My recent wins include:
PHL-CDG-PHL in J on AF with 2 weeks' notice
PHL-CDG-DTW-JAN in J on AF/NW (open jaw) in J with 2 weeks' notice
JAN-ATL-PHL-ATL in Y on DL (open jaw) with 2 weeks' notice
LAS-ATL-SCL-ATL-PHL in J on DL (open jaw) with 2 weeks' notice
PHL-SLC-PHL in F
The granddaddy of them all. Two RTW J tickets for spring/summer 2006:
PHL-ATL-EZE (DL)
GIG-CDG-FRA (AF)
ZAG-PRG-AMS (OK); AMS-CPT (KL)
JNB-CDG-BKK (AF)
HAN-ICN-SYD (KE)
AKL-ICN-NRT-LAX (KE)
LAX-SLC-IAH (DL)
IAH-GYE (CO)
LIM-EWR (CO)
My parents just reserved 2 J tix as follows:
JFK-AMS-CPT (DL/KL); JNB-CDG-JFK (AF)
Granted, it takes some persistence, but I think the weekly "Availability sucks" threads reflect laziness, misinformation, unreasonable expectations (HNL at Xmas), and lack of savvy.