ARCHIVE: AA Awards on Cathay Pacific (2015)
Aug 19, 2015, 11:06 am
#1636
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,557
Once ticketed changes to married segments are a cinch. I've made as many as 6 changes, between SIN, BKK and DPS as I couldn't make up my mind as the year wore on (having booked 330 days out).
Aug 19, 2015, 11:31 am
#1637
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Saigon/Hanoi/San Francisco
Posts: 1,779
CX has a travel advisory in place on their tickets for BKK. But AA does not (per AA.com).
Where is XXX? CDG? I would say that you have a good chance in the same region, but not outside of it (assuming you want to do this for no additional miles/charge). Give AA a call and reference the CX travel advisory.
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_T...f-bangkok.html
Where is XXX? CDG? I would say that you have a good chance in the same region, but not outside of it (assuming you want to do this for no additional miles/charge). Give AA a call and reference the CX travel advisory.
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_T...f-bangkok.html
XXX is in the same region (SIN/SGN/HAN etc). Unfortunately, it's booked with Avios, so I'll have to deal with BA.
Thanks. Good to know. But, I'll have to call BA, hopefully, they are as easy as AA.
Aug 19, 2015, 2:33 pm
#1638
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: MCO, YEG
Posts: 1,182
Brief update on my quest: AA is still not able to access the business seats that BA / JAL / Qantas are able to book into.
It has now been over a week since availability of these CX business seats first appeared for some oneworld partners, but not AA - I'm a little surprised they haven't gone already!
AA agents have assured me that there is only one system that they check for availability of CX flights and these seats that have been allocated to BA, JAL, et al. are just not available for AA to book.
It has now been over a week since availability of these CX business seats first appeared for some oneworld partners, but not AA - I'm a little surprised they haven't gone already!
AA agents have assured me that there is only one system that they check for availability of CX flights and these seats that have been allocated to BA, JAL, et al. are just not available for AA to book.
Aug 19, 2015, 2:35 pm
#1639
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,557
Thanks for the info. It looks like only affecting for trips between 18 August 2015 and 10 October 2015 inclusive. My trip is not until late December.
XXX is in the same region (SIN/SGN/HAN etc). Unfortunately, it's booked with Avios, so I'll have to deal with BA.
Thanks. Good to know. But, I'll have to call BA, hopefully, they are as easy as AA.
XXX is in the same region (SIN/SGN/HAN etc). Unfortunately, it's booked with Avios, so I'll have to deal with BA.
Thanks. Good to know. But, I'll have to call BA, hopefully, they are as easy as AA.
Aug 19, 2015, 4:28 pm
#1640
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,407
What a crazy game we play. Have been checking obsessively for award tix for my wife and I. Incredibly, availability went from nothing in all classes to 6 J seats on our route today. Needless to say I call AA right away - not only do I get through immediatey (insane - I can't remember the last time this happened), but the agent was extraordinarily competent (becoming rarer these days) and found the exact availability I was seeing on BA. Put it on hold without any issues. Just for the hell of it I check BA right afterwards, and there's no availability again - in any class! Maybe time to buy a lottery ticket. If our plans fall through, I may even do y'all a solid and post if our award space goes back into inventory...
Aug 19, 2015, 7:52 pm
#1641
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 415
I just wanted to report back on my issue several pages ago, about how long to wait for ticketing, and thank everyone who responded with advice at that time. To recap my experience:
I found F availability for 2 HKG-JFK three days prior to flight date, on BA.com. I was in Manila, and I called the local AA office, for which there was no wait. Fyi, I did not feed her any flights, she readily found them for me, incuding the MNL-HKG leg in J (no F cabin). For those familiar with Manila traffic, you will understand when I declined to visit the AA office to pay for it and for them to ticket it, but in hindsight that may have been a mistake. Instead, I called into the US AA number to pay, and the request was put in the queue. It was Friday morning in Manila. I was waiting in the queue which didn't clear until Monday afternoon, for my Tuesday morning flight. Agents reassured me everything looked fine and there would be no issues, but in hindsight, if I had trekked to the local AA office they claim they would have ticketed it for me that same day.
