Best way to secure two EK F award seats ?

[Nizar]

Hi all,

I am keen on experiencing the MEL F lounge so want to plan a trip to Sydney and then to KUL from there via MEL.
Wanted to visit Sydney anyway at some stage this year and I do have a need to go to KUL so this should work out well.

However I am having trouble finding 2 award F seats on EK409 and this seems to be the case with all the routes that I have searched and/or flown on in EK F.

Far out I cannot find anything for two pax in F, however within days and say 2-3 weeks before departure often I can. But if I search for one pax the availability even far out is wide open.

The period I wish to travel in is late September which happens to be school holidays - does this usually reduce availability for F awards ?

Would the best strategy be to:

1/ Book for one pax now and hope the other one opens up between now and the departure date ?
2/ Book for two pax a couple of weeks before departure ?

I would think option 1 is a goer however I would like to know; does EK typically release another F seat once one has been taken ? Does this happen close to departure or does it happen before that ? Does anyone have experience with that ?

It would be great if I can book one now and then in a few days the other is released as obviously I would like to have this sorted sooner rather than later so I can start booking/planning other parts of the trip.

Would appreciate any advice on this.

Thanks.

 

[kpc]

Sometimes EK release a 2nd F award exactly 6 months out

 

[Nizar]

Sometimes EK release a 2nd F award exactly 6 months out

Is that if the one F award for that flight is already secured or regardless ?

 

[kpc]

Is that if the one F award for that flight is already secured or regardless ?

Not sure...I booked a F award, and set up Expert Flyer alert...got a +ve notification of another F award at the 6 month mark...others have alluded to the 6 month mark as well

 

[Nizar]

Not sure...I booked a F award, and set up Expert Flyer alert...got a +ve notification of another F award at the 6 month mark...others have alluded to the 6 month mark as well

Ok that's great to know for future trips.
For this trip I am thinking September/October this year, and nothing booked as yet. What are your suggestions are per my opening post ?

Cheers

 

[Nizar]

I pretty much want to know that if I book one F seat for the date that I want if the other one will automatically open up and in others experiences when does this usually occur ?

Or am I better off just booking two in one go the week before ?

 

[dalereardon]

From watching different EK routes out of Australia they seem to always have 2 seats available within 7 to 3 days out. I have been assuming that was the only way to get 2 F seats on the same flight.

Hearing about this 6 month trick though I'm quite willing to risk the 5K points penalty of cancelling an award and try getting 2 F seats for around this time next year to Europe.

I also want a SIN to MEL F seat in September and there are plenty of single seats but we have booked 2 J seats and will upgrade to F if it becomes available. We are quite able to stay in SIN a few days extra also as the F seat is more important for the luxury.

Dale.

 

[amaroo]

Booked QF J x 2 (safety net) seats to JFK and back last night ... want to do F on the way over so will monitor QF/EK/CX/JL as the date approaches.

As soon as the flights open up I'll cop the change fee and book it. On the way back J is more than adequate.

We're lucky as we can take advantage of last minute bookings, but on this occasion I needed a safety net as one of the properties we'll be staying requires a big whack of a non-refundable deposit and full payment 3 months out.

I'm hoping JL pops up .... But I'm willing to bet it will be EK or CX.

 

[NoName]

Sometimes EK release a 2nd F award exactly 6 months out

This is of interest to me!

I will possibly have the same issue as OP in the next 12 months. If I book a multi-city booking for 2 people and book 1 in F and the other in J, will there be any issue changing the 2nd PAX to F if a 2nd F seat becomes available on any of the legs?

 

[Nizar]

This is of interest to me!

I will possibly have the same issue as OP in the next 12 months. If I book a multi-city booking for 2 people and book 1 in F and the other in J, will there be any issue changing the 2nd PAX to F if a 2nd F seat becomes available on any of the legs?

Believe not, you just need to call up and pay the 3500 points change fee.

The issue for me is that there are no J seats available around the dates I want even for one person. I may just book the single F seat that I see and hope the other opens up. If not then I'll cancel the first one and cop the 5000 point cancellation fee and just find another way to KUL. Maybe EK SYD-BKK will open up a few days before and we fly there instead before heading to KUL lol whatever it takes. Either way I have to try one of the F lounges either SYD or MEL lol.