Originally Posted by
honu
I don't really agree with any of your points, but I think #2 is the most flawed. Not having any pAArtners available for online award booking just means that those seats can be booked more easily by members of other FF programs. QF and BA (not sure about CX) have that capability (albeit usually for more points/miles), so their FFers, not dedicated AAdvantage members, are the main beneficiaries of that.
I agree completely. For example, two months before a July business trip SFO to Nairobi and Entebbe, Uganda, I tried to get an award ticket in any class for Mrs.Grates... even though I could see availability, esp. in F, on BA's site, there was no way I could get an award thru AA on any routing.
Closest compromise: I would have had to buy a coach ticket on BA for LHR-NBO at >$1200 and use miles for her to fly SFO-LHR on different flights from me.
An online pAArtner facility would have saved me at least 2-3 hours on the phone trying to find something.