I love Japan. It’s the only place in the world where someone does something nice for you and apologizes for it.

After landing from the Los Angeles to Narita flight yesterday, we headed over to the domestic terminal for our Narita to Nagoya flight on Japan Airlines. The domestic lounge is pretty simple, and I got caught up on email for a couple of hours. About 15 minutes before we were scheduled to board, my travel companion and I (or at least names slightly resembling ours’) were paged in the lounge. My friend was on a call, so I went to the desk for both of us, and was rather concerned about what might be wrong, since the flight still showed on time when I checked a few minutes earlier.

There were three agents standing there with frowns on their faces — “Mr. Lucky, I’m so very sorry, but is it okay if we give you a better seat?” I looked a bit surprised, though they had a laminated piece of paper with the aircraft’s seatmap. “Mr. Lucky, I’m so sorry, may I put you in 1K, this is a first class seat?” I said “that would be great, and where would my friend sit, in 2K or 1G?”

All three of them covered their mouths and let out a collective gasp. “I’m so sorry, you are traveling together?!” I said “yes,” and they said he would be in 1G, which is immediately across the aisle. I said I’m sure that would be just fine (given that the plane’s configuration is 1-1-1), and all three of them thanked me profusely and apologized once again, concerned this arrangement might not be okay since we would be seated so far apart.

The first class seats on this aircraft were JAL’s older model first class seats, the same one I flew in from Narita to New York a few years ago.

Since there’s still a trip report on the way, let me just hit on four points about the flight:

Boarding signs

What are we, pre-boarding the cast from Dora the Explorer?

Here’s a close-up of who they’re actually trying to pre-board (cause obviously anyone under seven and over 65 wears a hat).

Mt. Fuji

We flew right next to Mt. Fuji. Holy wow!

Onboard service

While the flight attendants were super-friendly, they make in-flight service at US airlines look impressive. The service onboard consisted exclusively of a beverage served in a small plastic cup with a lid.

Turbulence and announcements

The flight was bumpy as could be. We were rocking and rolling the whole way. The funny thing is that the seatbelt sign stayed off for the entire flight, until we began our descent. When the seatbelt sign was turned on the purser said “ladies and gentlemen, we are expecting a little bit of turbulence, so the captain has turned on the seatbelt sign.” So, what have we been experiencing for the past 30 minutes? Funny enough there wasn’t a single bump for the rest of the flight once the seatbelt sign was turned on.

An all around enjoyable experience, and now I’m in Kyoto.

Introduction
Lufthansa First Class Lounge New York JFK
Lufthansa First Class New York JFK to Frankfurt
A day in the Lufthansa First Class Lounges/Terminal Frankfurt
Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Singapore
InterContinental Singapore
Exploring Singapore
The Singapore Airlines Private Room
Singapore Airlines First Class Singapore to Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita
Japan Airlines First Class Tokyo Narita to New York JFK

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After landing in terminal 1 I needed to make my way over to terminal 2, which is where JAL flies out of. First I had to clear transit security, for which there’s not usually a long queue, though this morning it was close to 30 minutes. The good news is that I got a signal for the airport’s free wifi, so was at least able to start to get caught up on my iPhone.

The only odd part was that the guy behind me in line asked if he could use my iPhone to check his email. I’m sorry, I try to be helpful when I can, but that’s just taking it one step too far, in my opinion.

Once through security I took the tunnel to the far end of the terminal, where I hopped on a bus to terminal 2. The bus only runs every 30 minutes so I lucked out in terms of the timing since I only had to wait about 10 minutes.

Bus transfer point

Once in terminal 2 I headed over to the JAL transit desk to get my boarding passes.

Usually printing boarding passes takes a minute, though in this instance the agent had a confused look on her face, communicated with the other agent in Japanese, and then made a phone call. In my experience the Japanese service culture is typically such that they won’t tell you there might be a problem unless they are positive there is, so I took the first step and asked if there was a problem with my ticket. In a very unconvincing way she responded with “nooo.”

I stood there for another 10 minutes or so, at which point she finally managed to print my boarding passes. Whew.

I headed over to the Japan Airlines first class lounge, which I also visited several years ago, so you can read my previous review here. That review is much more detailed, as I had a lot more time to enjoy the lounge then.

