Long time lurker. I have a question or two about waitlist clearing for business class Circle Pacific, which I have never before used. I have set up a trip through AA but have not yet ticketed the itinerary.

The final flight is Sydney-US, in September. I have a seat on QF17 (latest departure Sydney-US), and am waitlisted on my preferred earlier flights on the same day , QF11 and QF7.

1. Any guesses on whether additional seats will open up on QF11 or QF7?

2. Are the odds of clearing the waitlist greater if I instead ticket through Qantas? I�m thinking in particular of day of departure. Maybe Qantas could reticket instantly whereas AA might not be able to? I have a connecting flight in the US, but I guess that if I get back to the US earlier, I can use standby even if intra-US flights are not reticketed.

3. Any particular pros or cons to ticketing through QF vs. AA? I am platinum on AA.

(Note: for logistical reasons, I can�t make it to BNE or MEL in time for those QF flights to the US. So I need to leave from Sydney.)

Thanks.

If you have Oneworld status, it helps, otherwise, no matter who issues the ticket, it won't matter.

Qantas uses J,C,D,I fare buckets for Business class tickets. You need D class availability for the RTW tickets.

Generally once a flight goes D0, I0 it means the airline is quite happy with existing bookings on the flight already and will hold out for the more expensive tickets in J and C class.

Belated thanks for the helpful replies. I'm waitlisted.

leaving_before