Originally Posted by
slodki
Hi All,
Trying to book Australia - USA (West Coast) flights in April/May 2014.
I have figured out Aus to USA via Asia in business, but on the way home, availability is limited and I am not very flexible with return flights.
There is the options of booking Y, LAX - AKL - MEL as a last resort. However what are the chances that NZ release business availability in the future?
Secondly, even if NZ release availability, how can I make the change? I am assuming if this would happen, that the merger would've already taken place and US Airways will not be part of AA. Would I still be able to call US to make changes, or once they merge then you are on your own and bad luck if something were to happen with your itinerary that would require US Airways help.
Once US leaves *A and goes to OW (which will likely happen BEFORE they officially merge the programs), you're not going to get any NZ seats in C. US will no longer have access to *A inventory, just OW. And I wouldn't bet on being able to find QF premium class inventory from the USA (though you will be traveling at low-ish season down under) if you were making a change. USA-Australia/NZ is one of the hardest nuts to crack when it comes to availability.
Also- changing your flights voluntarily (because you want to upgrade from Y to J) is a bit different than schedule changes that impact your award. You'll be presumably taken care of if a flight is cancelled (with US doing rebooking, or the OAL if it's day of flight).