In the meantime, since I had the CX locator, I called the local CX office to see the cabin load, since AA only books the middle seats. The CX website had shown all seats occupied, so I was surprised to hear it was 4/6 and that 1K and 2K were available, and I was able to transfer. ETA: At the same time she was changing my seats, the CX agent reminded me that my reservation hadn't ticketed yet. Upon checking BA.com, I never saw an additional seat open up for redemption up to the day of the flight.
All in all can't complain about the process, for my first time on CX F, including The Wing and the cabanas.
I found F availability for 2 HKG-JFK three days prior to flight date, on BA.com. I was in Manila, and I called the local AA office, for which there was no wait. Fyi, I did not feed her any flights, she readily found them for me, incuding the MNL-HKG leg in J (no F cabin). For those familiar with Manila traffic, you will understand when I declined to visit the AA office to pay for it and for them to ticket it, but in hindsight that may have been a mistake. Instead, I called into the US AA number to pay, and the request was put in the queue. It was Friday morning in Manila. I was waiting in the queue which didn't clear until Monday afternoon, for my Tuesday morning flight. Agents reassured me everything looked fine and there would be no issues, but in hindsight, if I had trekked to the local AA office they claim they would have ticketed it for me that same day.
In the meantime, since I had the CX locator, I called the local CX office to see the cabin load, since AA only books the middle seats. The CX website had shown all seats occupied, so I was surprised to hear it was 4/6 and that 1K and 2K were available, and I was able to transfer. ETA: At the same time she was changing my seats, the CX agent reminded me that my reservation hadn't ticketed yet. Upon checking BA.com, I never saw an additional seat open up for redemption up to the day of the flight.
All in all can't complain about the process, for my first time on CX F, including The Wing and the cabanas.
Last edited by ENFO; Aug 19, 2015 at 8:06 pm
Aug 20, 2015, 11:27 am
#1642
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: NYC/CEB
Posts: 398
I just wanted to report back on my issue several pages ago, about how long to wait for ticketing, and thank everyone who responded with advice at that time. To recap my experience:
I found F availability for 2 HKG-JFK three days prior to flight date, on BA.com. I was in Manila, and I called the local AA office, for which there was no wait. Fyi, I did not feed her any flights, she readily found them for me, incuding the MNL-HKG leg in J (no F cabin). For those familiar with Manila traffic, you will understand when I declined to visit the AA office to pay for it and for them to ticket it, but in hindsight that may have been a mistake. Instead, I called into the US AA number to pay, and the request was put in the queue. It was Friday morning in Manila. I was waiting in the queue which didn't clear until Monday afternoon, for my Tuesday morning flight. Agents reassured me everything looked fine and there would be no issues, but in hindsight, if I had trekked to the local AA office they claim they would have ticketed it for me that same day.
I found F availability for 2 HKG-JFK three days prior to flight date, on BA.com. I was in Manila, and I called the local AA office, for which there was no wait. Fyi, I did not feed her any flights, she readily found them for me, incuding the MNL-HKG leg in J (no F cabin). For those familiar with Manila traffic, you will understand when I declined to visit the AA office to pay for it and for them to ticket it, but in hindsight that may have been a mistake. Instead, I called into the US AA number to pay, and the request was put in the queue. It was Friday morning in Manila. I was waiting in the queue which didn't clear until Monday afternoon, for my Tuesday morning flight. Agents reassured me everything looked fine and there would be no issues, but in hindsight, if I had trekked to the local AA office they claim they would have ticketed it for me that same day.
In my experience, the call center AAgents will assure you that everything is fine and don't really escalate for 'On Request' status unless the flight is within hours time. I've learned to just keep a constant eye on it and call them when necessary.
