UK Trip #3: I Wanted to Plan Slowly, but I Grabbed the Award Ticket Before the Seats Were Gone

Another post about flights.

Last time, I wrote about searching for an award ticket to London with JAL miles: a JAL flight during Obon (Japan’s mid-August holiday season) cost 148,000 miles, while a partner airline cost 55,000.

This time is the sequel: what happened up to the moment I clicked the booking button, and after.

Honestly, I wanted to take my time planning the trip. How many nights in each city, what to see… isn’t that the most fun part of travel?

But award seats disappear while you’re still hesitating.

So I decided on a rough itinerary and the flight times all at once, and grabbed the seats first (；´Д｀A

What you’ll learn in this post
・The panic of watching prices go up while searching
・How I booked with “1 seat left” on the screen, and later the return flight was gone
・JAL award tickets can be canceled for about ¥3,100
・Heading north to Edinburgh first, and a morning flight home: an itinerary planned on business-trip instinct
・Every seat showed “×” on JAL’s website, but on Finnair’s website I could choose any seat for free

While I compared sites, the prices went up

I kept comparing flights on Trip.com, Skyscanner and Google Flights.

First, I settled on the dates: leave a little before Obon and come back during Obon. The cities I wanted to visit were London, York and Edinburgh. I wanted at least four days to move around the UK freely.

With those conditions, the cheaper options were flights with long layovers at around ¥200,000. Nonstop flights were about ¥250,000.

(The screen above is from a search I did again in late September 2026 for this post.)

When I first looked, the cheapest was China Eastern (connecting in Shanghai) at around ¥190,000–200,000, just about within reach. The layover was really long, though.

But after a while of comparing here and there…

It went up by ¥10,000–20,000 (　ﾟдﾟ)

“Oh, this is the kind of thing that keeps going up if I take it easy.”

Around then, I started to feel a little nervous that I needed to book early.

I added JAL miles to the options

I usually collect miles with my JAL credit card, and so far I’ve used them for family trips to places like Okinawa.

This time, I wondered if I could use them for the UK too.

But honestly, JAL’s search screen for international award tickets was a bit hard to use. I wanted to search by date, but I kept having to re-enter everything (● ˃̶͈̀ロ˂̶͈́)੭ꠥ⁾⁾

Besides Finnair, I searched for award seats on Cathay Pacific and British Airways too. I shifted the dates one day at a time and searched again and again.

But seats just wouldn’t show up…

The only one that did was Finnair (Haneda to London, connecting in Helsinki).

As I wrote last time, searching from Nagoya at first came to about 77,000 miles, and changing the departure to Haneda brought it down to about 55,000. A small change in conditions can raise or lower the miles, so it’s worth trying different patterns.

I clicked “book” with “1 seat left” on the screen

Just as I was about to book, the screen said “1 seat left.”

“Wait, one seat?”

It was my first time booking an international award ticket, so I had no idea whether this was normal or if there really was only one seat. Without knowing, I just went ahead to the final screen. I was a little nervous, though…

Later, out of curiosity, I searched the same route again, and some flights showed 4 or 5 seats left.

But the return flight on the same day could no longer be booked (　ﾟдﾟ)

I don’t know if the award seats were gone. But when I booked, it was there.

If I had hesitated, there would have been no return flight. I’m glad I acted first.

The deciding factor: canceling costs only about ¥3,100

Right up to the end, I was comparing it with a cash ticket on Cathay Pacific: Nagoya to London via Hong Kong, about 22 hours, for around ¥240,000–250,000. Not a bad option.

The Finnair award ticket, on the other hand, was 55,000 miles plus ¥153,180 in taxes and fuel surcharges.

With Finnair, I’d also get the fun of walking around Helsinki a little during the connection.

And what sealed the deal was how easy it is to cancel.

When I looked into it, JAL award tickets can be canceled for a fee of about ¥3,100 if plans change, and the fuel surcharges and taxes go back to the credit card you paid with. It seems the miles come back too, with their original expiry date.

Many cheap fares on Cathay’s and Finnair’s own websites couldn’t be refunded, or could only be canceled if you paid extra for a higher fare type, so this was a nice surprise.

