If it were me, I'd find some sort of routing that you can confirm award seats on now for that first leg, confirm it, keep the remainder of the itinerary like it is now, get the ticket issued, and then remain on the waitlist for your preferred routing for that first leg. Playing the waitlist game for a coach seat this far in advance on that one leg, I would think your chances of clearing are pretty good.

If there is no alternative routing on the day of travel, it might be that you could find seats SLC-CVG the day before your intended travel day and build in a one night stopover in CVG (while remaining on the waitlist for your preferred date). Basically, do anything to keep the current reservation alive and the preferred segment on the waitlist. Then wait for the waitlist to clear.

[This message has been edited by Robert Leach (edited 08-18-2003).]