Missing: Premium American Airlines Aadvantage Awards To Asia

Despite more partners to Asia, falling demand, and fewer business travelers, premium award space using American Airlines Aadvantage miles is mostly missing. 

So Many Partners, So Few Seats

Within oneworld, American Airlines has partnerships with a number of Asian carriers: Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Sri Lankan, Malaysia Airlines, Fiji Airways (joining later this year) and its North American partner, Alaska Airlines operates flights to Asia as well as subsidiary, Hawaiian Airlines. Finnair, prior to the Russia-Ukraine war, made connections in Helsinki to Asia its bread and butter operation. Qatar connects travelers via Doha (though separate awards are required) as does British Airways.

Yet recent searches for even the most basic itineraries come back empty for any saver-level business class awards not only on these many partners but also on American’s own metal. While overall load factors on American’s own flights are down about 1%, paid premium cabins across the business are up 3% year-over-year.

Still, there are more connections possible than ever before. Japan Airlines operates 28 weekly frequencies to just Hawaii alone, and Hawaiian returns the volley about the same numbers of flights per week. Outside of Hawaii, Japan Airlines operates 56 weekly flights to US cities (and more to other North American destinations) and American sends 35 weekly frequencies. Alaska just added its own flight as well as to Seoul, American holds Shanghai Pudong daily service. Cathay Pacific operates 110 weekly flights to six US destinations, four of which are considered American Airlines hubs including new service to Dallas/Fort Worth.

And then within Asia, carriers that don’t fly to the US like Malaysia Airlines, Sri Lankan, and Fiji which uses the Aadvantage loyalty program as its own ferry passengers to their final destinations. It should be relatively easy to find some options on particularly unsavory dates like July 4th, September 1st, or Thanksgiving Day – there’s nothing viable available.

Complex Itineraries Or Easy Ones

With all of these seats, even the simplest of routes, like New York (any airport) to Japan (any airport) with any number of connections for just one business class passenger yields a single saver level award (today, May 4th, 2025) through the end of November. The closest available after then doesn’t appear again until October, for one date in one direction and at 80,000 Aadvantage points, a 33% surcharge over the MilesAAver business class award price.

Cathay Pacific has been clear that it holds its business and first class redemptions for its own members predominately. But in theory, one should be able to string together a flight that travels from New York to Seattle to Seoul to Tokyo utilizing American, Alaska, and Japan Airlines space. Or from New York to Dallas/Fort Worth to Shanghai to Tokyo, etc.

Searching a number of destinations on wide calendar searches, the prices look more like Delta SkyPesos with unusably high prices.

Systematic Strategy, Issue, Or Something Else?

Is this part of a broader strategy from American Airlines? It appears to be fairly intentional. Using the award calendar view, I found dates that were lower on a total return flight basis, November 18th, returning to New York on November 26th (the day before Thanksgiving.) I paired those dates against Expert Flyer data showing how many seats are available per fare class. American Airlines lists only up to (7) available in any category even if there are more, Japan Airlines (and most others) will show up to (9) even if there are more. Here’s how the inventory looks on those dates.

American Airlines flight 167/168 from New York JFK to Tokyo-Haneda roundtrip show the maximum availability at all fare classes. Checking Chicago O’Hare and including connections, the flights remain wide open on both Japan Airlines and American, yet for award space, the roundtrip will run nearly 300,000 miles at its cheapest levels during the month, much more in other spots.

Is it possible that there’s an issue, a glitch, some technological ghost in the machine running amok? It’s possible. After all, the calendar function frequently breaks and its known that American occasionally has availability outside of those listed online.

But perhaps the easiest and most logical place to look is American Airlines availability to its sole Chinese destination, Shanghai Pudong. Operated by the Boeing 787-800 (smallest variant), the flights should be near empty at the moment given the tariff concerns and immediate and precipitous drop in trade. The cheapest days in the near future for award flights, May 30th to June 7th, confirm maximum availability in every fare class and yet the roundtrip using miles tops an eye-watering 420,500 Aadvantage miles. While the seat map isn’t reliable by itself, combined with other data, it may foretell how many seats are truly available. There are just ten assigned on this Shanghai outbound including one blocked for a pilot with 20 unassigned (or open.)

It might be a glitch if it was just one partner, but surely American’s own empty flights should come up. No, this appears to be a strategy and at these rates, based on available seats per fare class, it’s not working. But a losing strategy has never stopped American West before.

Conclusion

It’s become clear that while American is occasionally competitive to Europe, to Asia both on its own flights and the many available flights using its parter inventory, American Airlines has deployed a different strategy. If the planes were fuller, it would make sense that the carrier would charge a premium. In the instance of Cathay Pacific who has been clear about its strategy, it would make sense there too. But the least logical outcome would be that the airline is simply charging absurd award prices even on wide open flights and that appears to be the case. If this is the availability for a single passenger, imagine a couple – or dare I say, a family – trying to book an award seat in the front of the plane. When will the American West-ing end? It doesn’t appear to be any time soon.

What do you think?