No J class on VS code share LHR-EWR (VS017/CO8237)?
 

Trying to book a J class seat LHR-EWR for July on VS017. Plenty of availability in all coach classes, but business is zeroed out and waiting list is closed. There is J class availability under the VS flight number, but I need to book the CO flight since the USG is paying for the ticket and it must be on an American carrier.

Does VS not offer J seats to CO on this code share flight?

VS offers J seats to CO to sell on all its codeshares. If you haven't already, give CO a call and see if they can get you a seat with a CO flight number on the flight. There is also another flight LHR-EWR at 16:00 (VS001), as well as four flights to JFK.

Another point is the Continental also change the way it does business with VS. Up until last year, CO bought inventory on VS flights across the Atlantic. These seats were then resold by Continental. Now, Continental doesn't buy that inventory any more and acts more like a agent, buying and immediately reselling seats. In reality, nothing really has changed for customers like you and me, except it is now very difficult to get reward flights, particularly in J, on VS flights. At least, it was challenging in December/January! for all of '06.

Nowadays, you seem to need to call Continental directly if you want to get a J fare from EWR to LHR. If you're going from BOS, MIA, LAX, etc., the J fares seem to show up fine. I have no idea why EWR doesn't show up online as available.