So with 3 days before travel, a seat in F has opened up for Avios - but only one :-( (BA107, 19 Feb)

I could nab it but will then need a second - either Avios or AUP - and both strategies seem risky to me. Of course I can cancel the F seat up to 24h beforehand if I don't find a second - but otherwise it seems like a massive gamble. I guess I'll just wait to see if a second seat opens up (availability is F6 right now) unless anyone has any other tactics I should try?

Are you using a 241?

If not then the best thing to do (if you have enough avios spare) would be keep your current booking and book the single F seat on avios separately. Then if a second opens up, you can also book that and then cancel the two other seats in J. If not, then as you say you can cancel the F seat up to 24hrs before.

But if you are on a 241 then there's not really anything you can do at this stage, just accept flying in J which is fine.

Yes, it's on 241 unfortunately.

Subject to securing seats at 00:00 on T-355, am planning a return to KUL next Spring using our Amex CV.

Was looking through current availability on LHR-KUL one lunchtime last week to confirm the Avios and Taxes/Fees charges i'll be incurring and noticed, to my surprise, that one day the following week had a pair of 1st Seats available from KUL to LHR!

Tried looking for them again a couple of min later, but they had been snapped up already!

Point being, things do pop up at short notice, even 1st - and this week seems many seats available daily in J (LHR > KUL)..
But zilch coming back...!!

Lots? It's possibly the quietest I've seen F availability to the US. JFK is blank after March and IAH and others no better. Where you seeing 'lots'?

As per my recent post here , I believe the best strategy is to set up a seatspy alert for 2 F seats, wither for exactly the flight you are on, or for the days of travel (if flexible enough). I was lucky that I got both alert 4-5 days in advance of each flight and upgraded both legs but the "4 weeks in advance release" does not resonate with what I have been observing on busy routes.

I had also been monitoring cabin fill prior to the alert and in the first case it had been a completely unsold cabin prior to the alert, and only two seats occupied prior to the second alert for the return leg. In both cases, the plane was full.

Conversely, on my previous booking (flown last June 2025), before the change of availability and thus when first were released months in advance, even at T-355, we flew outbound to MEX in a virtually empty cabin, originally only 3 of us in first (inc. the two of us on the BAPP 241), plus someone that was brought forward after the first meal service.

As many have said, with reduced F seating there is less chance of multiple avios seats appearing as reward flights.

Unfortunately for popular destinations the use of space releases or GUFs by GGL or high TP golds allow booking into A class which diminishes the chance of reward seats then appearing.

As many use seatspy or similar, so the use of instant expertflyer notifications means that sudden availability of A class seats gets noticed and those seats get snapped up.

It's likely that there will be fewer GUFs and GGLs than there used to be but I doubt that will make much difference to F award availability, especially to places like SIN or MLE.

While I am sure there is an example here and there (in the next 4 weeks), a cursory look shows that there is close to zero /A/ availability to/from SYD, and almost nothing except full /F/ and /J/. Which is something I have never noticed before. And tbh I really do not understand given that it is not like BA is close to being the absolute best carrier in any class on that route.

I had a quick look and most of the flights are F0 or F1 so almost no chance of A class in those circumstances unfortunately!

March has a lot ex-LHR to the US, at least 10 dates/destinations. You'll need a subscription to a seat-spy/website tool to see it all; DM me if you want some pointers.

I avoid F in the 787-8 (no wifi) and need to fly into either JFK, IAH or LAX. There's no or little availability and I'm a SeatSpy member. It's the quietest I've ever seen it.

Do you mean the 787-9 or 787-10? I think we all avoid F in the 787-8

FWIW I had wifi in F on the 787-9 recently, free signup wasn�t working but cc said pay and they�d refund it, which they did automatically a few days later.

I see the same. The curious thing is business is also jammed. As a regular flyer on this route I just cannot see that flights are jammed for 12 months out in business and first. Someone is drip feeding expensive supply. Without over thinking it, the availability is much better on SYD/SIN and LHR/SIN and v.v. So trying to push demand away from SYD/LHR.

If you are GGL, can you use Avios with a Joker on Japan Airlines for First, London to Tokyo?

jokers only work on BA flights i am afraid.