Last September, we saw Fiji Airways and Malaysia Airlines added into the American Airlines online award booking system; later in the year, in October, we saw Air Tahiti Nui, Qatar Airways, and SriLankan Airlines added into the system; this year, in May, we saw Etihad added into the system; and in July, we saw Japan Airlines added into the system.
American Airlines is working impressively on making more partners available in the online award booking system. Cathay Pacific awards are now bookable on aa.com. It is time to look at this chart again.
| AA/BA Partners | OneWorld Partner | Award Bookable Via AA.com | Award Bookable via BA.com |
| Aer Lingus | X | X | ✓* |
| Air Tahiti Nui | X | ✓* | X |
| Air Italy | X | X | ✓* |
| Alaska Airlines | X | ✓* | X |
| British Airways | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cape Air | X | X* | X |
| Cathay Pacific | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Etihad Airways | X | ✓ | X |
| Fiji Airways | One World Connect | ✓ | ✓ |
| Finnair | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hawaiian Airlines | X | ✓* | X |
| Iberia | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Japan Airlines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| LATAM Airlines | ✓ | X | ✓ |
| Malaysia Airlines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Qantas | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Qatar Airways | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Royal Jordanian Airlines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| S7 Airlines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SriLankan Airlines | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
In the past, although both the Alaska Mileage Plan and American Airlines have had a nice redemption rate on Cathay Pacific, we need to use British Airways website to see whether there are award spaces available and then call to book.
Now, with Cathay Pacific awards added on aa.com, the only oneworld partner that is available on the British Airways website, but not on aa.com, is LATAM.
Search for Awards
American Airlines is currently using a new system to search its own dynamic price; any award search from the home page will lead you there. So, to search for Cathay Pacific, we need to use the advanced search.
The first thing to do in the advanced search page is to select redeem miles.
After that, put in departure city, arrival city and the dates like you normally would. Note to change the airline option to all airlines at the bottom of the page.
In the search result page, select the class you want and Cathay Pacific awards should be in MileSAAver categories. If you want to see the availability for the whole month, select open full calendar. Available dates are obvious here.
Finally, select the dates that are available and choose the flight you want to book. Here are some examples of Economy, Business, and First Class awards from New York to Hong Kong.
Redemption Rate
Cathay Pacific’s base, Hong Kong, is defined as Asia Region 2 in American Airlines’ award chart.
| From Asia Region 2 to Contiguous 48 U.S. states & Canada | Miles |
| Economy Class | 37,500 |
| Business Class | 70,000 |
| First Class | 110,000 |
Cathay Pacific Experience
Currently, Cathay Pacific flies to 10 destinations in North America, including New York (JFK, EWR), Boston (BOS), Los Angeles (LAX), San Fransisco (SFO), Chicago (ORD), Seattle (SEA), Toronto (YYZ), Vancouver (YVR) and Washington (IAD). Note that not all destinations and all flights offer First Class.
Some of its Boeing B777-300ER aircraft feature 6 First Class seats in a 1-1-1 configuration. However, most short-haul flights just canceled First Class. Check out Sam’s review for more detail.
For Business Class, all its long-haul aircraft feature reverse-herringbone seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. The service is going to get some upgrades soon.
In Hong Kong International Airport, Cathay Pacific is operating 4 Business Class lounges and 2 First Class lounges. Check out Sam’s review for The Pier, First.
Bottom Line
Just like a few months ago, it is great to see American Airlines moving forward with their online award booking system. Things get even better considering Cathay Pacific is a five-star airline and they offer some exclusive routes with nice products.
What is your experience using the online award booking for Cathay Pacific on aa.com?