Help! Looking for some advice. Flying from LIT to MEL in business (domestic F), tentatively 10/8-10/22. I've been watching fares for a while and all of a sudden, now that I'm ready to book, the AA fares have skyrocketed. I was originally going to just book through AA as I have an account, no longer status, and the AA Citicard. Was shooting for LIT-DFW-LAX-MEL and the reverse. It was running in the ~$7,500 range for 90 day advanced fare, but now all AA it's over $14k. When I look on ITA I can still fly AA domestic and the Qantas flight to MEL for about $7,500, but I have the following questions:
1) Can AA book this flight for me still, the whole route, without using the AA flight number on the Qantas flight? Primarily looking to be on a single reservation should there be any issues getting to LAX.
2) If I book the AA legs separate from the Qantas legs, is there a way to get the two linked up so I can check my bags all the way through?
3) If no to #2, I'm thinking I'd want to leave LIT on 10/7, and spend the night in LA to make absolutely sure I have enough wiggle room to make the 10/8 Qantas flight in case of weather, mechanical delays, etc.
4) What am I missing? I just want to fly, preferably, domestic F and Qantas J for around $8k or less. Really don't want to fly United given all the reviews on the LAX-MEL flights. Plus, I'd love to try the A380.
Please help! Hoping to book today, and feel like I'm missing something obvious!
Thanks.