“JAL award tickets are amazing.”

If I could hold the seats almost like a provisional booking, there was no reason to hesitate anymore.

So I clicked and booked.

The flight costs (taxes and surcharges) are paid up front, though.

You can’t book an award ticket without choosing the exact flights

However, with award tickets, you have to lock in the exact flights to book. There was no time to think slowly.

This is where the instincts I’ve built up from business trips came in handy.

That said, it wasn’t completely random. I had wanted to go to the UK for a long time, so I already had a rough idea of the cities I wanted to visit and how I wanted to spend my time. That’s really why I could put it together so quickly.

Outbound: head north to Edinburgh first

Leaving Haneda at night, I’d arrive in Helsinki early in the morning. There were three connecting flights from Helsinki to London: morning, early afternoon and evening.

At first, I thought about stopping in Helsinki to walk around the city. But going into town right after landing and then heading back to the airport… that seemed like a rush.

I decided to treat the first day as a travel day.

So I chose the morning connection.

The fun part here is the time difference. The flight from Helsinki to London takes about 3 hours, but the clock only moves forward by 1 hour. Fly for 3 hours, lose only 1. Feels like a bargain, lol.

Once in London, should I see London first and work my way north (bottom to top), or go straight up to Edinburgh in the far north and come back down (top to bottom)? I went back and forth on this a lot.

But I’d heard London is expensive, and I’m more interested in local culture outside the big city.

So on the day I arrive, I’ll go all the way up to Edinburgh, then work my way south. How I’ll get to Edinburgh is a story for another post.

Oh, and something I realized later: maybe I should have flown straight from Helsinki to Edinburgh. But when I searched at the time, it didn’t show up, so maybe it was the timing. I learned it’s a good idea to practice searching for JAL international award tickets regularly, before you actually need them.

Return: very early, morning or evening?

For the flight back from London, I couldn’t decide between a very early flight, a morning flight and an evening flight. The flight from Helsinki to Nagoya leaves at the same time either way, so it really comes down to how many hours I want in Helsinki.

• Very early flight: scary if anything goes wrong that day. And Heathrow is apparently pretty crowded early in the morning
• Evening flight: after a last day exploring London, I probably won’t have any energy left by evening (lol)
• Morning flight: I can get to the airport with time to spare

So, the morning flight it is. Business-trip instinct again. I just went for it!

On the morning flight, I’ll reach Helsinki in the afternoon. Going home, we fly the other way, so this time the clock races ahead, lol.

I’ll have time in Helsinki before the night flight, so this time I plan to walk around the city a bit before heading back to Japan.

Choosing seats: on JAL’s website, every seat was “×”

With the booking done, next came the seats. I tried to choose seats on JAL’s website, and…

Every seat was “×” ((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))

“The seat map cannot be displayed because all seats available for advance seat selection have been assigned.”

Come on, this flight is a whole year away. There’s no way it’s full.

“Maybe there’s a day when seat selection opens?”

When I looked into it, I found an explanation: Finnair charges for advance seat choice in economy, and JAL’s website has no way to sell another airline’s paid seats. So everything just shows “×.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to wait until check-in opens 36 hours before departure…”

At that point, I had given up.

On Finnair’s website, I could pick any seat

But a few days later…

On a whim, I entered my JAL booking reference and last name into “Manage booking” on Finnair’s website, and my flight details came up. I could even open the seat map (　ﾟдﾟ)

And it was free.

Finnair’s rules say “Award flight tickets include complimentary seat selection for Standard seats,” and my award ticket booked with JAL miles counted too.

When I opened it, almost nobody had chosen a seat yet.

The flight was a year away, so of course, but I could take my pick ♪( ´▽｀)

A ticket booked through JAL, but I couldn’t choose seats on JAL’s site, while the airline I’m actually flying let me do it in seconds. That twist made me laugh a little.

• For a partner airline award ticket, try entering your booking reference on the website of the airline you’re actually flying
• If the booking airline’s site says you can’t, that may just be that airline’s own limitation, not a real “no”

Just between us, I jumped to the conclusion that I had to wait until 36 hours before, lol.

