FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - AA Miles Award: TN / Air Tahiti Nui award redemptions (master thread)
Old May 16, 2019, 5:59 pm
  #185  
JDiver
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Originally Posted by cmtlatitudes
Today I started looking into AA's Award program. I haven't used any of my miles in at least a decade and decided in the past couple weeks its time to start making judicious use of the ~ 400K miles just sitting there, while I'm still generally mobile enough to travel longer distances. Not so certain that'll be the case five years from now.

Initially am looking at awards in Business/First to PPT, from IAD or LAX, in the September 2019 or February/March 2020 time frame. It doesn't appear the Business/First awards are released more than a month out, at least on Air Tahiti Nui from either IAD or LAX, based on what's available now. So just to become more familiar I started playing around with the $80K (one way) Business/First miles saver dates showing available in the next 2-4 weeks.

My specific question is, the Air Tahiti Nui 789 metal. The description on their website identifies three cabin classes, (Economy, Preminum Economy, and Business). But Premium Economy appears to be a separate business cabin by any other name, with Business seeming a first class cabin. When I put the award ticket through as though to book on AA's site, the flight details come up a booking code F, Class Business. Based on the Partner Award Chart descriptions, and the not precise verbiage classifications on Air Tahiti Nui's website, I'm not certain which cabin class the $80K miles saver actually maps into. The Premium Economy cabin or the Business Cabin. I am thinking it's probably only the Premium Economy class, or would be $110K miles? But since it is specifically coming up as a milessaver award, maybe not?

Arrgh. Any clarification on this is much appreciated, thanks! And thanks in advance for the other questions I will surely end up having also. The Partner Award process seems like a Black Hole.
Please read the Wikipost at the top of the page for a lot of information you need.

TN doesn’t fly from IAD, only from LAX. You have to position to LAX, or find an award that includes an IAD-DCA-BWI etc. LAX segment.

You can only book MileSAAver awards on AA partners; AAnytime awards can only be booked on AA marketed and operated flights. Using AAdvantage miles one can not book Premium Economy on any partner airlines at this time, so your options are limited to Moana Economy or Poerava Business. Trust me, Premium Economy is just that, and Poerava Business with its Rockwell Collins Diamond parallel lie flat seats is not First Class. (TN did away with Poerava First some years ago.) But peculiarly, because of how TN code their flights, Business awards are in TN “F” fare class. (Again, read the Wikipost.)

Also see: HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance

and AA oneworld & Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (master thd).
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