HighlandBoy

Thanks to all the great information gained from this forum I have been able to secure First class seat out to Miami and back from JFK next year using the 241 voucher.

I had to wait a couple of days after T-355 for the return seats to show but was happy when they did and was straight on the phone and I was able to add the return seats to the outbound sectors already booked online with no problems at all.

Lenny80

Lenny80

Globaliser

If there's award space for flights between Manchester and London, you just include that in your redemption.

Although if your long-haul flight is from Gatwick, then flying from Manchester to Heathrow and then having to transfer (at your own cost) to Gatwick may be more hassle than that is worth - you'd need to compare that to the alternatives for getting to Gatwick.

omk298

I think I know the answer, but would like to see if anyone has any ideas. We're considering a trip to MCT later this year (ie well within 355 days). There is currently no availability for the outbound, but there is for BA LHR-DOH and QR DOH-MCT. Am I right in thinking that there's no way to get those on the same ticket if we use a 241, and also no way to get bags checked through?

I suspect we'll need a lengthy break in DOH, has anyone any other ideas?

Thanks

Blueboys999

ThePointsChaser

Hi everyone,

I managed to book our outbound in First Class (LON - TYO) over the peak Cherry Blossom season in March/April next year but completely missed the T-355 for the return.

Is it at all likely we'll be able to get the return leg at some point, or should I give up and book a different destination? I had alerts setup with reward flight finder but didn't get an alert for seats on the return date we wanted

We're flying out on April 1st and hoping to spend around 2 weeks in Japan.

ThePointsChaser

Any ideas appreciated.

kriscii

A couple of options:

• Is there WT/WTP availability? If so book that so you can get back and keep watching availability the £35 change fee isn't too bad.
• If travelling in First is important then check out where in East Asia has availability and check out connecting flight availability and price between Tokyo and that location but don't book the connection yet. If availability appears from Tokyo you can always change to that flight.

More availability is pot luck I've been waiting 6 months for some extra availability on one trip and on another I managed to change from CW to First on both legs on one flight after about 3 months, so you never know.

parklife

As others have said just add it on. Sheffield based and use this on all long haul redemptions via Heathrow. Although recently there appears (maybe just my perception) that the flights LHR to MAN are less frequent and can lead to a lengthy stopover at LHR - At least this was the case when booking a work trip to Hyderabad - routing back via Delhi instead as it is a lot quicker.

ThePointsChaser

Thanks for the reply.

We're only interested in booking F - we have the Avios and really want to maximise our 2-4-1.

Have been checking Shanghai and Hong Kong availability but nothing there either. I guess my real question, for those that have a lot of experience booking these things, is if there is a good chance that F availability will eventually open up or if I'm wasting my time i.e. cancel and look for something else entirely, to use our 2-4-1 on.

stephenjc

This doesn't help, but you really need to book at T-355 for these popular routes in F. I booked nearly the same dates as yourself, but was on the phone at 1am booking the return, there is plenty of availability due to F from both Narita and Haneda. Maybe wait until next year if your 2-4-1 doesn't expire?

omk298

There's no guarantee any F seats will ever be released on a particular flight. They guarantee 2 CW seats per flight, but more than that is down to luck (or BA's algorithms!). I did the trip you have planned a couple of years ago - I checked almost every day for F to come up on either outbound or return and it never did - that was before BA Redemption Finder made it much easier.

I'd suggest you pay £3/month to BA Redemption Finder and set up alerts on flights from TYO, KIX, PVG, PEK, HKG, ICN, KUL, SIN and anywhere else I've missed. I would set up alerts for CW and F. 2 weeks in Japan would be more important to me than the difference between F and CW, and you're more likely to get CW availability. Maximise your date flexibility as well.

I would also book any availability you can see on the right date in any class from the nearest place to Japan, so that you can get home at least, in case nothing else shows up.

ThePointsChaser

Thanks for all the help and advice.

In hindsight I probably should have been on the phone but unfortunately I was out of the country when I needed to book the inbound. 2-4-1 expires before the following year too.

I actually had already paid for the elite membership but didn't get an alert for the inbound flights.

Willing to be flexible on dates but not on F/CW. IMHO, I don't really see the point in using a 2-4-1 on just CW if you have enough Avios for F.

As I wrote this, I checked again and managed to book our outbound to Tokyo in F on the 17th March and return from Shanghai in F on the 1st April, so still should get to see the cherry blossoms (fingers crossed). Good to hear some of the experiences, as it sounds like availability is unlikely to open up for the exact dates I want - luckily I managed to find a route available on alternative dates!

kriscii

When I booked for cherry blossom a few years back I ended up booking from the back of a Taxi in the middle of nowhere in India at the 1am UK time! Told the agent to hold the tickets in case we got cut off but luckily completed before I lost signal.
Glad you got some tickets for alternative dates, as everyone has said you can't guarantee any tickets will come free, it depends on what mood revenue are in.