Originally posted by Dang22202:
First off, thanks everyone for helping me sort all of this out. I came to the right place--you all have been great! 
Have questions about the suggestion Kempis gave above. What are the rules on doing this? How far in advance can an itinerary be booked and how long can it be held before the seats are released back into the system? Any differences between the various *A carriers, depending on which one we go with to ultimately issue the tickets? We are looking to at least flight that only goes once a week--does booking but not paying until later really guarentee your spots?
You can book the trip 10 months in advance if you like. Like I said before ticket can be held until departure. A price and ticket is not 100% confirmed until ticketed right? Atleast thats what I have understood from the famous TLL-SYD deal with OV/QF a few months ago.