Neither ANA nor JAL have any spectacular lounges, in my opinion, though this one is about as good as they get. The thing to keep in mind is that OneWorld Emerald members get access to the lounge even if they’re not traveling in first class, so they tend to get pretty crowded. Still, I was most interested in catching up on email for an hour while waiting for my connecting flight, so a stable internet connection was all I could ask for.

JAL lounge entrance

JAL lounge entrance

787 model by entrance

JAL first class lounge

JAL first class lounge

The lounge does have a decent buffet, a bit better than what ANA offers, though I can’t say I paid much attention to it aside from snapping a few pictures.

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

Buffet

At 10:45AM I left for the gate, which was only a few minutes away, for a 10:50AM boarding time.

Have you ever had a flight where one minor detail of the flight is the only one that sticks with you?

Well, I just completed a 12-hour flight on JAL from Tokyo Narita to New York JFK, and while the service was great, and seat and food were good, there was one aspect of the flight that just left me confused.

I conked out pretty quickly after the initial meal service while the cabin lights were still turned up all the way, figuring they would eventually be dimmed, as they are on virtually every longhaul flight I’ve taken. Not only is it dark outside almost the whole way, but when I looked back at the business class cabin I see that it’s dark. Meanwhile, the lights are all the way up in first class.

I nicely asked the flight attendant if there would be a way to dim the cabin lights a bit, and she proceeded to turn some of the lights off… a bit. The purser then came by to apologize profusely, and explained that other passengers are trying to read (it’s worth noting six passengers were sleeping and two were watching movies).

Unless, I’m missing something, that’s the purpose of the reading lights, no? Like, when you want to read?

Anyway, it’s a minor aspect of the flight, though I find it so odd that it’s really what stuck with me about the experience. On every one of my over 100 longhaul first class flights I’ve always had them dim the cabin lights, so why they didn’t do so is beyond me.

Who knows, maybe I was the one snoring loud and they wanted to keep me up as much as possible?

And on a somewhat unrelated note, the older Japanese gentleman seated across from me (who I’m 99% sure is a Japanese TV personality) decided not to wear underwear with his pajamas. I know this because when he changed into his pajamas he prominently placed his underwear on the tray table. He then proceeded to fart most of the way to New York. I’m pretty sure we only needed half a tank of gas to get to New York, cause he provided the other half…

Introduction
United Global First Lounge San Francisco
Lufthansa First Class San Francisco to Munich
Le Meridien Munich
Lufthansa First Class Lounge Munich, Swiss Business Class Munich to Zurich
Swiss First Class Lounge Zurich, Swiss First Class Zurich to Bangkok
St. Regis Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Lounge & Spa Bangkok
Thai Airways First Class Bangkok to Hong Kong
Ritz Carlton Hong Kong
Exploring Hong Kong
United Club Hong Kong and Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge Hong Kong
Asiana Business Class Hong Kong to Seoul Incheon
Hyatt Regency Incheon Airport
Asiana First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon
Asiana First Class Seoul Incheon to Frankfurt
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport
Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt, Lufthansa First Class Frankfurt to Seattle
Four Seasons Seattle

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Before I even start with the report, I should mention that I flew exactly the same flight from Seoul to Frankfurt a couple of years ago, and you can find my review from then here. The major difference was that the flight was operated by a 777 then, as opposed to the 747 that operates it now.

Asiana 541
Seoul (ICN) – Frankfurt (FRA)
Saturday, March 24
Depart: 12:50PM
Arrive: 4:35PM
Duration: 11hr45min
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400
Seat: 1A (First Class)

Our escort brought us all the way to the door of the plane, at which point she introduced us to the assistant purser, who directed us to our seats in row four. The nose of the 747 is configured with four rows of one seat on each side, and then a row in the center with two seats. We had selected the two center seats, 4E & 4F.

First class cabin

My seat, 4E

First class cabin from 4E

As soon as we were seated, though, we noticed just how cramped the center seats felt. The “suites” along the side of the aircraft are rather large, but you don’t get that same feeling in the center seats. Furthermore, the actual ottoman was smaller, so we inquired as to whether the other two unoccupied first class seats would remain open.

The crew gladly informed us they would, so they assisted me with my move to seat 1A, which felt much more spacious.

