Last month American Airlines announced it would fly from Los Angeles to Sydney beginning December 17, 2015. Even after it starting selling tickets and AAnytime (expensive) award space, it hadn't released a single MileSAAver award seat in any cabin in either direction as of a few weeks ago.

American Airlines is now releasing good economy award space on the route, especially from Los Angeles to Sydney. It still has released no Business Class or First Class award space.

Economy MileSAAver award space between North America and Australia/New Zealand is 37,500 American Airlines miles one way.

Womp womp! This is phantom award space--award space that shows up on a search engine but cannot be booked.

Check out this calendar instead that I made on Award Nexus. It shows award space from New York to Helsinki in April 2016 in Business Class, while excluding British Airways flights and their nasty fuel surcharges. Note that there is zero direct space on the JFK-HEL or HEL-JFK Finnair flights.

Qatar's A380 First Class looks fantastic. It is not the best Middle Eastern product and looks a half step behind Emirates First Class and Etihad First Class on their A380s, but overall the Qatar A380 is definitely a plane I would love to fly in First Class, especially for 40,000 or 45,000 miles.

The spacious seat/beds are not fully enclosed, but are luxurious.

You and a companion can dine at one table.

The bathrooms are large, but do not contain showers like Etihad's and Emirates'.

The star of the Qatar A380 is the bar behind Business Class.

Qatar's A380 First Class looks fantastic. It is not the best Middle Eastern product and looks a half step behind Emirates First Class and Etihad First Class on their A380s, but overall the Qatar A380 is definitely a plane I would love to fly in First Class, especially for 40,000 or 45,000 miles.

The spacious seat/beds are not fully enclosed, but are luxurious.

You and a companion can dine at one table.

The bathrooms are large, but do not contain showers like Etihad's and Emirates'.

The star of the Qatar A380 is the bar behind Business Class.

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® offers 50,000 bonus American Airlines miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months. American Airlines miles are the best for super-cheap economy redemptions and ultra-luxury redemptions.

The Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ MasterCard® also offers Admirals Club lounge membership, meaning you can access over 90 American Airlines Clubs in airports around the world whenever you’re flying–even if you’re not flying on American. Plus you can bring in any two guests for free OR your spouse and all children under 18 for free on each visit.

LAN Airlines, the flag carrier of Chile, has daily flights from Santiago to Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui and Isla de Pascua. That route makes sense to connect Easter Island to its capital city.

What makes far less sense is the weekly flight from Easter Island another five hours west to Tahiti. There's also usually a summer seasonal (our winter) route from Lima to Easter Island, though it hasn't been announced for 2015/2016.

LAN is a member of a oneworld, so you can use American Airlines miles or British Airways Avios to book the flights.

Qantas begins flying its 747s between San Francisco and Sydney on December 18, 2015. The plane features 58 flat beds in Business Class, Premium Economy, and economy with no First Class.

Uncharacteristically for Qantas flights, the route has amazing award space in Business Class that you can book with American Airlines miles. But the space is hidden; you need to know where to look.
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I flew Qantas Business Class on its A380 two years ago from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

American Airlines will start flying its 787-8 Dreamliners with economy and Business Class seating from Los Angeles to Shanghai on October 5, 2015 and Sao Paulo on November 5, 2015.

Award space is dismal in Business Class on both routings, which is a bummer since the product and Saver mileage price are fantastic.

American Airlines is running a sale on the purchase of their miles through Monday July 13, 2015. You can buy up to 100,000 American Airlines miles during the sale and get up to 27,500 bonus miles plus 15% off the normal price.

The discount is fixed, but the bonus miles are tiered, based on how many miles you purchase.

American Airlines miles cost 2.95 cents each plus a 7.5% excise tax, and every purchase has a $30 processing fee.

Ireland's government announced its approval for IAG--the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, and Vueling--to purchase Aer Lingus, the flag carrier of Ireland. The Irish government owns a 25% stake in Aer Lingus.

Other shareholders, including Ryanair which owns a 30% stake in Aer Lingus, have not weighed in, but if the deal goes through it will have a big effect on your miles.

Right now Aer Lingus is not a member of any airline alliance.