onthesam

No matter what you end up booking now, plan on paying the close-in change fee (if you don't have status for fee waiver). Much better 1-stop options on LH will likely open up somewhere in between 21 and 4 days before departure are probably worth the additional dollars.

Yes they will have to refare the entire ticket.

FlyerTalker70

Don't sweat it - you'll find something that works, it'll just take time researching options! Most of the people who complain about finding biz saver availability are either stuck on a particular routing or are booking too late. I'd recommend searching for award availability when it opens up for the dates you want to travel (i.e. usually up to 350 days before scheduled departure). Saver availability on United and in particular *A partners like Lufthansa have been known to open up from time to time as well. MileagePlus gives you access to the Star Alliance network which has a ton of domestic and European airlines to choose from. I'd try looking for non-stops first since every time you add a layover you increase the chances of there being a misconnect (possibly destroying your trip), and if that's not possible focusing on connecting at the good airports (i.e. ZRH and MUC not FRA, ORD or CDG).

I think the key here that you mentioned is flexibility in airports. If you're not set into flying from a specific airport (i.e. LAX) or into a specific one (i.e. FCO), you'll find biz saver availability on the dates that work for you. Let's first consider where you're flying from - LAX is a solid *A airport and has tons of flights to places domestically and into Europe. You may also want to consider further afield airports like SAN or SBA. As for your destination, Italy, the obvious places to look would be Rome (FCO) or Milan (MXP/LIN) although as you noted the smaller regional airports may have availability you won't find if searching in Rome, or Milan. I'd also recommend looking at Switzerland, in particular Zurich (ZRH) and Geneva (GVA) since train rides into Italy are fast and cheap (check out SBB.ch, TreinItalia, etc.). Train tickets can be readily purchased online and are relatively inexpensive. It may take some time and research mulling over itineraries but I'm confident you'll find something that matches your desired dates and connection points and most importantly quality of service. Remember: You don't have to fly back the same way you came (i.e. you could fly into Milan then return from Florence). Keep trying out different airports and possibilities, I guarantee you that you'll find somewhat that works really well.

Speaking of quality of service, international business class products are not created equal even for the same airline. For instance, take United, there's a huge difference between a 767 configured as a BusinessFirst product and one of the newer Polaris configuration 777 or 787 aircraft travelling in terms of service and seat. The key is to check out trip reports for the segments you are going to fly both on FlyerTalk and elsewhere (here's one I found for a Swiss business class ). You also should look at the seat map using a tool like SeatGuru since seat quality makes a big impact on the overall flight experience. Since you're travelling as a couple I'm guessing you want to fly on an aircraft that lets you sit side by side (not all air craft have that feature). Again, I can't make any recommendations on airlines since it's very much route specific - for instance, I (and my colleagues) have been on amazing Lufthansa J flights and equally awful ones and both were long haul itineraries.

Once you find business saver availability for 2 that most importantly fits your travel plans, book it and don't look back!

Hope that provides some guidance.

Safe Travels,

James

vcl218

Thank you for the quick and thoughtful response!! I'll be sure to keep this all in mind and start checking regularly once availability opens up in Sept/Oct.

Cric8fan

I would like to book a one-way business class saver ticket from the US to Melbourne arriving Dec 25 (Sydney is fine too--I can book a local flight). I live on the East Coast, but am willing to pretty much fly out of any US airport (booking a domestic flight to IAH, LAX, SFO if needed). Any suggestions for Routes--I've looked at LAX->MEL, HOU->SYD non stop but no business. I do see a Christmas day PEK->MEL nonstop business but can't figure out a Saver fare to get into Pek for example. I realize this is PEAK time, but don't want to give up so easily--have been looking for 3 months, but not ready to give up.

So if you have examples of creative options I can try to cobble together (even from Canada) to get to Australia, I would really appreciate it.

As an aside, this is for a bucket list item--to watch the first day of the Boxing Day cricket test match in Melbourne on 12/26... Thanks in advance for any help,
Bharat (Cricket Obsessive, more than Cricket Fan)

WineCountryUA

This is peak, peak travel season for OZ and saver availability is very difficult.
United.com is the only site for checking and booking award tickets. If you can not find it on united.com, you can not book it. Routing via asain airports using partners may be an option.

