Award availability in F
#47
Join Date: Jun 2011
Programs: United Premier Platinum
Posts: 638
Does NH have an established pattern of releasing most/all unpurchased F inventory to award partners a certain number of hours prior to departure? A bit surprised that I cannot book F for NH11 this upcoming Friday with UA miles when the cabin seems pretty wide open...
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,166
But they are very happy to fly with empty seats to keep the exclusivity of the cabin.
#49
Join Date: Jun 2011
Programs: United Premier Platinum
Posts: 638
#50
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,166
Any releases beyond that has never had an exact pattern. So it is difficult to say whether they release less now.
#51
Join Date: Jun 2019
Programs: Marriott Titanium; WN A-list; UA Silver
Posts: 484
Yeah, I just booked an NRT-SFO leg in F, and there's still another seat available. FWIW, October and November 2021 have wide open F availability between SFO and NRT/HND. Basically every date option I looked at had openings on at least one of the flight, most had both.
#52
Join Date: Aug 2020
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 182
I'm looking at F x2 for 2023 onward with AP. That being said, I'm also considering just buying business class outright and asking for an upgrade to first at the desk. Does this actually work with the more expensive fares or is it a rarity? With only 2 seats going to awards, depending on the departure city, shouldn't that leave a few seats open for upgrade?
#53
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
I'm looking at F x2 for 2023 onward with AP. That being said, I'm also considering just buying business class outright and asking for an upgrade to first at the desk. Does this actually work with the more expensive fares or is it a rarity? With only 2 seats going to awards, depending on the departure city, shouldn't that leave a few seats open for upgrade?
#54
Join Date: Aug 2020
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 182
Fair enough. It's interesting that if you purchase the second tier of business class tickets through ANA, it does say you are able to get an upgrade. I'm sure they probably mean paying the cost difference to F seats at the airport though.
#55
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: ANA Diamond, JAL JGC Sapphire, Asiana Gold, Marriott Ambassador Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 102
The “upgrade able to first” entry on a fare refers to the ability to upgrade using miles or upgrade points.
The only time I’ve heard of anyone being upgraded to F for free is when a friend got upgraded because J was overbooked. Seeing as ANA even during non-pandemic times had a relatively open J, I would rate that as a once in a lifetime sort of ordeal.
The only time I’ve heard of anyone being upgraded to F for free is when a friend got upgraded because J was overbooked. Seeing as ANA even during non-pandemic times had a relatively open J, I would rate that as a once in a lifetime sort of ordeal.