Originally Posted by
Red259
I was considering an award flight (ideally in first but in business class if need be) round trip from nyc to hong kong. I was looking to fly out in the last week of june and getting out there does not seem to be a problem. However, I am not seeing much of anything when I want to fly back anywhere from July 4th to July 8th (think I saw one economy seat and a BA flight but that would have fuel surcharges etc). Is it likely at least a business class seat will open up during those return dates or am I pretty much out of luck? I know some rewards free up at the last minute, but I would hate to book the outbound and then not be able to get a return trip.
It seems that CX has tightened up availability of premium class tickets (there is another thread on this). This combined with summer travel has made things more difficult.
I think it is likely that a biz class ticket could open a day or two prior to your desired return flight dates. You may wish to book an award coach class ticket first, then seek to upgrade as/if biz class inventory opens. When using AA miles, there is no change fee to upgrade from coach to biz class.