Waiting at my seat was a day blanket and pillow. Within a minute of settling in one of the lovely flight attendants approached me to offer pajamas. They run small, so I went with the XLs.

Pajamas

My fashionable pajamas

I was also offered an amenity kit, slippers, and Bose Quiet Comfort 3 headphones.

Amenity kit, slippers, and headphones

Quiet Comfort 3 headphones

The amenity kit consists of Bulgari amenities, which immediately makes it one of my favorites:

Amenity kit contents

The seats themselves are plenty spacious, though far from the most modern out there. The only aspect of their product that’s appalling (in my opinion) is the color scheme.

Ottoman

Seat controls

Entertainment controls

View of bulkhead from my seat

Best part of the seat — air nozzles, which are far too rare on foreign carriers

Anyway, what sets Asiana apart isn’t the seat or painful color scheme, but rather the service and food, in that order.

Once I was settled in the flight attendant asked if I might like a pre-departure beverage. I ordered a glass of champagne, which was poured at my seat. The flight attendant also brought an empty ramekin and large bowl of nuts, from which she scooped at my seat. Now that’s what I call personalized nut service! The only downside was that she gave me the smallest portion of nuts I’ve ever seen, though both champagne and nut refills were plentiful.

What sets a great airline apart from a good airline? They refill your glass of champagne before you even have the opportunity to refuse. And this was a great flight, since I rarely drink, but I was at glass four or five by departure time. Let’s just say I thought the safety video was the most interesting in-flight entertainment of the trip.

Pre-departure champagne and my paltry nuts

As departure time rolled around the captain came on the PA to advise us of our flight time of 11 hours, anticipating an on-time arrival in Frankfurt.

After pushback we had only about a five minute taxi to the runway (and trust me, Asiana pilots don’t taxi at takeoff speed like the folks at Southwest), at which point we had a long takeoff roll before being airborne.

Pushing back

Airborne

About 10 minutes after takeoff the seatbelt sign was turned off, and I immediately changed into the pajamas. I did so before the curtains were closed, at which point I noticed that right behind first class is coach, as business class is only on the upper deck. Boy, the evil glares I got will scar me for life.

When I got back to my seat hot towels were distributed, followed quickly by the menus.

Hot towel

Menus

The lunch menu read as follows:

The only complaint I could possibly have about service on Asiana is that they distribute the menus, take meal orders three minutes later, and then immediately collect the menus. Ideally I like to keep the menus, but at the very least I like to be able to reference them while having an eight course meal so I have an idea of what I’m eating.

Other than that, the service was truly beyond spectacular on the flight. While Asiana flight attendants don’t speak flawless English (admittedly my Korean could use just a bit of fine tuning) their sincerity, warmth, and smiles make the airline, in my opinion.

The meal service began with drinks and a prosciutto with baked pear starter, which was delicious.

Prosciutto and Baked Pear with Balsamic Vinaigrette

After that the service really kicked into full gear, with caviar and a rose. Asiana serves full, sealed “tins” of caviar, unlike most other airlines which plate it for you. The breadbasket was offered along with it.

Caviar

Caviar

The next course was a seafood salad, which was equally delicious.

Seafood Salad with Curry and Saffron Sauce

As was the cauliflower soup.

Cauliflower Veloute with Parmesan Chip

The next course was a chicken schnitzel. Again, it was very good.

Parmesan Chicken Schnitzel and Potato with Creamy Mustard Sauce

The main course was a sirloin. One of my favorite aspects of the Asiana meal service is that they ask you how you want your steak cooked. Not many airlines do that, so it’s a real treat when you can have a steak cooked to your liking on an airplane.

Grilled Wagyu Sirloin

After the main course I was offered a cheese plate with grapes and veggies.

Cheese Selections with Apricot and Raisin Chutney

And to finish off the meal was a green tea cake, which was also very good, and I’m rarely a fan of green tea desserts. I accompanied it with a cup of coffee.

Green tea torte with caramel sauce

Not only was the food phenomenal, but the service was even better. Seriously, I can’t say enough positive things about Asiana flight attendants. They were constantly smiling, incredibly attentive, and very detail oriented. For me the service is what makes a flight memorable, and the crew on this leg really shined.

