Long time lurker. I have a question or two about waitlist clearing for business class Circle Pacific, which I have never before used. I have set up a trip through AA but have not yet ticketed the itinerary.

The final flight is Sydney-US, in September. I have a seat on QF17 (latest departure Sydney-US), and am waitlisted on my preferred earlier flights on the same day , QF11 and QF7.

1. Any guesses on whether additional seats will open up on QF11 or QF7?

2. Are the odds of clearing the waitlist greater if I instead ticket through Qantas? I’m thinking in particular of day of departure. Maybe Qantas could reticket instantly whereas AA might not be able to? I have a connecting flight in the US, but I guess that if I get back to the US earlier, I can use standby even if intra-US flights are not reticketed.

3. Any particular pros or cons to ticketing through QF vs. AA? I am platinum on AA.

(Note: for logistical reasons, I can’t make it to BNE or MEL in time for those QF flights to the US. So I need to leave from Sydney.)

Thanks.