I echo the comments about routing and flexibility. We just returned from our seventh trip to Australia/NZ in 13 years. We used 23 different award variations all in J or F on combinations of QF and CX with 2-4 people traveling For our family and travel patterns this is the what we save/hoard/use miles for and are very willing to try a new routing, stop part way, or use two awards if necessary. The last three years we have traveled with another couple (another six awards) and sometimes needed to split up (usually seats were available a day apart so we worked that out) Most were made 11 months out, some at christmas time (although those were earlier in the cycle, and have become harder to obtain) but some where made a few months out. This is probably the premier award within the oneworld system IMHO so it takes a little work and ingenuity and a realization that there are some pretty interesting stops along to way to down under, and you may not get your perfect routing.