Interesting redemption situation

[Y.in.the.sky]

So this came up recently and I’m intrigued to hear people’s thoughts on it:

I’m currently in the process of booking a redemption on Qatar from FRA > CMB. Originally I had planned to use AA miles due to the good value I can get from the route (42.5k) and low fees. I had found the flight i wanted on AA.com and got everthing lined up to book.

I then decided to consider using Avios as an alternative, given how much easier I can accrue these and the relatively good value you can get from starting at FRA. checking BA.com, the same redemption wasn’t showing as available, which I thought was wierd.

Upon investigating, I noticed that the DOH > CMB leg was now being operated by an Oman Air jet and crew. For this reason it isn’t showing as available on the executive club. It is of course on a QATAR flight number though.

Am I still actually eligible to book this with BA using Avios? Presumably over the phone? I can book with AA.com so it must be possible.

Thanks

[SamG]

You’d need to call and check, the Oman Air sub is a new setup.

I vaguely remember some issues that BA had in this scenario with their own wet lease as well in the past

[ChrisC]

Is the AA redemption a sAAver reward or a higher level one?

BA can only book into the former not the latter.

[Y.in.the.sky]

ChrisC wrote:

Is the AA redemption a sAAver reward or a higher level one?

BA can only book into the former not the latter.

Not sure it applies, as the Qatar operated leg of the journey is showing as bookable through the Executive Club.

[flyer68]

Be aware that AA often show “phantom” availability on Qatar and some other partners. Have you tried to actually proceed with the booking on AA ? Usually if there is a phantom, you get a message before you complete passenger details that the availability has changed (or words to that effect). The availability that BA shows is often more reliable.

[memesweeper]

flyer68 wrote:

Be aware that AA often show “phantom” availability on Qatar and some other partners. Have you tried to actually proceed with the booking on AA ? Usually if there is a phantom, you get a message before you complete passenger details that the availability has changed (or words to that effect). The availability that BA shows is often more reliable.

Asia Miles (Cathay) can show Qatar availability, and you don’t need a miles balance to search. If that’s inconsistent with BA, then it’s likely a BA-end problem.