These mini-RTW, or the longer, there and back again trips in F are becoming harder to find than Bigfoot.

We are totally flexible with our dates and every year we like to go to Southern Thailand (YYC-HDY) for 4+ weeks anytime during the Jan to March period (ideally Feb-Mar), but try finding something in F these days... Thanks to recent promos we have enough miles for another F trip there next year. As usual thank you Amex, Rexall, Sobeys and other's ^. After getting a taste of the LH refurbished 747 (SFO-FRA and FRA-ORD) that was absolutely amazing with the bed, we really want to do another!

Unfortunately, based on ANA research tonight, what appears to be the practical loss of LH and LX is a huge hit to putting together these amazing AE F rewards. Likely a result of the US Air mile buying and the AE "sale" after which a high ranking LH officer was quoted as saying: "We kicked out all this garbage from our First Class". We'll really miss the FCL and FCT in FRA if this is the case.

Unless you are willing to risk your trip and hope that seats become available at the last minute (not guaranteed based on reports I've read) it's becoming hopeless. And it doesn't matter whether you are a MM SE or a bottom feeder like me.

How is UA F these days? That and TG seem to be the only easy to find F on the ANA tool or am I missing some other good *A carriers? We are trying to book one now so would like to hear from fellow "maximizers" in the same boat vs. folks (like us) that recently have recently done one that was booked months ago.