anabolism

Qantas flights during the Australian summer are hard to get, especially in premium cabins, but you can also try alternate routes and airlines. It might cost you more miles, but it's worth considering. For example, Air Pacific (with a stop in Fiji), JAL (via Japan), Cathay (via Hong Kong). I haven't checked now that Malaysia is in OneWorld, but that might be another option.

Austinrunner

If one were willing to use two or more awards to travel one way between LAX and SYD, almost any route is possible, subject to availability.

AA partners that serve SYD internationally: HA, FJ, QF, CX, MH, EY, BA, LA

TN flies to Australia on its own metal?

Microwave

You're missing a very important concept... We all get that miles in circulation are liabilities for the airline, so let's take an analogy. Let's say your landlord, who happens to drive a taxi for a living, owes you $20. Fast forward a week: you're out late and need a taxi home. You call your landlord, and it turns out he's available so he comes and picks you up. Once you get home, you notice the meter is $20. At this point there is no material difference between you paying him $20 cash to cover the fare and leaving the $20 liability untouched versus agreeing to exchange the liability for the transportation he provided with no cash changing hands. The result is exactly the same. That's the key for airlines, and why it's important to understand that it can be in the airline's financial interest to release an award seat even if they could have sold the seat--and even if they could have sold the seat at a profit. It's not even a matter of customer goodwill or maintaining a positive reputation, it can be a matter of profit as well.

Keeping in mind that the majority of miles in the US are redeemed for domestic economy travel, it could certainly make sense for the airline to open award inventory on a seat that could otherwise have to be sold at a lower price (not necessarily even at a loss, just at a discount) if they could have had someone redeem 25,000 miles ($625 worth of miles, assuming 2.5 cents per mile valuation) for a LAX-LAS round-trip. While this is an extreme case, it's worth keeping this calculus in mind; I do believe that there are situations where airlines release inventory just to keep their programme competitive, but I also believe that airlines can and do make money transporting people who pay with miles. Revenue and yield management has to take these things into account in addition to managing fare buckets and prices, as that LAX-LAS return for 25,000 miles stands to make them way more money than some deep discount tickets on the same route.

Austinrunner

But that is not what AA has said publicly and officially about how it determines whether to make award seats available.

Microwave

OK.

3Cforme

Your analogy is fine, but the liability on the books for the 25K miles for a representative domestic saver award isn't anywhere near average fare levels - not even lowest published fares. AA gets a choice that's more like: let 'em use a saver award and relieve a $125 liability from AAdvantage, or sell a ticket for $300.

3Cforme

Absolutely. There are tiers of Business/First pricing as well as the occasional promo fares -- which the cynical can conceive as existing solely for the function of denying someone a saver award seat. Just try to find a low-band intercontinental Business ticket on Delta.

evanaggie

I'm sorry, but can you explain what you mean by two or more awards? On AAs site, if I type in SYD as destination, they ONLY show Saaver awards in miles of course. There isn't an option for "anytime". When I use ExpertFlyer, I can see awards on Air Tahiti/Qantas, etc, which I assume of course is for their own rewards mileage program.

I called AA on the phone, and they never mentioned being able to use more awards miles to get the flight I want. What did you mean?

Thanks!

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

AA's Partner awards between North America and the South Pacific do not permit a transit via any third zone (like Asia 1 or Asia 2). If one were willing to book two separate awards (or a distance-based "Explorer" award), one could then transit a third zone, which would open up additional routing (and redemption) options.

richarddd

You are missing the difference between a liability for FF miles recorded on an airline's books and an amount of money owed to a third party. This is a fundamental distinction and is why accounting treatment should not be confused with operational reality.

The liability on AA's books is an estimate of its future costs and those are costs it can control (for example, by changing redemption rates). An amount of money owed to a third party is cash that must be paid. In your landlord taxi analogy, the $20 is real money owed that must be paid. AA is not obligated to redeem any set amount of miles. They can unilaterally cancel or reduce the amount of the "debt."

As a secondary matter, AA accounts for the mileage book liability at estimated incremental cost (discounted by estimated redemption rates). Incremental cost is how much it costs them (in cash) to fly you - food, more fuel, etc.

Consider how much profit you make on a sale when you sell something for your actual cost. Then consider the aforementioned difference between cash (which has an objective value) and miles (which are essentially worth what the airline says they are worth, given their control over redemption rates).

evanaggie

AA's Partner awards between North America and the South Pacific do not permit a transit via any third zone (like Asia 1 or Asia 2). If one were willing to book two separate awards (or a distance-based "Explorer" award), one could then transit a third zone, which would open up additional routing (and redemption) options.[/QUOTE]


Thanks for your help. So basically folks are saying I'd have to book two separate trips to get to a intermediate destination.

Paulchili

.[/QUOTE]


Thanks for your help. So basically folks are saying I'd have to book two separate trips to get to a intermediate destination.[/QUOTE]

Yes. If you book a CX business award to HKG and a separate CX or QF award from HKG to OZ/NZ it will cost you 90,000 AA miles/award (55K +35K). That's the bad news. However, the good news is that CX business is much easier to come by than QF and as these are 2 awards you are allowed a free stopover in HKG.
You should then try to "top off" your AA miles with some promotion to get return awards (or get one award and pay for the other ticket) or get UA miles with a Sapphire & United Preferred cards to use *A to fly back (a lot easier to get those awards - especially on that route).

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"So basically folks are saying I'd have to book two separate trips to get to a intermediate destination."

Separate one-way awards, or a single Explorer award. Depending on routing, the Explorer award can cost far fewer miles for a roundtrip between LAX and Australia in Business Class than booking multiple one-way awards.

Nickwestga

Looking to return from Paris Jan. 3,4, or 5 of 2014, 2 passengers. I have appx. 120,000 miles and it seems impossible to find the savver Business awards, really don't want to blow 120,000 on anytime but may have no choice because we have to get back to Atlanta. There are 7 seats available via anytime right now but the million dollar question is to wait out to see if 2 tix become available or just bite the bullet and fly coach back. BTW really would like to stick to AA metal because the BA fees are crazy!

Thanks
Nick

ckpeter

Since you are willing to pay the Anytime mileage price, your choice is actually very simple:

Book the more expensive anytime now, and monitor availability over time. If and when saver business opens up, call AA to upgrade the award. AA has a generous policy that will waive the change fee if you are upgrading the cabin of the award, so you will get an upgrade on your award and still get some miles back in your account.