Difficult, but not impossible. I stayed up all night 330 days in advance to call AA as they loaded in Qantas seats. Was looking for a 1st class award but managed to find a business class seat. Returning on Air Tahiti Nui, 1st class. Qantas releases some of its 1st class seats in dribs and drabs, so it's worth checking back routinely. Also worth subscribing to Expert Flyer and putting in an automatic notify query. Good luck!