Trouble finding LAN award flights (to be merged)
 

Most advice out there is to search for LAN award flights (where you plan to use AA miles) using Quntas or BA. However, I think there is an issue with what I'm doing to find flights because I have yet to see a LAN award flight on either website. On Qantas' website I put JFK to LIM for one person flexible dates and go month by month and there is an occasional AA flight (that routes through MIA) but no LAN flights. I find it hard to believe there is zero availability in either direction in any class for the entire year? Am I doing something wrong?

It would be best to ask your question in the forum for the airline frequent flyer program whose miles or points you are trying to use. For example, if you look at the BA forum you can find a number of threads of how people have been having trouble finding LAN availability online. If you want to use AA miles, the AA forum is the best place to discuss their program.
For example, see this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ilability.html

Great thanks, figured I would start here since I'm using one oneworld member site to use the miles of another oneworld member to book on a third oneworld member airline. I figured regardless of where I went people would tell me to try somewhere else ha.

Two items -

1. Sign up for Lanpass and use their award calendar, then contact AA to see if AA can book flights available to Lan members.

2. Continue this discussion on the AA board, where I'm moving this thread.

Gardyloo
Oneworld moderator

Has anyone been able to book an award ticket on LAN lately? I called AA numerous times trying to book a 4M and LP itinerary that I found on BA.com, but they said no available seats. I even went as far as having the agent specifically look for the flight inventory using 4M and LP instead of LA, but they kept insisting that the only way to look for award seats is using LA. Anyone have any insights on this? Thanks!

I booked a aep-igr flight on friday with lan argentina for use in june. Only 12000 miles and $38 in taxes and telephone agent fee. Much better than the $520 fare for a paid flight. I was surprised at how easy it was to find the seat.

The Agent was mistaken -- XL/LP/4M flights can only be requested using their own respective codes.

Just booked a trip to Argentina for March 2014 using AA miles and Avios, all on LAN.

FLIGHT 1: JFK-SCL-EZE (Business -- 50,000 AA miles + $32.50)
FLIGHT 2: AEP-BRC (Economy -- 7,500 BA Avios + $49.90)
FLIGHT 3: BRC-AEP-MDZ (Economy -- 12,000 BA Avios + $86.50)
FLIGHT 4: MDZ-SCL-EZE (Business -- 50,000 AA miles + $79.00)

I found that LAN releases space on every single flight exactly 331 days out, and then pulls much of that space immediately (space vanishes within 1-3 days).

This problem is compounded by the fact that American will not allow you to put the LAN flights on hold!

To get around this I had to plan the entire trip 11 months out and then book leg-by-leg as each piece became available. I had to pay the AA phone booking fee twice, but BA waived it since the BRC itineraries weren't bookable online.

Not an ideal solution but may work for some if they can plan that far ahead (and stomach the extra booking fees + multiple cancellation fees if plans fall through).

Thanks for the input, guys!

I'm hoping to book a EZE-LIM-CUZ-LIM-EZE itinerary using AA miles. BA and LAN are indeed showing availability for my dates, but I'm low on Avios. I called AA again yesterday and this time, they were only able to find the EZE-LIM; LIM-EZE segments on 4M and nothing on LP to CUZ. I guess I'll wait it out another day and call again tomorrow.

Also, I'm a little confused on what I read on the AA partner award chart regarding the "Wholly within select Central/South American countries" which includes Peru and Argentina. Does this apply to itineraries to/from any of those countries or only within one country? Hope someone can shed some light on this...


Thanks again!

I think on the BA site it does not search partners if the route is flown by BA or AA. That might be your problem here. I don't know about the Quantas website.

You won't find any on the Quntas or the Quantas website but on QANTAS you will find awards from SYD/AKL to SCL on LAN as QF codeshares.

The BA redemption tool will automatically search partner availability as well.

Regarding LAN availability. I thought it was just BA that was having problems recognising quite a few LAN domestic routes never mind finding award seats on them. However I can see AA is having similar problems which seems to indicate LAN are at fault here and don't seem to be in any rush to fix it.

I just ran into this problem for an itinerary I'm trying to book with either AAdvantage or Avios (SCL-MDZ-AEP).

Particularly annoying as someone earlier mentioned, Expertflyer cannot see LA inventory and BA seems to lose the destination/origin cities so you have to call in to AA periodically to check availability.

Just wholly within the country itself, not from one country to another on the list.

e.g. MDZ-AEP would be wholly within (Argentina) but SCL-EZE (Chile-Argentina) would not.

Use the KVS tool instead.