Called the ICC up, and the first offer given for the SFO-BNE route was a double connection via Tokyo and Auckland with of course it was fine to stopover in one of the two. No availability on the more direct route so this is what their system offered. Asked them to check it was a valid routing, Z3 to Z9 miles too, and indeed it was.^^^

In the end the relatives decided they would rather stop off in Auckland on their way to Brisbane. The only availability was via Vancouver and then Sydney and then Auckland to get to Brisbane (nothing on the more direct US/Canada-Auckland-Brisbane route), and again that was a valid routing, so all booked and ticketed. Had to drip feed this route sector by sector, unlike the via Japan one above, but no problems. Result - 2 tix in biz and tax/fees at around £130 each thought good too (bizarelly the via Japan route is lower on tax/fees at about £120 with either UA or ANA)! ^^^

Last leg AKL-BNE in Economy as Air NZ's Trans-Tasman A320s will be an Economy only service by the time the flight comes round. Was offered availability on the bigger planes in Business but flight times didn't suit.

Hope useful for others who might consider this more circuitous routing to get to where they want to go when direct availability is drying up. And if you are booking far in advance you might find this thread useful too ->http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/bmi-d...-released.html