This development has led to very different results and challenges for those of us in place like SEA that is a big market but one which AA doesnt really cover well with its own metal, especially for EU or Asia travel.

I used to search EF out of the gateways, usually i could find 5x biz awards at the low level from LAX or DFW if i was diligent. Then i would grab some crazy connection, maybe even separate us for the domestics, and over time look to improve that. That simply doesnt work in this new world. Same issues for the return flights from EU or Asia. It’s crystal clear that the same 5x DFW-LHR wont necessarily exist (read “never exists”) when you throw the SEA-DFW or SEA-PHX-DFW segments on. And the problem with SEA is compounded, the ex-SEA searches dont work well because we no longer have the direct flight to JFK and the search engine is not great at using AS as an intermediate segment, especially if the AS cabin is Y and you are searching Biz or F.

But there is a silver lining, it looks like AS segments can be added without regards to married segment logic. I found this out by chance and more or less bagged 5 unicorns as a result. I had given up on exSEA and was looking at SFO and LAX since i can buy cheap connections there. On my first search of SFO-LHR for 5 on the date i wanted, the AA site showed 85k and when i clicked on it I found it was indeed all flagship F, including SFO-JFK with the connection also in F on the 77W onward to LHR. Score, i was hoping for 57.5k per ticket in U but we’ll take 85k per ticket for the F experience all the way!

I held these immediately and with little effort found an AS flight the night before (in Y), there were scattered flights with F but i decided to keep is together in Y. I called in and behold, got that added in and kept it as a single award (and added an EF saved search for A class to this AS segment). I mentioned married segments to the agent and she said her understanding is that AS segments don’t bring that into play. I asked on the other end too, could i add a BA, AY or IB segment on to the end without regard for married segments and she said yes. So that is something to keep in mind under this new reality, leverage AS if you find something close, or even start out looking for AA gateways where you can use AS as a connection.