Back in May I had the opportunity to fly first class on the Qantas Airbus 380 (see this trip report), and ever since I've been obsessed. I remember first seeing pictures of the Airbus 380 when it was in production and thinking "okay, what's the big deal?" It wasn't until after I flew it that…
Continue reading: Chasing the A380: Introduction
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I've used almost all of my US DM since a devaluation is going to come sooner rather than later
"With the exception of Qantas, no airline consistently releases first class award space on the Airbus 380 to partner loyalty programs"
Cf. EK A380 F seats with JL miles.
(Yes, I'm a smartass.)
I'm curious on the award... USAirways charges 120k for an asia trip in F, going over the atlantic OR pacific? any stopovers allowed?
@ Jay -- Yep 120,000 miles for going via the Atlantic or the Pacific. It's pretty funny, because if you just go to Europe they charge 125,000 miles, while if you go to Asia through Europe (and stopover there) it costs you only 120,000 miles. So you save 5,000 miles by flying an extra 20+ hours in first class. I'm frugal. 😀
And yes, you're allowed one stopover at a Star Alliance hub, though even that is only loosely enforced.
Ben,
On expert flyer there are SU flights available in first but when I call USAIR to try to redeem them, she says they are not there. Do you keep calling representatives until you find one who sees it or is there some trick I'm missing?
LAX to EU shows C and F on LX! I would fly LX C over LH
Flight Stops Depart Arrive Aircraft Frequency
Reliability Available Classes
Description Code Seats
0 Connections
LX 41 0 LAX
10/03/12
7:35 PM ZRH
10/04/12
3:45 PM 343
Unavailable
92% / 25m First - Awards & Upgrades O 1
1 Connections
UA 942 0 LAX
10/03/12
11:00 AM ORD
10/03/12
4:54 PM 752
Unavailable
69% / 24m
LX 9 0 ORD
10/03/12
7:25 PM ZRH
10/04/12
11:00 AM 333
Unavailable
97% / 19m First - Awards & Upgrades O 1
1 Connections
UA 840 0 LAX
10/03/12
12:00 PM ORD
10/03/12
5:58 PM 320
Unavailable
58% / 23m
LX 9 0 ORD
10/03/12
7:25 PM ZRH
10/04/12
11:00 AM 333
Unavailable
97% / 19m First - Awards & Upgrades O 1
1 Connections
AA 1563 0 LAX
10/03/12
4:50 PM SFO
10/03/12
6:05 PM 738
Unavailable
NA / NA
LX 39 0 SFO
10/03/12
7:35 PM ZRH
10/04/12
3:40 PM 343
Unavailable
89% / 23m Business - Awards & Upgrades I 3
1 Connections
DL 4780 0 LAX
10/03/12
4:50 PM SFO
10/03/12
6:11 PM CR9
Unavailable
84% / 23m
LX 39 0 SFO
10/03/12
7:35 PM ZRH
10/04/12
3:40 PM 343
Unavailable
89% / 23m Business - Awards & Upgrades I 3
@ Michael -- This is because the availability you see on Expert Flyer for Swiss is what's available to Miles & More members, and not what's available to Star Alliance partners. Swiss and Lufthansa release a LOT more award space to their own members than partner airlines, though close to departure they often open up more award space to Star Alliance partners.
@ Michael -- Don't lose hope completely, as that space may very well open up a few days before departure.
@ Ken -- LOL, yes, I actually was (well, 6F, but who's counting?). Were you on the flight?
@ Carl -- Loved the Westin, it's my new favorite hotel in Frankfurt (though Frankfurt has one of the worst selection of hotels for a major city, in my opinion).
sorry to bug you guys again, but how can I also have access to the graphical maps tracking your itinerary? I am talking about the globe with the red flight paths. Thank you.
lucky, what tool do you use to check last-minute availability? ANA only shows available flights more than 7 days prior to departure... Thanks!
@Jake: For a flight departing today, put in 1/15 for the departure and return. Reverse the routing to ZRH to SFO, submit, ignore the error and look down. And if you're not looking at your lap you'll see: OK OK OK.
Awesome! Thank you, Simon. And US Airways will issue a Star Alliance award ticket that close to departure (e.g. 24h prior to takeoff), right?
Lucky, great report as usual!
One question though, how did you manage to scoop up such a good deal? I mean the whole trip just costs 120,000 miles.
I briefly checked for an award flight from NRT to FRA on Business Class, it's costs 60,000! By the time I add a return ticket it's would be well over 120,000!
Could you break down miles you used for each segment of the flight?
Cheers
@ TG -- US Airways charges 120,000 miles for first class from the US to Japan, and allows you to route via Europe. So there was no per segment cost, but rather just a cost for the entire itinerary.
Lucky,
Yep, you're right, it was 6F. I thought that was you. I was sitting way in the back and I recognized you on my way in. I'm taking advantage of the DEQAA and DEQ11 routes ORD-SFO for EXP thanks to your post a couple weeks back. I've noticed about 5 or so FTers on those flights typically; there were at least a couple of us on that one.
How long can your stop over be in Europe when redeeming an award flight to Asia with miles?
@ Johnny Mac -- As long as you'd like within the ticket validity. Tickets are valid for a year from the date of issue, so as long as you can complete travel within that time period, you're good to go. So you could stop for 11+ months if you wanted to.
hahahahaha AWESOME! Thanks for the response! So if you schedule a ticket from New York to Tokyo, you could stop in Paris for a month and if you get a good agent, you could go to Berlin on the same ticket and stay there for a week and a half, and then go to Tokyo for 2 weeks? haha But you have to make sure you get on the partner airlines...? and then on the way back..I wonder if you could go from Tokyo to Hawaii and then stay there for a month..and then go from Hawaii to New York...That would be an awesome trip! I wonder if you have to take the same routing on the return?
@ Johnny Mac -- The limiting factor would actually be the number of stopovers you're allowed. Many airlines (including US Airways, United, Delta, etc.) only allow one stopover of over 24 hours enroute to the destination. So while you could return via a different routing (even via a different ocean), you couldn't stop for more than 24 hours along the way if you already had a stopover.
Oh..I see. Thanks! Well, If it was convenient, it would be kind of fun to do a fast visit of Berlin. I love the site btw. I love reading about the trips. I was looking to read the whole story of "Chasing the A380" but I ran out of clickable links. I also really like the break down at the beginning of it. The old way has it's pluses too. Do you think you could go from New York to Paris to Berlin and not stay longer than 24 hours in Berlin, and then to Tokyo. Then Tokyo to Hawaii to New York on one ticket?
@ Johnny Mac -- Absolutely, as long as your stops are for less than 24 hours, you should be able to do that through a program like United/Continental. I've done plenty of trips where I visit a handful of destinations for less than 24 hours each, and they can be quite fun.
[...] new F on the A380 to anyone else and availability on most other flights is also close to zero. Tell that to our very own lucky9876coins. [...]
Would trip to Bangkok as a final destination through Frankfurt/Tokyo with the flights in this itinerary be allowed by US Airways? Also, do you pay fees for changing the flights at the last minute?
@ Panda -- Absolutely, though keep in mind that Bangkok is South Asia, so would cost 160,000 miles in first class instead of the 120,000 miles required for North Asia. US Airways does impose a $150 change fee for any changes to award tickets.