I'm planning a trip that would include me taking a companion along on a JFK-SYD route. I would be flying on a D fare (DONE4) and my companion would be there on an award. It is my understanding that awards on this route are virtually impossible to come by.

So, I have a few questions:

Are the D seats easy to come by on this route?

Would I be better of restructuring my trip and burning my NA transcon segment on JFK-LAX and then going into MEL or perhaps even AKL and doing New Zealand first due to easier award availability?

Should I instead look at using the Asia tarnsit without stopover rule for my DONE4 (I'm coming back to Asia later) and go via NRT or HKG for better award availability?

Any advice would be appreciate. And while we're at it, does anyone know if I can use the availability tool to see award inventory on QF or CX, and what those codes would be?