Adam1222

If you really want First class, there is one seat available at the Saver level on United, on August 17, from Newark to Frankfurt.

VLtone

Ha...it's not that I didn't believe you. I just have a ton of information to remember at the moment - I forgot that you had mentioned that Swiss won't allow you to book F class.

Do you happen to know if there is even a single *A carrier which offers First class to JNB via miles?

What about my logic of just trying to get to my first destination to make it easier on the person attempting to create the itinerary? You think that's a good move?

VLtone

Are you seeing this using the ANA tool or somewhere else?

Unfortunately I need 2 tix but just curious as to where you're seeing this.

Adam1222

I found it on United.com.

The only Star Alliance carriers with First Class to JNB are Swiss and Lufthansa. (Well, Singapore does also, but that's not a bookable PHL-JNB routing.) You will probably not be able to get Lufthansa using US Airways miles, as its unlikely US Airways will still allow Lufthansa awards so many months after it leaves Star Alliance.

I understand that its not what you want to hear, but the answer is no. You cannot book all First Class using US Airways miles to fly from the US to Africa in August at this time. Full stop. On any carrier.

The only First Class option you can book at this point is First Class part of the way on United, business the rest of the way (assuming you can find 2 tickets).

Many people on this board would encourage you to find the simplest connection in business on Austrian, Swiss, or Brussels, rather than a convoluted route to get a TATL First Class leg on United, however.

You need to create your itinerary. It is pointless for you to call US Airways with only the first half of your flights figured out. Again, US Airways is not a travel agency. You should not expect them to know every way Star Alliance has of getting to Africa.

VLtone

Yea that is a bummer. Blame the marketing departments I suppose.

One of the things I'm struggling with is creating my itinerary. I've created routes many times but after I call in the person just tells me that there are no award seats offered on them.

From what I understand, you can only see award availability via the ANA tool but perhaps I'm mistaken.

Adam1222

ANA and Aeroplan.com show all Star Alliance availability.
United.com shows most, except for Brussels.
Unfortunately, this is hard -- not because of anything the marketing departments are doing or have done. It is 6 months before booking for peak summer travel, and you are seeking 2 seats in premium cabins, to a destination that is not served by many Star Alliance carriers.

I don't know how much time you're spending on this, but it might be worth hiring an award booking service. You can search Flyertalk for recommendations.

VLtone

Welp, you may be right. It's proving to be a lot more difficult than I thought. I had been told to try one of these services but couldn't imagine paying someone to do something which seems really doable but they are probably better at it. I'll give it a shot and see what one of them can find for me.