Originally Posted by
Cubswin
I guess my new question would be:
Using my American Airlines points is Japan Airlines the best first class available that is direct from the mainland to Tokyo (I love Cathay but don't want to go through Hong Kong) and it seems NH doesn't have two F seats available in general.
Thanks for everything you guys have said. I was able to use all of the information to simplify my question to this point. I genuinely appreciate it all.
Using those parameters I would say yes - it's definitely the best value of any option since AA still charges just 62.5k for F one-way to Tokyo.
I would say OZ F would be worth considering (since they do tend to release 2 seats) but UA will also charge you 110k for partner F one-way to Tokyo and I don't think OZ is worth 47.5k more miles than JL or a combined 95k for 2 people (that's enough for a 3rd JL F ticket).
That being said JL space can be difficult to find so you will need to be flexible in your dates and be flexible which US airport you depart out of and arrive back into (and be aware that not all JL flights to the US have F on them - including 1 of the 2 JFK flights which is served by a 788 and only has J and Y, no F)
There may be other ways and *A programs that would allow you to get OZ F for cheaper but I don't know them (so other may chime in with different opinions on that front).