LAX to MAA/HYD/BLR using AA awards

I have a ton of AA miles. About 500K miles that I want to use for a trip to India this year.
Time frame: End of Oct/ Early Nov 2018
Origin : LAX
Destination : MAA / HYD /BLR
Travellers : 2 Adults, 2 kids (below 12 yrs)
Ticket type: Economy.

AA awards are 40K (one-way) / 80 (return) + taxes to Indian subcontinent.

Based on my research, I can redeem AA miles on trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific flights
Trans-Atlantic
#1 - British Airways. Almost all flights have a stopover at LHR and the taxes are horrendous. BA is out of my list.
#2 - Qatar Airways, oneworld partner. They have a stopover at Doha. However, I see zero availability on BA.com.

Trans-Pacific
#3 - Cathay Pacific. LAX - HKG availability is good but HKG-India availability is zero.

Tools I've discovered :
a) ExpertFlyer
b) KVS Availability Tool.
Both of these services cost money. I don't mind spending if the results are good.

I've tried ba.com , cathaypacific.com for searching availability but not sure if they provide comprehensive results.
Looking for pointers on finding availability. Are there any other OneWorld airlines I missed that can be used for AA awards to India ?
 
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bayguy

Level 2 Member
I went to HYD with my family both trans-pacific(CX thru HKG) and Etihad coming back(HYD-AUH-SFO). I got lucky to see 4 business class seats for the return. You don't need any paid tools especially if you are looking for economy seats.

You can also use Qatar based on where you are located, I don't have experience with it.
 

HariOm

Transcendent Level
Cathay's site provides good results if you have an AsiaMiles account and log in before searching. Or just click the "redeem" button that's almost hidden halfway down the home page and it will prompt you to log in. I don't know how thorough the search is without logging in; haven't tried it.
 

HariOm

Transcendent Level
I'm a fan of AwardNexus. Not affiliated with the company, just find great utility in it. Here's what it returned for CX searches for the seven-day period
starting 10/31. These should show up at CX site.

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HariOm

Transcendent Level
Etihad is also an option, though as noted in the profile comment, it was reported that they may only be releasing to AA within 30 days of flight date. It looks like they only fly nonstop LAX>AUH on certain days of the week; e.g. not on 10/31 but yes on 11/1. That would be a handy way to use the AA miles. We've flown Etihad to and from India several times in J and like it.
 

Cmonman76

Level 2 Member
About a month ago I booked Etihad returning from Male to JFK through AUH and there was a lot of First Apartment availability in November. Not 11/6 now because I booked two. Later I was able to add JFK-STL to get me back to my home airport. If you can be flexible and use positioning flights it makes it easier.
I used google voice and called +6129101948 which is AA in either Australia or New Zealand.(I can't remember which) American based AA agents usually can't seem to book Etihad.

Edit to add - Use Etihad website to find Etihad availability.
 
Update: Finally booked on Etihad to fly to India. The process is easy peasy. Called the AA Australian call center as Cmonman76 mentioned and they completed the booking on the first try. Taxes came out to $80 per person for the round trip.
 

HariOm

Transcendent Level
Update: Finally booked on Etihad to fly to India.
Did you get the Etihad PNR's (booking reference numbers) from American and call Etihad to confirm bookings? Strongly recommended when booking on partner airlines. Can also select seats and meals that way.
 
I booked for dates departing Oct 27th, 2018 and returning Nov 21st, 2018. Called the Oz call center to book them. Reservations are ticketed and I have the booking reference number of AA and Etihad. Hopefully, it'll be a pleasant journey.
80K AA miles for a round trip per person.
 
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