Originally Posted by
PumpkinSmasher
Really? Have you tried a lot of different airlines in biz or do you focus on particular ones? I had success on JAL (first) last year from Sydney to Tokyo and Tokyo to JFK. There also seems to be lots of Emirates availability in business. Not cheap, but with the stopover in Dubai, it doesn't seem as bad. Two packages should be enough round trip. I've heard that Korean Air is a good route to go as well to/from Australia, although I haven't looked too closely there (they had good availability when I considered it last go around to Australia). Same goes for Cathay Pacific.
The one option I haven't completed ruled out is United. I found availability pretty last minute to Australia in Business last year on United. They are not my favorite airline by any means, especially for such a long flight, but it wasn't bad at all. There is the added bonus with United of having lots of flexibility with flights to/from Europe on other partners in business as well. Do you like United miles as a better option for getting to Australia over Alaska?
CX availability post Asia Miles change is grim or worse using AM let alone using AS miles. JAL still looks reasonable haven’t checked Emirates, it’s too far out of the way for Europe or Southeast Asia for me. AA is nonexistent in J. BA kills you on surcharges.
Last year was last year. Since then , Air France is gone as well as Delta. Have you checked availability or just going on memory.