There are paid services to do the leg work but they cannot find options if none exist.

Cric8fan

Thanks. I was hoping to jump on to the new long haul Singapore Airlines Newark->Singapore tickets will come available on United? I don't even see the nonstop routing as a paid option...

WineCountryUA

Very unlikely SQ will release those premium cabin award seats to UA / *A partners.

For more on the limited award offerings by SQ, see https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...-aircraft.html

Kacee

No, they will not. The only way to book that flight with miles is using Singapore KrisFlyer miles.

UA does not typically sell SQ flights from the U.S., and I would not expect them to sell this one.

callmedtop

If I book XXX-VIE-USA (all OS metal), can I drop XXX-VIE after ticketing (but within 24 hours, to avoid fee)? This is a married segment issue where VIE-USA is not available. I know this was possible in the past, but with the 2016 changes I’m not so sure anymore. Thanks!

pushmyredbutton

I've also had success with changing the last leg of the itinerary after using the ExPerk, but I've kept the region and the award type the same. It's always required manual pricing via an agent but it has come back fine. I tend to call the Overseas Call Center to handle this when I've had a 'suspect' ExPerk on the itinerary.

To your previous point about being charged incorrectly for changing the ExPerk; I've continually had this happen a few times. Only one of those time was worth fighting as it was (mostly) within the rules [SIN-CGK,HGH-ICN,KUL-SIN], but I did not prevail with the MPSC and chalked it up as a cost of doing business.

callmedtop

Jodi Portnoy

I am booking a trip to Australia for my family using United Mileage Plus miles. The trip will be 7 June - 23 June, 2019. Today I booked the outbound legs of the trip which will route us from: ORD --> SFO --> SYD --> CNS (Cairns), with the last leg of this trip running on a code-share flight via ANZ. (I booked this because I was getting concerned about the inventory on the outbound leg of the flight. I am hoping that I didn't mess something up - the agent assured me that adding to the itinerary a bit later would work.)

Within Australia, our intended travel is as follows: SYD --> CNS (on the original one-way per above), CNS --> AYQ, AYQ --> SYD, SYD --> home
As of today, award inventory for the return trip was not showing up yet (even though it is within the 337 day window). As I continue to look for that inventory, I am trying to figure out if/how I can take advantage of the excursionist perk for one of the other legs of the trip.

By looking at the ANZ routing map and timetable, I have seen that the route from AYQ --> SYD is served on a code-share between ANZ and Virgin. I have the code-share flight number. However, it doesn't look like you can purchase the code-shares flights that far into the future, and the United website does not return ANY flights for travel between these cities.

Here are the questions:
- Since it "exists", is it possible to have an agent at the Premier desk find the code-share flight and book it as an excursionist ticket? What advice do you have for booking this?
- Does the excursionist flight have to be booked at the same time as the roundtrip? Or, can I book the return once the inventory opens and still take advantage of the excursionist perk when the code share flights become available later?

I'd welcome any other advice you have.
Thanks!

WineCountryUA

Welcome to FT!, Jodi Portnoy
That is likely very problematic advice, especially with a partner flight. Any change of an existing itin now requires re-confirming booked segments and for partners that typically requires new, available inventory.

to use excursion perk requires an RT itinerary -- as mentioned, that may be problematic to change your oneway to a roundtrip.

who is the primary flight operator -- award tickets cannot be codeshares flight numbers and need to be operated by an airline United has an award flight agreement. United can not do Virgin award flights.

hirohito888

You won't be able to book AYQ-SYD because it's not operated by NZ. Award bookings can only be made on *A carriers or UA partner carriers and operated on their metal. Codeshare flights would not apply in this situation.

AYQ-SYD is only operated by JQ and VA. Neither of them are UA award partners.

PsiFighter37

Unfortunately, intra-Australia flights are not going to show anything, as UA does not have any *A partners based there.