Originally Posted by Altaflyer
I will soon set out on my J class YYZ-(YVR)-SIN-PER-xx-CHC(AKL)-NAN-LAX-(YYC)-YEG-YYZ marathon. I am very appreciative to have obtained this award for 100,000 miles at 350 days out from my last return leg. Of course it would not have been possible any other way!!
Having said that, it should not be neccessary to book awards a year out and often it is. Just recently I wanted to compare the fees AP charges vs. AA to Hawaii. Had to try SEVERAL dates in September 2005 to get a seat so it would price on AC flights. On AA for September you can pretty much pick your flight with MANY seats open per flight. Oh, and the fees were some $30 lower on AA.
Since your itinerary contains more STAR segments than AC ones, it was necessary to book far enough in advance because NZ and SQ in business are always hard to get. First, you're in line after their own FFers, and second, business is their most lucrative class, so there are very few seats made available for awards, and these go very quickly.
Before I had SE status, I had little problem getting awards I wanted, when I wanted, though I seldom if ever expected to travel at peak times on awards, and so never requested tham at such times. Guess I shall see how the other 99.9% live next year when I descend to Prestige for a few weeks, then return to Elite for the balance of the year and 2006/7 [though SE is also a possibility if the benefits look worthwhile, otherwise I shall parlay AA Plat into ExecPlat and give that program a try for a couple of years].