OK my parents are wanting to fly to YVR next May for a holiday. They are BD Silver until November but won't retain (although I have told them to buy if offered). They currently have a smidgeon over 25k miles each. However looking at their flight times ex Scotland, they appear to be looking at a long flight (18 hrs), which I've already told them is due to a long layover at YYZ (it's a BD codeshare on AC). Nevertheless, aged parents are unconvinced and currently would like to fly J because "they don't think they could cope with 18 hours in economy", but think the fare is a tad expensive (parents - don't you just love them ). So I've just been looking at their options for them. I currently think with the miles they have it's impossible for them to fly J, unless they pay for it, unless I have missed something?

Any help, or indeed confirmation that my reading of the situation is correct, would be appreciated!