Aug 21, 2015, 8:22 am
#1643
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 57
I've been reading a lot of older comments and firstly wanted to thank everyone for their insights! I am planning to redeem tickets shortly for next summer. On the way out, my husband and I are flying separately and we should be able to get a single F each. However, on the way back we are flying together and I wanted to get thoughts on strategy. We will fly back from either BKK or SIN either on a Sunday or Monday in mid August. We won't be able to do midweek. If we book 1 F and 1 J, what is the probability that a second F should open on either 840 or 846? I'm torn also between spending our last week constantly checking for the F seat. But it would be lovely if we could both be on F together. Does anyone have any experience? If it's probable, then I would do 1F 1J, else it maybe simpler to do 2 J and not worry about upgrading from a foreign location. Is it easy to do via local AA office in BKK?
Thanks a lot!
Thanks a lot!
Aug 21, 2015, 8:57 am
#1644
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,557
I've been reading a lot of older comments and firstly wanted to thank everyone for their insights! I am planning to redeem tickets shortly for next summer. On the way out, my husband and I are flying separately and we should be able to get a single F each. However, on the way back we are flying together and I wanted to get thoughts on strategy. We will fly back from either BKK or SIN either on a Sunday or Monday in mid August. We won't be able to do midweek. If we book 1 F and 1 J, what is the probability that a second F should open on either 840 or 846? I'm torn also between spending our last week constantly checking for the F seat. But it would be lovely if we could both be on F together. Does anyone have any experience? If it's probable, then I would do 1F 1J, else it maybe simpler to do 2 J and not worry about upgrading from a foreign location. Is it easy to do via local AA office in BKK?
Thanks a lot!
Thanks a lot!
Aug 21, 2015, 9:11 am
#1645
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 57
It's not crass, and maybe I didn't express myself properly. That sounds great and I'd spend a couple of hundred if it meant getting us both in F. But what is the probability it will open? I would rather us both be in J than split 1J 1F on the way back. I read earlier that late August from HKG is a busy period. If there's a good chance we could get a F ticket in mid August on a weekend, that would be my preferred strategy.
Aug 21, 2015, 10:02 am
#1646
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: New York
Programs: Marriott Gold, AA, United, Delta, Alaska
Posts: 144
It's not crass, and maybe I didn't express myself properly. That sounds great and I'd spend a couple of hundred if it meant getting us both in F. But what is the probability it will open? I would rather us both be in J than split 1J 1F on the way back. I read earlier that late August from HKG is a busy period. If there's a good chance we could get a F ticket in mid August on a weekend, that would be my preferred strategy.
Aug 21, 2015, 12:02 pm
#1647
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,055
It's pretty simple, though it may sound crass. Don't be a cheapskate. Set up an awardnexus alert to notify you of an additional F award. Then call the States and ticket it, from your mobile. Collectively, this won't set you back more than $75, tops. Totally worth it to avoid having to check your final week and/or dealing with local ticketing offices.
AA has a local phone number in Singapore. I don't know where it ultimately connects to but I used it a couple of weeks ago and had no problems with them knowing how to handle my request (moving from J to F at less than 24 hours before flight time).
DAK
Aug 21, 2015, 12:06 pm
#1648
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,633
Awardnexus is quite overpriced if you look at its per-search cost. Wandr.me (The Wandering Aramean) is free and works fine.
Aug 21, 2015, 12:11 pm
#1649
Join Date: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,055
DAK
Aug 21, 2015, 3:00 pm
#1650
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 4,557
It's not crass, and maybe I didn't express myself properly. That sounds great and I'd spend a couple of hundred if it meant getting us both in F. But what is the probability it will open? I would rather us both be in J than split 1J 1F on the way back. I read earlier that late August from HKG is a busy period. If there's a good chance we could get a F ticket in mid August on a weekend, that would be my preferred strategy.