I think I know how to find airline award availability. For the first time in my life I am completely stumped.
Finding airline award seats is one of the things that I claim to be good at. I like getting a deal and follow availability trends. Even if I don't have a plan to go anywhere, I still look for award availability. My hobby is airline award availability and I like to watch sports on TV.
I book award flights for my family and some friends. All I ask is for them to trust me. I will get you there if you give me a few days where you need to be in first class with a reasonable route.
It is important to point out that I set reasonable expectations. I can't promise someone a first class seat on a specific flight or a seat in the first class section on a particular flight. It's always possible to find a decent premium cabin award seat across the Atlantic.
Trust is one of the important parts of this. As the departure date approaches, airlines open up most of their award seats, so I will be able to get a ticket within a few days. They have to trust me, even though I know that it can be difficult to have concrete plans in Europe without a flight.
I remind family members that I never let them down. They have to trust me because of my approach to booking flights.
For the first time in my life, I don't believe I can follow through on my promise of saver level award availability. It will be my job to make things right.
I knew this would be a busy summer for travel between the US and Europe, but I wasn't sure how many flights would be full. I don't think I've ever seen something like that before.
I see five day periods where every single first and business class seat on Lufthansa is sold out from New York and Newark to the other side of the world. It seems that this is the story of most flights between the US and Europe.
There are some backup options that are frequently available, but they aren't currently available. I have never seen a flight from New York to Belgrade sell out in business class.
I have seen major events such as the World Cup and the Super Bowl, but the level of availability I am seeing right now is lower than it has been in the past.
The typical old tricks don't work if you're hoping for a last minute award space this summer. Long haul flying has been unprofitable for the past couple of years.
I need to follow through on the promise I made when I asked people to trust me with booking award travel. It remains to be seen if I find something or if I have to pay for some very expensive award tickets. This warning will be thrown out to other people who plan last minute travel.
Demand for trans-Atlantic travel is high this summer. I have never seen premium cabin seats on a trans-Atlantic flight as full as they are right now. It would never happen.
We are living in strange times when every single seat on the 747-8 is sold out in one or two weeks.
There aren't many award seats available right now. Does this affect your travel plan?
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