I guess United tries to make it impossible to redeem miles without adding lots of layovers, etc. My husband and I are celebrating a very special anniversary in September and we wanted to travel business or first class non stop ( or 1 stop)from San Francisco to Paris. Does anyone have any clues into the "system"? We're almost ready to just purchase a non stop coach which is $1200 each. I have searched most of the travel sites such as Expedia, etc. Thanks so much for your help. Susan

My understanding is that FF seats are available to book 330 days in advance of the date, and you pretty much need to grab them right then if you want business or first-class seats on the desireable flights.

But maybe there is a way you can purchase coach seats and then upgrade with your miles?

Do any of the American carriers fly nonstop SFO-CDG?

I'm a Delta SkyMiles member and I always fly Air France. They have one non-stop a day going in both directions.

If I fly Delta, they always stop over at least in NY, Cincy or Atlanta. Sometimes they make you stop in Salt Lake too.

So I do AF, which leaves SFO in the afternoon (as opposed to 6 or 7 AM for the Delta flights.

In the winter, AF flies an Airbus jet for this route. In the late spring, early summer, they break out the 747.

Besides foreign carriers, most have to do one stop from SFO to Europe. If wed to United, have them search various gateways (Dulles, Denver, Chicago). I'm an American flyer and had to go through DFW on the way to Paris last year and we're doing DFW this year for Italy. You can also do the Platinum AMEX where you buy one get one free biz class (still about $5,000 but for a special trip may be worth it).

I just flew SFO to CDG last November. I wanted non-stop and the only airlines that I could find that were non-stop were Delta..I think they code share with Air France and Air France. American and United did from one to two stops. Interestingly, I found a United non-stop from CDG to SFO, but try as I might I couldn't find anything going to Paris. I checked Expedia and Orbitz etc. to find all the flights and airlines that I could that flew SFO to CDG. I finally booked direct with Air France. I realize that this does NOT help you with your FF miles, but getting a straight flight is a problem. I hope you are able to find something. Oh...it didn't seem like it had anything to do with using FF miles, that's just the way it was because I don't have FF miles.

Can you do a Star Alliance award with Air Canada SFO-YYZ-CDG?

Last March we went to London and Paris. When I originally got our tickets our return trip was Paris-SFO non-stop, but a few months later they removed that flight and we had to stop in Dulles on the way home (UGH!!) So even if you spend the money to get the direct flight you may end up having it cancelled and rerouted anyway.

Only Air France flys nonstop SFO to CDG. United used to fly this route nonstop but quit a few years ago.

I tried to book a Delta FF flight for Sept from SFO to Paris at 12:05 Atlanta time exactly 330 days before departure. All sold out. I had no trouble booking a 1 stop flight to Brussels on a week day. From the Brussels airport, it's a quick 2 hr Thalys/TGV train ride to Paris. There is a train change in downtown Brussles, so we're using the opportunity to spend 3 hrs in Brussels (Rick Steves says that's all you need), and then on to Paris.

Stu Dudley

Keep trying for the FF flights..I know everyone says book 330 days out, but they open more seats throughout the year, I booked Delta BC FF seats , less than 90 days beforehand. You do have to be somewhat flexible with your dates.

Have you tried to book your flights through US Airways using your United points? Looks to me like they have all kinds of availability (through PHL) in September in the Premium class of FF.

Our return flight from Paris was booked through United but is operated by Lufthansa and requires a change in Frankfurt, which is better than changing on the East Coast. At least the bulk of the flight will be non-stop.

I've been flying that SFO-CDG leg to go to Italy, Spain, Switzerland because it is the shortest duration flight for that route.

I am getting sick of the issues at CDG so I may look into AMX and KLM/Northwest.

But for this year, I am going to Madrid, Venice and Berlin, all through that SFO-CDG route.

In July, I'm going to Berlin and then to Nice and then back to SFO. It's an award ticket, business class and I booked it last August.

This is for the One World crowd. American does not let you use your miles to fly BA across the pond. However, if you connect in Canada, then BA is ok. Beware if you fly BA business class, as half the seats fly backwards, as I did. Odd, but it sort of works.