For the outgoing route to Osaka, am unsure who to fly with (in J). Am divided between LH and TK. I have flown LH F (from KUL to BKK) before and while good, I can't say I was overly impressed even when compared to other J experiences I have had. I have heard mixed reports about TK, so am nervous of them (though would like to be convinced otherwise). Am flying CA and OZ later on the year and plan NH for my return, so avoiding them as I want to fly someone new.
I would suggest trying NZ to HKG (no fuel surcharge collected by BMI) if they have space and then HKG-KIX, or perhaps Swiss through KIX or NRT which also has a pretty solid product in C. TK is supposed to be good in C (especially the catering) but if you're unlucky, I believe there's a chance that you could get one of the old-config A340 to KIX or NRT.
For my return route, I would like a stopover in Tokyo. The ANA tool seems to suggest flying into Tokyo Haneda and out of Tokyo Narita is valid. Would I be able to book a stopover in this way with bmi?
I flew LHR-NRT//HND-GMP so it should be no problems having a stopover with HND arrival and NRT departure.
Also, vaguely remember reading somewhere that ANA tool shows award availability for NH flights for its own members, but *A award availability on the same flights is more limited. Is this the case and if so, how is the best way to check this.
In my experience, ANA availability on the ANA tool has always matched the availability on BMI. It could be different if you log in as ANA elite member, but if you're a general member on ANA then it should be the same.
P.S. I know that flying from Zone 2 and from DUB would be cheaper for me. Am just too lazy to do that!
If C&M from Z2-Z8, you do end up saving 10k miles and over £150 in cash and APD, though - for me, it's almost always worth it.