Beyond the scope of StarNet blocking by United, some Star Alliance airlines simply do not make award travel available on specific dates, usually around major holidays or in high tourist season. While UA is very cautious about releasing any specifics about their own blocking program, they have made available a list of partner blackout dates.
Airlines with no blackout dates
- Aeromar
- Air Canada
- Air New Zealand
- Austrian Airlines
- bmi
- LOT
- Lufthansa
- SAS
- Singapore Airlines
- Spanair
- THAI
- Qatar Airways
- South African Airways
- Swiss International
- TAP Portugal
- TACA Group
- United (on their own metal, at least)
Remember, just because these airlines do not have award blackout dates doesn’t mean that UA won’t implement their own blocking to restrict availability.
Airlines with blackout dates
- Air China
- Australia
- December 5 – 31
- Japan
- December 22 – 31
- America
- December 17 – 24
- Europe
- December 17 – 23
- Australia
- ANA
- Within Japan
- January 1-8
- December 25-31
- Europe and North America (excluding Hawaii)
- January 1-11
- December 25-31
- Asia
- January 1-3
- December 25-31
- Hawaii and Guam
- January 1-3
- December 25-31
- Within Japan
- Asiana
- All international flights (except from USA)
- January 1-15
- February 8-14
- July 17 – August 18
- September 16-22
- December 27-31
- Korea domestic flights
- January 1-3
- February 12-16
- July 16-August 22
- September 17-27
- December 30-31
- All flights from USA
- May 15- June 30
- December 11-23
- All international flights (except from USA)
- EgyptAir
- Cairo, Alexandria, Dhahran, Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh
- December 31
- Cairo, Alexandria, Dhahran, Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh
- US Airways
- North America
- January 2,3
- December 19, 27
- Caribbean (southbound)
- November 21, 25
- December 19-23, 26-28
- Caribbean (northbound)
- January 1-4
- November 29-30
- December 1, 26-28
- Atlantic Routes
- November 21, 29
- December 19-20
- North America
I realize this list won’t be overly helpful to those who utilize ExpertFlyer or the ANA tool to check award availability, but it does demonstrate that UA is not the only airline to filter award availability. UA just does it more covertly. Comparing StarNet blocking to explicitly published blackout dates may be like comparing apples to oranges, but it does make me feel just a little bit better about UA’s decision to block partner flights.
Air China Blackout Dates
INTERNATIONAL ROUTES
Hong Kong, Taiwan Routes:
From Mainland China to Hong Kong/Taiwan
18 January – 25 January,
8 April – 9 April,
28 September – 3 October
From Hong Kong/Taiwan to Mainland China
27 January – 29 January,
04 April – 07 April,
05 October – 10 October
European Routes:
From China to Europe
06 January – 10 January,
09April – 15 April,
24 September – 30 September
From Europe to China
26 March – 06 April,
25 June – 15 July,
5 October – 10 October,
16 December – 23 December
American Routes:
From China to USA
01 January – 15 January
11 August – 3 September
24 September – 30 September
From USA to China
11 June – 30 June
05 October – 10 October
10 December – 23 December
Australian Routes:
From China to Australia
14 January – 31 January
9 July – 23 July
24 September – 1 October
From Australia to China
28 January – 30 January, 20 June – 4 July,
6 October – 8 October,
10 December – 31 December
Japanese Routes:
From China to Japan
01 January – 3 January,
18 January – 25 January,
4 May – 6 May,
28 September – 3 October
From Japan to China
27 January – 29 January
28 April – 02 May
05 October – 10 October
25 December – 31 December
Southeast Asian Routes:
From China to Southeast Asian
18 January – 25 January,
28 September – 03 October
From Southeast Asian to China
27 January – 29 January
05 October – 10 October
Korean Routes:
From China to South Korea
18 January – 25 January
28 September – 03 October
From South Korea to China
20 January – 23 January,
27 January – 29 January
28 September – 01 October
05 October – 10 October
DOMESITIC ROUTES
13 January – 23 January
28 January – 5 February
29 September – 01 October
07 October – 09 October