For example, every time I went to the lav one of the flight attendants opened the door for me, and every time I exited they asked if there was anything they could get me.

As lunch finished up I requested turndown service, which was immediately provided.

Seat in sleep mode

I was rather exhausted after such a whirlwind trip, so slept like a baby for about five hours, waking up with about four hours to go to Frankfurt. I figured I’d take a peak at the snack menu, which read as follows:

I ultimately decided on the soup, which took about 10 minutes to prepare.

Soup

After that I was rather awake, so decided to watch a movie. I typically only like comedies. I never understood the point of fictional dramas. There’s enough sad stuff going in the world, why watch a movie about something sad that’s made up? Asiana’s in-flight entertainment options are pretty lame with virtually no sitcoms, so I decided to watch “Abduction,” a movie I had been putting off seeing for a long time.

And perhaps I shouldn’t admit it, but it was a damn good movie, and I actually thought the acting was pretty good. I was about to kick someone’s ass by the end of it, and I thought the plot was pretty exciting too. Anyone agree? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

By the end of the movie we were about two hours out of Frankfurt, and it was time for the pre-arrival meal.

Airshow

The pre-arrival menu read as follows:

Service began with a variety of juices, so I went with orange juice.

Orange juice

The first course was salmon with tomato and avocado.

Salmon with Tomato and Avocado

I was a bit torn on the main course. I didn’t want to go with the Korean option (if it’s spicy by their standards, I’ll be in tears by the end of it), and the goose liver pushed me away from the chicken, so I went with the steak. Yeah, I would have rather not had two steaks on one flight, but both were excellent, and in both instances I was asked how I wanted them cooked, so…

Rossini Beef Tenderloin

Then for dessert was a light but tasty fruit tart, with which I ordered some tea.

Yogurt Mousse with Fresh Fruits

About 30 minutes before landing the purser came around with gifts. Asiana is the only airline I know of that offers their first class passengers gifts, and I think it’s a really nice touch. The options were an iPhone 4S case, a CD, or an Asiana duffel bag. I went with the iPhone case, as I actually don’t have one. I mean, let’s be honest, my iPhone is now totally cooler than everyone else’s, given that it has the Asiana logo on it.

iPhone case

iPhone case

The seatbelt sign came on about 15 minutes prior to landing, and it was proving to be a beautiful afternoon in Frankfurt as we descended over the city.

On approach

On approach

On approach

Short final

After a beautiful touch down and 20 minute taxi to the gate another lovely flight on Asiana was coming to an end.

Taxiing in

It took a few minutes for the jet bridge driver to open the door, so I snapped just a few pictures of the first class cabin.

First class cabin

First class cabin

First class cabin

TAM 777

Our plane

The walk to immigration and baggage claim took about 10 minutes, at which point my friend’s bag was the first off the belt, all wrapped up.

First class baggage “wrapping”

So as usual my flight on Asiana was spectacular. Like I said, they don’t have the best in-flight entertainment or hard product, though the service and food are among the best in the sky.

I’ll leave you guys with one question, though, because I’m torn on this one — do you consider the bag “wrapping” to be a benefit or inconvenience, given that you have to unwrap a ~60 pound bag the second it comes off the belt at your destination after a longhaul flight?

Last week I posted about the opportunity to fly Aer Lingus business class roundtrip from Boston to Dublin for just 50,000 British Airways Avios points with no fuel surcharges (or just 25,000 Avios points in economy).

One day after I posted about the offer, award availability was spectacular. And I mean really, really spectacular. Unfortunately in the meantime availability has continued to dwindle, and there’s no accurate way to search for award space online anymore. While ExpertFlyer shows Aer Lingus award space, it doesn’t display a single date as being available in business class, which isn’t the case. At the same time United’s website also displays Aer Lingus award space, though in their case virtually every date shows as being available, which isn’t the case with British Airways anymore either. The truth is somewhere in the middle.

So there really is no point in looking online, since it’s in no way an indicator of what British Airways has access to. Out of Boston availability is still decent, though not great. Maybe every few days has a couple of seats available, though not every flight has availability anymore like before.

