Originally Posted by Dave Noble
If going to Oz, then using the AA codeshare on the QF flight is a great way to do it cheaply ... Living in North America , it is quite easy to use the AA flight numbers to Oz.
Except that I buy all my tickets ex-LHR, as LHR-YYZ-MEL return or LHR-MEL-YYZ-LHR RTW for a 1-year changeable ticket costs less than YYZ-MEL return on a 3-month ticket. The restriction on the tickets is that all sectors must be QF/BA, so AA cannot be used.
Originally Posted by Dave Noble
To do YYZ-MEL-NAN-YYZ would cost 75k economy [with AA]... though for that rate you would not be allowed to go via NRT but would have to do US-South Pacific non stop ( i.e. HNL-SYD, LAX-SYD/MEL/BNE/AKL ).
My question is whether AA has award availability on these flights at the beginning of July. QF has none, so the only route for Mrs Jrobin to OZ is via NRT (not so bad if going to CNS, but a nuisance if going to MEL and forced to go through SYD also). Does AA have better award availability trans-Pacific direct or do they use the same bucket of seats as QF?
Originally Posted by Dave Noble
Also do note that QF will have charged a fair amount in "taxes" due to the fuel fines that they charge on award seats, whilst using AA points you would only have been charged actual taxes which would make a few hundred $ difference.
Excellent point, though I heard AA and other NA carriers were considering fuel surcharges also.
Originally Posted by Dave Noble
For the amount you paid in points, you could have sent her 1st class *and* saved a lot of money
And she would have loved both.
If AA has more trans-Pacific seat availability than QF so I could get the flight to Oz for 75,000 points, and I can work out a way to be reasonably assured of being able to renew Platinum, I would seriously consider changing over; reduced lounge access in NA would be a bit of a blow though
.
How many AA points would the trip (stops in
BOLD) YYZ-DFW-NRT-SYD-
MEL-SYD-
NAN-LAX-YYZ cost if forced by award seat (in)availability to transit NRT?