CDG-RDU Service - Moving from 3x Weekly to Daily or Not?
In late October, AF began flying CDG-RDU 3x weekly (AF692/693) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and the schedule was loaded for the service to move to Daily as of 31 March 2024. I was able to book 5 award seats in J on a Sunday in April (booked through VS), but now when I look at that flight on ExpertFlyer, it is showing completely 0'ed out in all classes. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in April are also completely 0'ed out, while Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays continue to have availability. Starting in May, Thursdays and Saturdays start to show availability:
All Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays throughout April are: J0 C0 D0 I0 Z0 W0 S0 A0 Y0 B0 M0 U0 K0 H0 L0 Q0 T0 E0 N0 R0 V0 X0
Saturday 27 April: J0 C0 D0 I0 Z0 W0 S0 A0 Y0 B0 M0 U0 K0 H0 L0 Q0 T0 E0 N0 R0 V0 X0
Sunday 28 April: J0 C0 D0 I0 Z0 W0 S0 A0 Y0 B0 M0 U0 K0 H0 L0 Q0 T0 E0 N0 R0 V0 X0
Monday 29 April: J9 C8 D2 I0 Z0 W9 S6 A3 Y9 B9 M9 U9 K9 H9 L9 Q9 T9 E9 N9 R9 V9 X0
Tuesday 30 April: J0 C0 D0 I0 Z0 W0 S0 A0 Y0 B0 M0 U0 K0 H0 L0 Q0 T0 E0 N0 R0 V0 X0
Wednesday 1 May: J9 C9 D7 I1 Z0 W2 S0 A0 Y9 B9 M9 U9 K9 H9 L9 Q9 T9 E9 N9 R9 V9 X9
Thursday 2 May: J9 C9 D9 I9 Z8 W9 S7 A4 Y9 B9 M9 U9 K9 H9 L9 Q9 T9 E9 N9 R9 V9 X9
By mid-June, availability is showing for all days of the week.
It looks to me like AF is preparing to adjust the spring frequency of the route, but is not ready to publish the changes yet (or maybe hasn't fully decided?) I'm trying to get ahead of the game and figure out what's likely to happen. I don't remember exactly when I saw it 0'ed out, but it was sometime in December, so it's been a few weeks. Interestingly, just about a week ago, my flight went from all 0s to Y4 (with all other classes at 0), then just yesterday was at Y9B6 (with all other classes at 0), but now today is back to fully 0'ed out. Is there any chance that AF actually operates the flight on Sundays in April, or is the fact that they've 0'ed out Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in April a sure sign that it's inevitably going to get canceled? We're about 90 days out now, so I'm not sure if AF frequently loads its spring schedule changes around this time or not. The reservation looks completely intact at this point, but I'm trying to get ahead of the game and look at alternate options if the Sunday flight is eventually going to get canceled.
Traveling with 3 small children, the nonstop flight is a high priority, so I'd consider shifting the flight one day later (Monday) or 2 days earlier (Friday), but of course there's no award availability in J on either of those days, and the fact that I booked through VS could complicate it. Will AF likely move me to the Monday nonstop or try to route me on something like CDG-JFK-RDU or CDG-ATL-RDU? Curious for any input or recommendations based on others' experiences with AF schedule changes.