Stupidly I only got around to booking tickets yesterday, and as usual it was like pulling teeth. I’m pretty sure the performance of British Airways Executive Club agents is based on how quickly they can get you off the phone, because they almost always get impatient after just a few minutes. Therefore it’s a real pain to book these Aer Lingus seats, since there’s no way to know in advance what’s available, and British Airways doesn’t allow award holds of any sort.

In the end I snagged two seats in business class for 50,000 Avios points and $156.28 in taxes (including the $25 ticketing fee) per person on the following flights:

Aer Lingus 136 Boston to Dublin departing at 6:25PM and arriving at 5:20AM (+1 day)
Aer Lingus 137 Dublin to Boston departing at 2:15PM and arriving at 4:15PM

For anyone that’s interested, the breakdown of taxes is as follows (which doesn’t reflect the $25 ticketing fee):

Of course booking the ticket was like pulling teeth, as usual. First I started by explaining to the agent I was completely flexible with dates starting June 20. He said “that’s not going to work, I need specific dates.” Happy he appreciates my flexibility! I guess he was hoping I just had specific dates in mind, and when they weren’t available he thought I’d hang up. For the next few minutes the agent let out grunts until he finally had some options.

Once we started processing the ticket, he warned me repeatedly that there would be “taxation” on the ticket. When he told me the total due (after using the word “taxation” at least five times) I responded with “wow, that’s a lot of taxation without any representation.” He didn’t even chuckle. And I’m pretty sure he also wanted to be a cop when he was younger, since he read me the ticketing rules as if I was under arrest, and then finished with “do you understand your rights?” Oy, these British Airways folks in Jacksonville are something alright…

All that being said, I can’t even say how excited I am. I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland, and I’m especially excited to visit in the summer. No, there’s no glamorous world class first class product, but I actually get to stay in one place for a week, rent a car, and enjoy nature, which is even more fun!

With that in mind, I figured I’d share my observations thus far, and also ask some questions for those of you that have been in Ireland. I’m sure we can all help each other out if we all contribute in the comments section, since I doubt I’m the only one heading to Ireland over the coming months.

Once I get enough feedback my plan is to create an updated post with all of the suggestions consolidated, which will hopefully be a good starting point for those of us heading to Ireland.

Let’s start with the basics. Again, I’ve never been to Ireland so I’m just sharing my research thus far, and hope that others can chime in as well, whether you’re an Ireland pro or just in the planning stages of your trip as well.

Dublin Hotels

Westin Dublin

There’s a Westin in Dublin, though rates seem insanely high. The hotel is a category five Starwood property, so if you’re redeeming free nights it will cost you 12,000-16,000 points per night (with the fifth night free, if you choose to stay that long). Unfortunately cash & points seems to almost never be available. It’s worth noting that this hotel belongs to American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts, so if you’re booking a paid stay and have an American Express Platinum credit card you can get some extra amenities, including a room upgrade upon availability, complimentary continental breakfast, 4PM late check-out, and free afternoon tea once during your stay. It’s worth noting, however, that this requires booking the flexible rate. Furthermore, the hotel is offering a complimentary fourth night when booking through Fine Hotels & Resorts for stays through August 31, 2012.

Four Seasons Dublin

The deal at the Four Seasons Dublin is probably the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, so this is where I’m staying for substantially less than $200USD per night. The Four Seasons Dublin belongs to both American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts and Virtuoso (and by connection of course Four Seasons Preferred Partner). The benefits are as follows:

American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts:

• One category room upgrade upon availability
• Complimentary continental breakfast
• Guaranteed 4PM late check-out
• Complimentary afternoon tea once during your stay
• Third night free for stays through August 28, 2012

On the other hand, if you book via a Four Seasons Preferred Partner, you get the following benefits:

• One category room upgrade upon availability
• Complimentary full American breakfast either in-room or in the restaurant
• $100USD food and beverage credit per stay
• Third night free for stays through August 28, 2012

So the rates here are actually really good as well. They start at 210 Euros per night ($275USD). So I’m paying $550 for two nights with the third night free. That means for ~$180USD per night I’m getting a room at the Four Seasons with complimentary full breakfast and a $100 food and beverage credit. Amazing!

So in the end I decided to spend three nights in Dublin, and then the other nights roaming the countryside.

