JonNYC

Unfortunately, that's not something I know-- wish it was as if I thought it was super-imminent (which I do not assume), I'd book a couple of CX F tix myself and do date-changes, etc. But, unfortunately, cannot say I know if this is weeks away, a few months or end of year type thing.

ChurchofTee

I have heard about the date change plan but I am not sure I understand the mechanisms. I believe this how it works but please clear it up for me if I am wrong.

Buy a ticket for Dec 1, on June 1. I can change that date into the future but only until June the following year or does it go to Dec the following? How far off in advance can you push it out?

VickiSoCal

If currently most of the seats are only available 3 days out, how would you plan for the future if this is no longer going to be the case? Confused.

JonNYC

I kinda forgot-- maybe someone else can chime in on that. But, really, it's of limited utility to book a date unless there's at least a _chance_ you can use that date as once availability is limited further, doesn't really do any good to simply "be holding an award ticket" as if you can't find Z for the new date(s) (or if it's no longer booking into Z, etc) doesn't accomplish anything. Only way it helps to be holding a Z ticket and try and change dates is if all they do is raise redemption level and do nothing else, if ya know what I mean.

Paulchili

I believe that an award ticket is valid for 1 year from date of purchase.
In your case, it would be till June 1 2016.

ijgordon

Yeah, so piecing together bits -- I think you suggested previously that these changes were coming from the CX side, not from AA. AFAIK, CX can only control inventory availability to partners, it can't control AA's partner award chart. Then basically, either CX can make award inventory less available, or they can make it completely unavailable (like SQ F awards from partners). Probably the only thing that I would consider "dramatic" (to use your words) would be the latter. And as you point out, in correcting yourself, issuing an award ticket now and hoping to change the date later doesn't work in that scenario.

I suppose another scenario is that CX only releases award inventory to partners shortly before departure, say 48h (doesn't LH do this for F?). I don't know if I would consider that "dramatic", as it seems as if that's how a majority of CX awards are booked today anyway, but YMMV.

rgdave

There is CX F availability more than a few days out. I found it from JFK to SGN or KUL on a few dates next Jan-Mar. But only 1 seat (I can't recall seeing 2 seats far out). That's pretty much always what I've found with CX; there are a few sporadic dates, but not many. So if I want to fly CX F on an Aadvantage award, I start with CX availability and then build the trip around it. Also, often there isn't any availability for HKG as the final destination, but availability if you're connecting in HKG to another destination in Asia.

RxCapt

In the past, if you booked 1 CX F seat, another would open up after you booked the first one. I never tried to book more than 2 seats so I don't know if another seat would open up. Some agents are very knowledgeable about this and others are not. I've been able to book at least two JFK-HKG F seats this way and even got F all the way to BKK on the 744. The last time I did this was 2 years ago so not sure if this is still the case.

Paulchili

I am afraid the squeeze (or should I say freeze) is already on.
I had little trouble landing 2F SFO-HKG in Feb (could have had LAX as well).
Now I see no F from LAX, SFO, YVR or ORD at T-331/T-330. April is hardly high season for that route.
Plenty of J though.

paullgo

I got 1 first last week from bkk-Hkg-Bos in April. I told agent I just wanted first to a gateway city and she said, I have lax, sfo,jfk, and bos available. Took the Boston.
I am waiting to board 138 now. I flew in bkk-Hkg in business and only 5 people up front. At least 2 of us were on awards. Sometimes it's easy, but mostly not.

A4K

I was able to find 2 F seats HKG-BOS at the end of December, but since then I cannot find anything extended with 2 seats. You will see 1 seat here and there out of all the gateways.

At one point SFO had 2 seats on a bunch of dates, but at the time it was too far out to book with AA.

Definitely getting close to impossible to find 2 F seats from my experience.

Slumming it in CX J certainly isn't the worst way to spend 15 hours.

Paulchili

This sounds like a close-in award rather than T-331

VickiSoCal

Not if it is April 2016.

seawolf

I think we are talking about two different things.

I'm talking about changes CX is rumored to and/or has already made to making seats avail to partners. This is tied back to article in the South China Morning Post.

You appear to be referring to changes to AAdvantage program.

JonNYC

I'm talking about changes CX will be making that are specifically referenced in that article:

Then there is the question of if CX has -started- to make *some* minor changes already, BUT, the big changes are yet to come-- not AAdv program changes, changes made by CX as described above and in the article.