Not that this should surprise anybody, but in my current search for award space returning from Europe this coming summer I've found some issues with US Gateway-SEA segments. What do I mean by this? Well, my limited observations are finding it exceptionally difficult to get from most of the large One-World US Gateways (i.e., LAX, DFW, ORD, JFK) back to Seattle. That is of course, unless you're willing to pay the extortion surcharges for BA, or the crazy EI redemptions. In my case, I'm able to get from CPH to ORD or JFK via HEL. But there is literally no late afternoon awards available at the required level. This forces you to either spend the night in a hotel ($$), or go with BA. No, I don't consider Icelandair an option because I don't want to spend 12+ hours in B757 economy seats.
So, is it me just being whiny? Or is this something others have also come across? Unfortunately, we have a very specific window this year preventing us from adjusting our schedule to fit award availability.