We wanted 4 J Saver AAward seats on AA JFK-LHR-JFK in August for a Baltic cruise, only one day flexibility. We were ready at the 11-month mark: only BA available, with the high supplemental "fees," so reserved those, and added an alert on AwardNexus. From late September until today, only the BA flights show available (four flights each day to date), never a single AA seat in J for our preferred date outbound or inbound.

We're also using JAL miles for flights NRT/HND-LHR-NRT/HND. There, we preferred JL over BA, looking for one seat in F. We got a seat in F on JL NRT-LHR (now changed to HND-LHR), but the return is only available on BA, again with the high supplemental "fees." Again, AwardNexus shows no availablity from late September until today in JL F. The JMB Diamond (ow Emerald) waitlist doesn't help either.

I've got to conclude, joint partner BA is tasked to supply the award seats, since that's where the fees are. It's just business.