That's what I figured after combing through UA's site for the upcoming two weeks worth of flights for award travel. Still kinda odd I think to not offer more than 2, but that's their system. Oh well.

Yeah, when I called UA they wouldn't or can't split it with non-UA flights. Regardless, the TG flight is the shortest and only economy; just wanted to see how their business class is like from HKG to BKK. My other two segments are business via Singapore and are two longer flights. Additionally, this was booked pre UA devaluation (and that's probably why I booked it for 3 people on one record locator since I wasn't sure how fast the seats move).

​​​​​​​Oh well, I'll just stare at trip reports haha. Thank you for all the help.

Would TG possibly release an additional J award seat? Then you could immediately call UA to ticket.

Otherwise, cancel and reissue the itinerary. Hopefully when you book the two available seats, more will open up and you can get the third upgaded on a separate PNR.

Maybe Expert Flyer could help monitor availability for this?

I would call TG and ask if they can override the system to open up one more seat. It would be a shame to be in Y having paid the (pre devaluation) J award level.

I will try again and call, but does Thai Airways open up any additional seats? I don't have status in Star Alliance. I only called the US/Los Angeles based call center though, and I never asked directly if they were able to open up one more seat; rather did they do a wait list for those tickets.

Others will know better, but I would call the Thai Contact Center in Thailand (cheap with Skype regardless of where you are in the world). Maybe explain that you need to ticket via a partner, could they please just open up an extra seat as award inventory.

If they tell you they can’t touch a partner award, emphasize that you aren’t asking them to change any ticket. You are only asking for a seat to be made available so UA can do so.

I would like to book and award flight SIN - BKK but SIN isn't available as origin. Wonder if that is normal and will they be able to book if I call?

Thanks a lot.

strange! is it at short notice or long in advance?
I would call

BinSabai, Not short. This is for April next year. Not many origins show up even before picking the date. I will call later as I need to burn the miles before they expire.

Quite odd - I just confirmed that the list of origins for online award flights does not include Singapore. I noticed the cities where out of alphabetical order, so doubled checked it wasnt down the list further...

Questions about F>Y transit and about F cabin availability
 

I've seen a few people ask about getting Spa and lounge access when transiting in BKK F>J, but what about F>Y (same PNR)?

And I've seen comments about the roulette of whether F exists on certain European routes when TG swaps/redeploys aircraft. I'm looking at an award F seat from MUC in October'18... Is it an unwise choice?

F>Y spa Access: only Platinum members are entitled for a 30 minutes massage, others are not entitled, but you might get one at the discretion of the F Lounge staff if spa is not too full, try before 2100
of Course you get pick up, cart and F Lounge access

oh, forgot second question: MUC gets regularly and stable 747 and majority of flights are with the suites version

I've flown TG Y a number of times over the past decade, for about half of these flights, at OLCI virtually every seat is open to selection. Even someone with no status can easily pick up an exit row seat. However half the time that is not the case. AFAICT this is not tied to flight direction or load factor.

Is this TG just being its haphazard Thai self, or what other rules of thumb have you noticed?

In Y I have never been able to get an exit row when doing OLCI. Ever. As a TG*G.

When presenting at the desk to drop bags, most times that I have asked if I can be re-seated in an exit/bulkhead row, they have already been allocated, but a few times I am sucessful.. I have wondered if OLCI is really worth and if in someways it spoils the chance, whether simply there are TIPs (or associates of TIP) who influence the allocation of some of these seats.

Noted with thanks, and best of luck with your future OLCIs!