Originally Posted by Edgerfly

This number is better: 1 (888) 280-7560 that's AS partner award desk. The agents are much more knowledgeable, and know more about finding premium space. I had an agent last night who wouldn't let me hang up until she found me something. It was the best, and funniest customer service experience I ever had on the phone. I said "alright looks like I'll have to wait and call back when there is space." To which she responded with "wait! before you go at least give me a chance to try to find you something else. We can try different city pairs!" Funny enough she actually did find me something in F.

Truth be told, for whatever reason, AS just doesn't have the same access as OW partners do. I've probably booked about 20 lifetime cathay awards about half last year, half this year, all in F, especially after EK became not worth it.

In my experience, you can either book like 5-8 months out and if you find availability on QF or BA tool on CX, it usually will also match up with AS. As the date grows closer (1-2 months), the availability doesn't align as much. You can hang up on AS and call back as much as you want, it's no help.

At about the 1-2 week mark is when they start opening things up, and AS agents can see things that are visible on the QF tool. I've also had lots of luck 1-2 days before departure. All this experience has been booking F.