Where I (we?) need help

I plan on spending three nights in Ireland outside of Dublin. I realize there’s a lot to see from castles to cliffs to beautiful countryside. Any thoughts as to the best way to structure it? Does it make sense to pick one centrally located hotel for all three nights (is there such a thing?), switch hotels every night in different parts of the country, or something else? If anyone has a basic three day itinerary to hit all the highlights in Ireland outside of Dublin, I’d be eternally grateful.

Also, secretly I’ve always wanted to stay in a castle hotel. Can anyone recommend one?

Lastly, is it worth renting a car for the entire stay, or only while roaming the countryside? In other words, is transportation around Dublin and to/from the airport pretty good, or does it make sense to have a car?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, whether it’s a detailed itinerary, quick tip, or link to trip report that covers a similar trip. And I’m sure I’m not the only one that would be appreciative!

Not to offend anyone, but I have a new favorite blog reader, and his name is Mac. He was the genius that pointed out the possibility of redeeming British Airways Avios points for travel on Aer Lingus in order to avoid fuel surcharges. Mysteriously Aer Lingus opened up business class award space on just about every flight the following day, and I’m still not sure whether that was a glitch or not.

Well, today Mac brings us another excellent observation on the “Ask Lucky” page of the blog, which I’ll break down here. Though in the meantime I think I owe Mac a steak dinner, and should really rename the “Ask Lucky” page to “Words of Wisdom from Mac” page.

Anyway, today’s discovery by Mac involves Delta SkyMiles. If you’re at all familiar with the program you’ve probably heard them referred to as SkyPesos before, and that’s for good reason — their redemption rates are ridiculous. That’s at least true if you’re trying to actually redeem miles for Delta flights. If you redeem on their partner airlines it’s not all bad news.

They partner with Air France to Europe, and they release a good amount of business class award space, which can easily be searched online. To Asia they partner with Korean Air, which also releases a good amount of award space. The challenge with Korean Air is that they don’t display business class award space online and they have a ton of blackout dates. For a while they displayed business class award space on ExpertFlyer, but unfortunately they stopped doing that. After all, knowledge is power, and the last thing Delta wants is for their consumers to have the power to redeem miles for flights at a reasonable level. Now the only way to book Korean Air awards is by calling up Delta SkyMiles, which is more or less a lost cause (“Korean Air, I ain’t never heard of them before!”).

But the one destination that has been a complete lost cause is South America. Delta doesn’t have any major partner airlines flying between the US and South America, and it’s very rare to find “low” level award space on Delta to South America, meaning you’re usually paying a minimum of 200,000 SkyMiles for roundtrip business class.

But there’s another option that’s actually very attractive, that can almost always get you saver business class award space to South America. Aeromexico partners with Delta, and they have a pretty good route network to South America. Before we get into the details of the strategy, let’s discuss the basics.

Aeromexico South America destinations and frequencies

Aermemexico operates the following nonstop flights out of their Mexico City hub to South America:

• Bogota daily on a 737
• Buenos Aires daily on a 767
• Lima daily on a 737
• Santiago 6x weekly on a 767
• Sao Paulo daily on a 777

Aeromexico’s business class product

On their longhaul flights (those destinations served be 767s and 777s) Aeromexico seems to have a pretty competitive business class product. You can read more about it here. While it’s not fully flat it does appear to be pretty comfortable, so I wouldn’t hesitate to fly it.

Finding award availability on Aeromexico

While you can book Aeromexico awards on delta.com (which is a fairly new feature) the best place to search for availability is on Air France’s website. You’ll need to be a member of their Flying Blue program first. Once you’re logged into your account you can click on the “Award Tickets” tab on the main page.

Once you click on that you’ll be redirected to the award search page. The key to finding Aeromexico availability is to search segment-by-segment. I’ll show you how to search for availability from the US to Mexico City later, though for now we’re just focusing on finding the longhaul award space.

Let’s assume you want to fly from Mexico City to Buenos Aires. Just enter the origin, destination, and class of service, and click on “Search.”

