Hi -- planning a trip from Chicago to Vienna this August with younger grandkids. Did this last summer with older grandkids with no problem. Earlier this month AA had lots of flight alternatives; now that we're ready to book with miles no flights show up. Varying the dates is no help. Can I assume there may be more seats released closer to August, or am I strangely out of luck? Hard to believe no seats are or will be available this early. Thanks!
>>Brent

AA does not serve VIE on its own metal, so you're at the mercy of the partner carriers who do releasing their award seats to AA.

You can certainly find award space on AA for ORD-LHR.

Thanks guv! Didn't think of that alternative, and it may be worth it as last summer we had to fly three legs to use AA miles: ORD to LHR to HEL to VIE.

Austrian Airline is the best option, albeit expensive. As noted, OneWorld to VIE isn't ideal.

Maybe try to get some BA Avios (or credit-card points which convert to BA Avios). There's currently good award availability in Economy for LHR-VIE on BA's August 7 evening nonstop. Here's the total price quote for four passengers:

You can also take AA to BUD or PRG or MUC and connect to VIE by train.

BUD-VIE is 2 hr 40 min on the EuroCity train.

Looks like just a temporary website glitch as aa.com is showing fares again. AA tends to load schedule changes on weekends which may be part of it. Note that shifting trip from 8/6 - 8/15 to 8/5 - 8/14 will potentially save $130 per ticket as there are cheaper fares valid for Sun-Wed outbound flights and Tue-Fri return flights. For these midweek flights in August, roundtrip fares start at $1420 Basic/$1620 Main (for AA/BA flights through LHR). Suggest you also check on ba.com as British Airways can have availability in cheaper fare classes on same flights.



Fares are significantly cheaper in September, but I'm guessing your grandkids are younger and have to go back to school.


AA/BA BUD fares are indeed signficantly cheaper. PHL is also a connecting option here.

He was searching for award tickets

This is the reason. However, don't just search for ORD-VIE as a one-way. That will only return results for which both AA AND partners have partner award inventory available, because those are the only flights that can be priced under a single US-EU fare at the still-unchanged award chart price of 30k each way (for Y) or 57.5k (for J).

You should also search one-ways to find flights, and stitch it together into a multi-city when booking, such as ORD-LHR and LHR-VIE. This will force a fare break. It enables you to take advantage of any award availability AA has for the ORD-LHR segment, and then you only need to find partner award space for the LHR-VIE segment. This will price additively, at whatever AA's dynamic award price is for ORD-LHR, plus the partner intra-Europe award price of 12.5k (Y) or 22.5k (J). Sometimes it's astronomical, sometimes it's not.

I was searching this earlier today for a similar itinerary. There was a very small handful of 30k partner award options when I searched the entire thing one-way. When I searched the segments individually, US-LHR had tons of availability at 19k on AA metal, and then LHR to my destination was 12.5k on BA metal. So only 31.5k all-in, just slightly more expensive than the 30k that a single one-way partner award would have priced at, but a LOT more options become available. Then I booked it as a multi-city.

Unfortunately, there is no award availability for LHR-VIE on the OP's desired travel date using AA miles:




But there is availability using BA Avios.

An unwelcome trend lately. (Bad news for SWUs too.) Unfortunately BA doesn't offer protection across separate reservations, so rolling the dice on an AA award ticket across the pond and a separate BA ticket from there is, well, rolling the dice. I doubt paying BA's surcharges and redemption rates across the pond for BA award ticket will be a sensible option either.

Supposedly, AA protects against IROPS across separate AA => oneworld PNRs, but reports here on FT indicate only spotty success with this. And AA does not through-check across separate PNRs.

Thank you, xliioper! Changed the trip dates to leaving on Tuesday the 4th and returning on Friday the 14th, and decided to fly back from Munich as we'd be traveling west to Salzburg and the Alps. No problem finding one way travel on midweek dates!
>>Brent