mlasser

Good ideas. I'm working on something like that. The obstacle I'm running into is my currently scheduled OZ flight gets into ICN at 6:30 pm and there's nothing out later that night to SIN or BKK. UA is tellng me there's no other award avails in Y-C-F to get us from the US to Asia so I have to travel on the 25th in Y. Otherwise, I can keep my C-class OZ flight LAX to ICN and fly out 22 hours later to SIN in C or 15 hours later in Y. If still hoping I can get a supervisor to call Thai on Monday when they're open and see if they can unfilter the c-class award seats showing on ANA for TG795 nonstop LAX-BKK on the 23rd.

I spent an hour looking at Trans ATL but they're really rough. Options were along the lines of DEN-IAD-FRA-IST-NRT-SIN and had a few long layovers.

So I'm hoping for resolution on the Thai flight on 1/23 but if that doesn't ahppen I'd have to choose between:

Option 1: 1/23 fly DEN-LAX-INC 1/25 Fly BKK-SIN arrive 10PM and rebook Air Asia to SIN-KCH.

Option 2: 1/22 fly DEN-SFO-INC-SIN or BKK in Y on UA metal and be on the waitlist using c-miles.

I guess I'm leaning toward the 2nd option even though it means taking more vacation days. I'm just going to be frustrated if I use the c-miles to fly Y again.

Thunderroad

I'd go with Option #1 since, if I understand it correctly, it gets you all the way in C. Of course, I'm pretty risk-averse, coach-averse and airport friendly, so my personal calculation favors a certainty in C over the long lay-overs in ICN and SIN.

Be aware, though, that most intra-Asia flights in C are not as nice or roomy as the trans-Pacific C. But they're still a lot better than Y. Two exceptions to this inferior C rule are UA flights and the SQ flights that go through ICN and HKG on the way to SIN, but it sounds like option #1 doesn't include these.

In either event, if either option remains sub-optimal, you could pick one of them for now and you could still keep calling UA to see if better ones open up down the line.

Glad that this sounds like it's (perhaps) working out.

hindukid

According to ANA the ICN-SIN flight is at 725pm. Not sure if 55 minutes is enough.

Axey

Baloney. NH's tool is directly integrated into their Starnet link and shows real-time availability. Technical issues (such as a carrier's link to Starnet being down) do not mean there is a problem with said tool. Nor do comprehension issues.

denverhockeyguy

mlasser,
Did you ever get anyway where MP?

mlasser

Thanks for asking.

We currently settled for a flight that requires a 22 hr layover in INC. I'm going to contiunue to call about getting flights without the layover but the consensus is UA employees will be fired for putting us on one of the other flights showing availability on ANA if UA filters them. Nice.

It doesn't seem like there's much to do in incheon and from what I'm reading Seoul is b/w 1-2 hours from the airport so we'd need to leave at 12:30 to be sure of getting checked in on time, therefore not really worth the time. I'm looking at transit tours too to see if they're viable.

I have found a spa in the area but the website is Korean only so I can't make much of it. If we have to stay at INC, we may take a room at the Hyatt or an airport hotel and kill the rest of the time in the airport and lounge.

EsquireFlyer

I spent a day in Incheon, in transit, and found it pretty relaxing and interesting. I always find it fun to wander around a foreign city, particularly one with clean streets and good signage, as Incheon seems to have, and I went to a great Korean barbecue place for dinner as well...pretty much as authentic as it gets.

denverhockeyguy

I know this is a *A award, but can they waitlist you for C on the UA flights you want? THat way if it opens up, you at least get the UA flights on the days you want in business w/o having to get hit with $300 worth of changes.

GimmeLegRoom

No advice here, just my deepest sympathies as a recently married FTer. For many of the reasons you stated and are facing (wanting to fly C or F, limited time, reliance on *A partners), I steered away from a too-exotic itinerary (like MLE or Fiji). I spent 330 days in 2006 monitoring my and my friends' award tix to GIG for my 40th, and while a lesser event than a honeymoon, it got tiresome and stressful after the 6th or 7th schedule change/segment cancellation. We hit Kauai instead in confirmed NF for the honeymoon, but part of me will always wish we'd aimed a little higher for a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

BUT! I'm going to remember this thread when it's time to book the big anniversary trips...

Thunderroad

Yeah, not the ideal routing, but this definitely sounds like a make lemons into lemonade situation, especially since it's your honeymoon. Wherever you stay--and if you're not inclined to make it the airport then I'd guess the Hyatt might be your best best, let them know that it's your honeymoon. Don't expect special treatment as a result, but it offers the possibility of getting a nice perk...

And do keep checking with UA to see if something better opens up in C or F. No guarantees, but it's been known to happen, especially close to the departure date.

flyupfront

It doesn't seem like there's much to do in incheon and from what I'm reading Seoul is b/w 1-2 hours from the airport so we'd need to leave at 12:30 to be sure of getting checked in on time, therefore not really worth the time. I'm looking at transit tours too to see if they're viable.

Hey...you're on your HONEYMOON for Pete's sake! I bet you can find SOMETHING to do for a day!!!!!

mlasser

LOL. No doubt.

EsquireFlyer

Baloney right back at you. I don't accept with your assumption that NH's tool must be perfect; therefore, I don't follow to your conclusions that any differences between NH tool availability and more actual availability on another *A carrier must be a problem with the other carrier's systems or with the tool user's inability to comprehend the NH tool.

The tool is not that hard to comprehend, and the people on FT I've seen reporting the slight differences between NH and other *A carrier award availability and long-time FTers very experienced in using the NH tool.

Roger Lococco

Correct ...

stevenshev

It's a little more complicated than both factions are making it out to be.

I'd argue that NH isn't a perfect reflection of its own availabilty, but should, at least in theory, be a perfect reflection of other carriers' availability. The unavailability using another program of an NH flight that appears available in the NH tool does not imply filtering or technical error - however, the unavailability of a non-NH flight that appears available in the tool certainly does have that implication.

That having been said, while I don't dispute Axey's statement that the NH tool is a perfect (when working) reflection of * (save NH) availability, I do question his insistance that no other carrier filters. US you say is a linking problem. Fair enough. But how can you reconcile instances of discrepancies between NH's tool and availability using SQ or AC points (obvious NH > AC/SQ in these cases)? Perhaps it is a technical problem, or an incompetent agent, and it is certainly infrequent. But, having had it happen to me numerous times, it does make me wonder.