The results page will bring you a calendar view of the award space at the saver level. As you’ll see, award space is spectacular. I chose random dates in September, figuring it’s neither low season nor high season in South America, and got the following results:

As you can see, on the outbound from Mexico City to Buenos Aires, 19 of the 35 days on the calendar have business class award availability:

And on the return, 34 of the 35 days on the calendar have business class award availability:

And for a slight reality check of just how great that is, let’s check in with Delta for the same time period between Atlanta and Buenos Aires:

The “low” level awards are shaded green. As you can see, they only have two dates for the same time period on the outbound, and five dates on the return (and frankly, that availability is shockingly good for Delta).

Anyway, back to the Air France search tool. Once you’ve selected your preferred dates just click “Next, select flight,” and you’ll be brought to the results page. I selected September 8-15.

Not surprisingly the results page shows us the nonstop Aeromexico flights in business class:

So now you’re done with the Air France website. You can apply the same strategy to searching for any of Aeromexico’s other destinations in South America. Now it’s time to get to Mexico City.

Getting to Mexico City

There are a couple of ways to get to Mexico City. One way is on Delta, where you’re faced with the same issues you always are with Delta — they just don’t release a whole lot of award space at the “low” level. But Delta also partners with Alaska Airlines, so you can instead fly them from Los Angeles to Mexico City, and they release a ton of first class award space.

Alaska Airlines has twice daily nonstop service out of Los Angeles to Mexico City, and has connections from many other cities to LA. The easiest way to search Alaska Airlines award space is either on alaskaairlines.com or ExpertFlyer. Since alaskaairlines.com is the free option that doesn’t require membership, let’s use that.

To search award availability just go to their award search page.

Just enter the origin, destination, dates, and be sure the boxes for “Award Reservations” and “Award Calendar” are checked.

The next page will bring you a calendar display. If you see a cost of 32,500 miles each way for first class, that’s the saver level, which should be bookable through Delta as well.

After you have your dates selected you can click “Continue,” which will show you the flights with availability.

Based on the flights I’m trying to connect to, the third option would work best for me, and now I know it’s available at the saver level.

One other option — flying Aeromexico to Mexico City

It’s also worth noting that Aeromexico serves many destinations in the US, including Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and more. They also release a decent amount of award space on their flights, so using the same method outlined above, you can search for their award space from the US using the Air France website as well. You can either search segment-by-segment to get the most accurate results (in other words, search availability from your US gateway separately from availability between Mexico City and South America), or you can search them all at once if you want to get the quickest results.

So you could instead search New York to Buenos Aires all at once, as follows:

As you can see it won’t return as many results. For the same outbound you only see three dates available:

While for the return you see 15 dates available:

If you select dates you’ll notice that the connections work out quite nicely:

Hey, options are always a good thing…

Putting it all together

Let’s recap, We know the Aeromexico flights are available at the saver level, and we also know the Alaska Airlines flights are available at the saver level. We used the individual airlines’ websites to search for the space even though delta.com will display their award space as well. The difference is that the above sites allow you to search for award availability off of a calendar, which opens up lots of options. But now that we know which flights we want, we’ll go to delta.com to actually make the booking. Let’s say we prefer the Alaska Airlines flights out of LAX over the Aeromexico flights out of New York.

Once on delta.com click on “SkyMiles” and then “Use Miles.” Then click on the first tab for “Award Ticket Reservations.”

Once you’re on the next page you’re going to want to click on the “Multi-city” tab. Why? Because if you just search flights between Los Angeles and Buenos Aires, delta.com will only present you with options that are more direct on Delta, which will likely cost double the cost (or more). By searching segment-by-segment we’ll be forcing them to give us the options we want.

Once you click “FIND FLIGHTS” you’ll be given options for each individual segment, so just pick the flights we chose above.

First from Los Angeles to Mexico City:

Then from Mexico City to Buenos Aires:

Then from Buenos Aires to Mexico City:

And then from Mexico City to Los Angeles:

Once you’ve selected each individual flight you’ll be brought to the results page, where you’ll see the low level cost of 100,000 Delta SkyMiles plus $66.95 in taxes.

And just to prove it actually works, here’s the above routing out of New York on Aeromexico the whole way priced out as well:

As a reminder, Delta allows one stopover and one open jaw on an award ticket. So if you want to stopover in Buenos Aires and/or fly out of one city in the US and return to another, you can do that on a SkyMiles award.

Anyway, hopefully some of you guys find this helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know! And a big thanks to Mac for bringing this to my attention!