan

I see you are from Gottingen. My husband and I enjoyed a night's stay in your city on a trip we took along the Fairy Tale Road. This time our destination is Vienna, so leaving from Frankfurt would certainly add miles to our journey, but it is something to consider. Thanks for the suggestion.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Allison Williams:
[B]

My husband tells me there was nothing available from Frankfurt either; he has already tried that approach.

Why burn up FF miles with low fares like this offered??? Just a thought...

TRAVEL TO PARIS, FRANKFURT AND MUNICH
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You may depart on Mondays through Thursdays, from November 6 through 16, 2000.
Return travel is Mondays through Fridays, from November 13 through 24, 2000.
Travel is not permitted to Paris on November 6 and not permitted to Munich on
November 16. Travel is not permitted from Munich on November 13. Saturday
night stay is required.

You can purchase these fares through usairways.com. To make your reservations
online, please visit our web site at http://www.usairways.com

Tickets must be purchased by November 9, 2000.

To make your reservations online, please visit our web site at http://www.usairways.com and look for the VSAV-type fare code.

Roundtrip Fares Departing From BOSTON, MA To
--------------------------------------------------
$315 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$315 MUNICH, GERMANY
$315 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE

Roundtrip Fares Departing From CHARLOTTE, NC To
--------------------------------------------------
$315 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$315 MUNICH, GERMANY
$315 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE

Roundtrip Fares Departing From KANSAS CITY, MO To
--------------------------------------------------
$355 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$355 MUNICH, GERMANY
$355 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE

Roundtrip Fares Departing From LOS ANGELES, CA To
--------------------------------------------------
$395 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$395 MUNICH, GERMANY
$395 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE

Roundtrip Fares Departing From NEWARK, NJ To
--------------------------------------------------
$315 FRANKFURT, GERMANY

Roundtrip Fares Departing From PHILADELPHIA, PA To
--------------------------------------------------
$315 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$315 MUNICH, GERMANY
$315 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE

Roundtrip Fares Departing From PITTSBURGH, PA To
--------------------------------------------------
$315 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$315 MUNICH, GERMANY
$315 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE

Roundtrip Fares Departing From PROVIDENCE, RI To
--------------------------------------------------
$325 FRANKFURT, GERMANY

Roundtrip Fares Departing From RICHMOND, VA To
--------------------------------------------------
$355 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$355 MUNICH, GERMANY

Roundtrip Fares Departing From ROCHESTER, NY To
--------------------------------------------------
$325 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$325 MUNICH, GERMANY
$325 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE

Roundtrip Fares Departing From SAN FRANCISCO, CA To
--------------------------------------------------
$395 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$395 MUNICH, GERMANY
$395 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE

Roundtrip Fares Departing From SEATTLE/TACOMA, WA To
--------------------------------------------------
$395 FRANKFURT, GERMANY

Roundtrip Fares Departing From WASHINGTON, DC -- NATIONAL To
--------------------------------------------------
$305 FRANKFURT, GERMANY
$305 PARIS, FRANCE -- DE GAULLE


Fares shown are based on roundtrip travel on US Airways during the period
specified above. Depending upon your travel needs, alternative routings may
be available at the same fares, with part of the service on MetroJet by
US Airways or a regional aircraft operated by US Airways Express carriers
Allegheny, Air Midwest, CCAIR, Chautauqua, Colgan, CommutAir, Mesa, Piedmont,
PSA.

For travel, call TOLL FREE 1-888-FLY-E-SAVERS or
1-888-359-3728 and request one of the E-Savers listed above.
To make your reservations online, please visit our web site at http://www.usairways.com

Please note: Online booking bonus does not apply to E-Savers.

E-SAVERS FARE REQUIREMENTS: Fares shown are based on roundtrip travel on
US Airways/US Airways Express, during the period specified above. Roundtrip
purchase required. One-way travel, stopovers, wait-listing, standbys are
not permitted. Travel must begin and end in the same city. Tickets become
nonrefundable 24 hours after making an initial reservation, however changes
may be made for a minimum $150 fee, provided changes are within the allowable
days of travel and seats are available. Reservations must be made in advance
of travel. Tickets must be purchased at time of reservation. Fares do not
include $3-$12 airport passenger facility charges, where applicable. Fares
are valid to Paris, Frankfurt and Munich 11/6-11/16/00 and from Paris, Frankfurt
and Munich 11/13-11/24/00, except for the following blackout dates:
Travel is not permitted to Paris on 11/6/00 and not permitted to Munich on
11/16/00. Travel is not permitted from Munich on 11/13/00. All travel must be
completed by 11/24/00. Tickets must be purchased by 11/9/00. Seats are
limited and are not available on all flights/days. Fares cannot be combined
with other fares, discounts, promotions or coupons. Fares will not be honored
retroactively or in conjunction with the exchange of any partially used ticket.
Other restrictions apply. Fares shown do not include
total taxes/fees/surcharges of up to $90 depending on destination.

Unfortunately as a teacher my vacation time is restricted to the peak travel seasons.

Munich definitely would be most convenient for Vienna...
One other option I can suggest would be to redeem the tickets to London and then take advantage of one of the "cheapo" airlines based there to get to your final destination (or close to it). This would most likely require a transfer to Stanstead or Luton. I have done it once before when airfare on US to LGW was significantly less than to FRA - a lot less than the 37GBP ttl. (about $60) that it cost me to fly Ryanair r/t between STN and Germany. Some of the fares these airlines offer are so low that it may cost less than a transfer from Munich to Vienna.
I think Buzz (www.buzzaway.com) is currently the only discount airline that offers flights to Vienna. Other such airlines that fly to the Continent are Easyjet, Ryanair, go (www.gofly.com) and Virgin Express. Unfortunately I don´t think any of them have posted fares yet for the summer.
These airlines have also forced the "regular" airlines to maintain reasonable fares on the routes on which they compete, so you may even be able to get a flight direct from Gatwick.

Just some food for thought.
Yonatan
P.S. - very impressed that you know Goettingen. Most Americans, regardless of education (including myself until about a year before I came here) have no idea where it is.

Unfortunately, US Airways serves MUC only once a day from PHL. And with a 203 seat 767. FF seats in Envoy will be tough on that route during the summer.

FRA, on the other hand, is served 3 times a day (PHL, CLT, and PIT) and will be all A-330 service by this summer when you want to travel. Not as convenient, but lots of seats.

good luck.