Asiana Club - Book now (United Saver) or wait for availability?

1st post. Please be gentle.

Headed to Phnom Penh January 2013 for missions trip and we are coordinating travel for team members from multiple departure points in USA so I'm not too flexible with days/times.

Leaving from Phoenix (PHX). Have plenty of United miles for 1st or biz. Will do return Cathay 1st with AA miles (also have 160K Avios). No good Cathay availability for outbound.

1. Business (will route to SFO for Quadra Smartium if biz) or 1st for transpacific flight?

2. OZ 739 ICN-PNH A321 is showing saver first sold out for day I need so only economy is available. I realize that particular 1st class is like domestic 1st so not a huge improvement but 5.5 hours is significant. Should I book now and keep looking for a 1st class saver to open up then call to change, wait to book, or find another outbound option with longer overall duration?

Huge thanks in advance!

1st post. Please be gentle.

Headed to Phnom Penh January 2013 for missions trip and we are coordinating travel for team members from multiple departure points in USA so I'm not too flexible with days/times.

Leaving from Phoenix (PHX). Have plenty of United miles for 1st or biz. Will do return Cathay 1st with AA miles (also have 160K Avios). No good Cathay availability for outbound.

1. Business (will route to SFO for Quadra Smartium if biz) or 1st for transpacific flight?

2. OZ 739 ICN-PNH A321 is showing saver first sold out for day I need so only economy is available. I realize that particular 1st class is like domestic 1st so not a huge improvement but 5.5 hours is significant. Should I book now and keep looking for a 1st class saver to open up then call to change, wait to book, or find another outbound option with longer overall duration?

Huge thanks in advance!

I'm sorry, I will try to be as gentle as possible, but I cannot make a lot of sense out of your post.

What is your first question? I don't understand at all.

For your second question, first of all, OZ does not have first class on the A321. They only have business and economy. Business class has limited legroom and limited recline. It isn't a great seat for a 5+ hour flight, but better than stuck in economy with people sitting next to you. If I had a group of 3 seats to myself though in economy, I'd probably actually prefer that over business class. Others I imagine though would disagree with that. Of course, given you aren't guaranteed any empty seats next to you, I'd recommend getting business class if possible.

As for other options, I think they will be worse. I'd personally stick with the shorter option (OZ) even if it means less comfort. You might though want to try ICN-BKK-PNH on TG, being they seem to have good award availability, especially if you'd like a stopover in BKK. Don't expect much though on the BKK-PNH flight. I haven't flown it recently but imagine it'll either be a 737 (much worse in C than OZ's A321) or an A300 which would be similar to the OZ A321 with regard to seats, although with a bit more legroom. ICN-BKK though with OZ or TG would definitely be more comfortable than an OZ A321 in C or Y.

Now if you're searching for first class on the flight to PNH, I imagine you won't find any availability in a million years given first class isn't offered. I know nothing about the UA system for booking award tickets, but see if you can search for business class and if the situation is any different.

Oh, and welcome to the OZ forum!

Thanks so much A_Lee. I'll try and clarify. My first question was: is it worth an extra 10K United miles to upgrade from Quadra Smartium to 1st class for 12-13 hour flight?

I leave from Phoenix and have to go through LAX or SFO. Quadra Smartium for my dates and times is only available through SFO (OZ 213) if OZ's QS schedule remains the same. OZ 201 is my option out of LAX.

For question #2, the United booking site calls OZ 739 ICN-PNH A321 2 classes first and economy so I just carried that forward. I'm leaning toward booking now and continually watching website to see if saver business opens up and then call to change.

TG times don't work well for my dates.

Thanks!

For an extra 10K to get into F would be a no-brainer for me. Definitely go for it.

Thanks A_Lee. Got it booked. Dates/Times were immovable. 1st class LAX-ICN. Currently economy ICN-PNH. I'll keep checking to see if biz opens up.

Just flew the route (from SFO though). Loved the QS Biz seats. As good as it gets IMHO. The hop in J to and from PNH was weak in all regards. Y can't be much worse. Since on *Alliance the difference between J & F is only 10K, it's a "no brainer" indeed. The 20K difference on CX (One World) makes one think about it a little more though. wj