I'm trying to help my brother-in-law and sister-in-law with their desire to go to Israel Dec 25 to Jan 4. Found a lot of Business Class availability on ExpertFlyer on Swiss - very convenient times. Gave them the flight numbers. They have about 260,000 CO miles which would cover the 120,000 fee for one BC ticket.

Agent they spoke to claimed there were no available Swiss seats. I know that Swiss blocks First Class from their Star Alliance partners but thought Business was still attainable. Is this the case or did he just get a lazy agent?

Any recommendations? While I also found a decent amount of availability on LH, the online engine only showed one itinerary going there with a 10+ hour layover.

Appreciate any info. thanks