Originally Posted by RonnieTheBear

First time poster here, read through the sticky and several threads on FlyerTalk on ANA award seat availability but I was still hoping to get some input on my specific situation.

I'm trying to fly my girlfriend and I award business seats from JFK to NRT next Aug 4, 2018. We both have individual ANA accounts with enough miles in them. I could see when I booked mine that there was one business award seat available, but not 2, and no waitlist (confirmed with a ticketing agent over the phone). I completed my booking and we put the reservation through on my girlfriend's account as a waitlist - she should be first in line. Checking the seatmap on ExpertFlyer, I appear to be the only one on the plane so far (unless any other travelers haven't picked seats, yet).

I know there are no guarantees when it comes to award booking, but given that we are almost 1 year out, they've only sold one award ticket, and my girlfriend is first on the waitlist, she should have a very good chance of clearing, correct? Does ANA pull anything funny where people who waitlist later but have status get to jump the line? Surely most ANA planes must fly with more than one award business seat taken?

Our alternate plan is we are both holding departure seats out of IAD in a separate waitlist - I would have to call a ticketing agent and see if they could combine her departure from one waitlist reservation with a return trip seat from another waitlist reservation- does anyone know if they can do that sort of thing?