alexj7

Is that a typo? No way they would book a backtrack like that as a single ticket. If you mean LAX-NRT-TPE-NRT-(USA) then it might be possible.

FWIW, I just tried to book JFK-HND/NRT-HNL and they would only do it as two one ways, so I declined. I called twice. The first agent only found the JFK-HND segment open, but said there was no space NRT-HNL. I verified on Aeroplan and United it was there, but it was right at 330 days. I tried again today and they found both segments, but wanted to charge 120k (O) + 70k (J) so I declined.

milket

Does anyone know if there are business award flights with ANA through Virgin Atlantic available from LAX-NRT or HND for 11/8-11/24 or 25?

I called in last night and was told they were "unconfirmed" and not able to schedule them at this time. The CSR told me that due to how they were showing and not able to book it, he believed that they had simply not opened availability yet, rather than them already being booked.

This is my first experience booking with them - I'm not sure if I should wait and see if they open up, or just say screw it and go with my UR points or United.

Guava

Given that the new Flying Club website no longer refers to the possibility of connections, it is no longer possible to include connections within one ticket. If so, no ANA award can possibly be greater than 14000 miles in return distance, which makes the bottom portion of the redemption chart obsolete. Connections will be charged as a separate ticket.

That said, you are not losing much really. ANA's fuel surcharge free rule only applies if your itinerary is to/from Japan. If say, you want to fly from USA to Singapore via Japan on one ticket, you will charged an astronomical amount for fuel surcharge, in addition to paying the mileage cost of two separate tickets. I have contacted ANA and asked them to clarify the fuel surcharge rule and they confirmed that their published fuel surcharge policy only covers itineraries to/from Japan, not via Japan.

In short, if you want to take advantage of the current fuel surcharge free environment, then you shouldn't add connections to your itinerary.

krazykanuck

If they are showing up on United.com via an award search as bookable under the "business saver" column they should be bookable by Virgin Atlantic.

jazzmailman

Thank you so much for the explanation Guava, indeed that additional YQ to other ANA destinations makes the award not as appealing. Not to mention you cannot stop in Tokyo for a couple of days.

Again, thank you for the explanation and calling ANA!

alexj7

In my limited experience, using Copa to search ANA space is the most reliable. I tried to book a flight that showed up on United and not on Copa, and Virgin Atlantic couldn't find it either. Plus Copa limits you to 330 days out, which I believe matches VS.

milket

Gotcha, thank you for that information. That makes it a lot easier.

Knowing this, do you think I should wait and see if ANA business class opens up again later (I can see there's economy availability), or give up on trying to get ANA through VS?

milket

My apologies for this post. I kind of freaked out. I just knew that my first (and probably only) long vacation was going to get messed up, but thankfully, they resolved it. I was told at booking at the booking would be 155k points (one business leg and one econ leg), but then after I transferred my points and called back to pay for the booking, I was then told I needed an extra 35k. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and it was taken care of, though I was told that they DO charge for the more expensive leg for both legs of the trip.

So I guess, watch out for that when booking multi-class on ANA?

This is my first time using points, so sorry if that was something I should have known about, but I'm SO thankful they resolved it.

Guava

You are lucky indeed. Partner awards with ANA cannot be booked as two one-ways like you can with VS. The agent must have priced your itinerary as it would be with two VS flights of different cabin class but that was incorrect. Since the award ticket can only be roundtrip, the highest cabin class used in the itinerary will determine the price of your trip.

thelasershow

That's exactly right. The agents sometimes give conflicting information, so be sure to double-check. In cases like this, you cannot simply average the cost between the classes of service; they price out at the higher one each time.

merridius

if you don't mind me asking, what was your itinerary? looking at the chart available on the GB website linked in an earlier post, there isn't a combination of business/economy from the same sector which adds up to 155k. Did you do japan-west coast(J) then east coast-japan(Y)?

i'm asking cause I'm hoping to do something similar (fly into east coast, out of west coast) for a future redemption

also separate question: does anyone know if VS allows you to book awards for other people when not flying with them?

milket

Mine was Houston to Tokyo, and then Tokyo to LAX (there was no business flight availability to/from LAX, and VS told me they couldn't waitlist).

Normally business to/from LAX is 90k RT, looks like Houston is 95k RT.

Next time... well, I don't know what I'll do next time, maybe get AA points and book JAL instead. They seem to have better business availability out of LAX. :P

milket

Understood, though does anyone know why this is the case? ANA has no problem letting me book it this way on their site (it comes out to ~135k for 2 total, I think).

thelasershow

Flying Club is just a different program, so you're playing by their rules, not ANA's. I find this most frustrating between programs when one allows one-way redemptions while the other requires RT.

synergypi

Booked SFO/NRT in F on ANA for Jan next year; 110K miles and $85; took about 10 minutes.^
Very good use of UR and AMEX pts!