*A award ticket, UA miles, USA-EUR, itinerary ?'s
Mar 8, 2008, 4:42 pm
#1
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Join Date: May 2007
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*A award ticket, UA miles, USA-EUR, itinerary ?'s
I'm trying to use my UA miles to book a *A C award ticket to europe for about 3 weeks in the late summer but I had a couple of questions.
First: Is it better to mix and match airlines or to try to stick with one carrier for the entire itinerary, in terms of available seats?
Second: Say I was ok with shorter segments being in Y versus C, does that affect the overall miles required (ex: SAN-SFO in Y, FRA-HEL in Y, but SFO-FRA in C)?
What I'm looking for is San Diego to Helsinki, but I could go either across the pacific or atlantic. I would actually enjoy going across the pacific and trying some Asian carriers, but since I've never done this before, I'm just trying to get a C class ticket.
First: Is it better to mix and match airlines or to try to stick with one carrier for the entire itinerary, in terms of available seats?
Second: Say I was ok with shorter segments being in Y versus C, does that affect the overall miles required (ex: SAN-SFO in Y, FRA-HEL in Y, but SFO-FRA in C)?
What I'm looking for is San Diego to Helsinki, but I could go either across the pacific or atlantic. I would actually enjoy going across the pacific and trying some Asian carriers, but since I've never done this before, I'm just trying to get a C class ticket.
Mar 8, 2008, 5:00 pm
#2
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It doesn't lower the price to mix and match cabins, you pay for the higher cabin the whole way. The best option for carriers is whatever gets you the best availability, which will most likely be a mix of airlines. You can't go via the pacific to Europe, just via the Atlantic, at least if you plan on doing just one award. Have fun!
Mar 12, 2008, 7:47 pm
#6
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Portland
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Well I found some C availability using the ANA tool, from DEN-HEL, on LH. only problem is, i can't find any return availability to any "big" city from HEL, be it SFO/LAX/ORD/JFK/IAD/SEA/DFW
is that how things sometimes work out? you can find a routing going there but not returning?
is that how things sometimes work out? you can find a routing going there but not returning?
Mar 12, 2008, 8:00 pm
#7
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Well I found some C availability using the ANA tool, from DEN-HEL, on LH. only problem is, i can't find any return availability to any "big" city from HEL, be it SFO/LAX/ORD/JFK/IAD/SEA/DFW
is that how things sometimes work out? you can find a routing going there but not returning?
is that how things sometimes work out? you can find a routing going there but not returning?
Mar 12, 2008, 9:22 pm
#8
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Portland
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figures..just my luck. i didnt book the outbound and am still trying to find an inbound. what bugs is that i don't see that many routings back to the USA. i.e. why aren't there swiss routings showing, or more SAS routings? plenty of LH/UA routes that have no availability though.
Mar 12, 2008, 9:35 pm
#9
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Mar 12, 2008, 10:21 pm
#11
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All F and C were wide open.
And, I was just searching from LH FRA-LAX, again F and C wide open in the summer.
Keep checking and good luck!
p.s. don't rely solely on ANA. Call UA and pick out a range of dates, you never know!
Mar 13, 2008, 5:19 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2008
Programs: US Dividend Miles
Posts: 333
Can't they save part of an itinerary for you, like an outbound leg? Call daily, if you have the stomach for it... you only need one seat to open up. Remember, if all else fails, you can go on a lower service level for one or two of the flights. You don't get reimbursed the miles, but at least you get to go. And if you're going to Finland, that's the time of year to go. Cheers!
Mar 13, 2008, 10:33 pm
#13
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Join Date: May 2007
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i'm going to call UA tomorrow, thanks for the suggestions. i am completely ok with a short leg or two in Y, just want the transatlantic flights to be in C. UA has good availability to LHR right now, but i will need to find flights to HEL from there.
Mar 14, 2008, 3:42 pm
#14
Join Date: Aug 2005
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figures..just my luck. i didnt book the outbound and am still trying to find an inbound. what bugs is that i don't see that many routings back to the USA. i.e. why aren't there swiss routings showing, or more SAS routings? plenty of LH/UA routes that have no availability though.