Four flights, four reasons for my seats

Aisle for long flights, window for short ones. That was my rough plan at first, but once I started, the deciding factor was completely different for each flight.

Outbound long flight: I don’t want to worry about restroom trips

At first I thought, “On a long flight, a window seat where I can lean on the wall and sleep sounds nice.”

But the restroom decided it. If I drink enough water over a dozen-plus hours, I’ll get up 2 or 3 times. In a window seat, I’d have to climb over two people each time, and I’d probably end up drinking less to avoid bothering them.

I looked at the back too, but the last rows are near the restrooms and emergency exits, which didn’t look relaxing.

So I chose an aisle seat in the middle section (around the middle of the cabin), a little away from both the restrooms and the exits.

Outbound short flight (Helsinki → London): I want the view

For the short flight, I went with a window seat to enjoy the view.

I took a little detour here and wondered which side of the plane would have the better view from Helsinki to London, so I even looked up the direction of the flight path.

Conclusion: it didn’t matter at all, lol.

Most of the route is over the sea, so on either side it’s “mostly sea, a little land.” I couldn’t find a reason to choose by direction, so I let it go (；´Д｀A

In the end, I chose a window seat near the front of the free seats, a comfortable distance from the restrooms.

Return short flight (London → Helsinki): I want to sleep

Also a window seat, but for a completely different reason. Outbound was for the view; going home is for sleeping.

By the time I board after the last day of the trip, I’ll be tired. And when I land in Helsinki, I plan to walk around the city again.

“I want to get a little sleep.”

That alone decided it: a window seat around the middle, where I can lean on the wall and sleep without worrying about the person next to me.

Return long flight: I want to get off quickly

The last flight is a long one like the outbound. At first I almost went with “the same spot as the way there.”

But on this flight, I can’t just sleep the whole time. I land in Nagoya at night, and if I sleep deeply on the plane, the jet lag might drag on, so I want to stay awake for a while. I also want time to open my laptop and write blog posts.

So, an aisle seat where it’s easy to move.

And there was one more condition the outbound flight didn’t have: when I land in Nagoya I’m taking the train home, so I want to get off the plane as quickly as possible.

Looking at the seat map again, the free seats start from a certain row. That row is the frontmost of the free seats, so I took the aisle seat there.

Four flights, four reasons.

The simple rule “aisle for long flights, window for short ones” didn’t explain it all. The biggest lesson from choosing seats this time was that the right seat depends on how you want to spend your time on board.

Summary

• Award seats disappear while you hesitate. I booked with “1 seat left,” and later the return flight could no longer be booked
• JAL award tickets can be canceled for about ¥3,100, and fuel surcharges and taxes are refunded. It felt almost like a provisional booking
• You have to choose the exact flights for an award ticket. I built the plan quickly from the cities I already had in mind, using business-trip instinct
• For seat selection on a partner airline award ticket, try the website of the airline you’re actually flying, not JAL’s
• Choosing seats is easier if you think about how you want to spend your time on board

I wanted to plan slowly, but booking first means I can enjoy preparing at my own pace for the rest of the year.

To everyone hunting for award tickets: when one shows up, don’t hesitate. Just book it (^^)

Next up: the hotels. I booked those on impulse too, and fell into a little trap, lol.

English expressions from this post (B2–C1)

Suitman is working toward Eiken Grade 1 (the top level of Japan’s best-known English test), so here are a few useful phrases from this post, picked out by AI.

① err on the side of caution (= to choose the safer option)

I chose the morning flight to err on the side of caution.

It means going with the safer choice, just in case. That’s exactly why Suitman skipped the very early flight and chose the morning one, with time to spare.

② wiggle room (= flexibility; space to change things)

Being able to cancel for a small fee gave me some wiggle room.

To wiggle is to move from side to side, so it’s the idea of having room to move. The peace of mind of being able to cancel for ¥3,100 is exactly this.

③ take your pick (= choose whatever you like)

The seat map was almost empty, so I could take my pick.

It means “choose any one you like.” That was the state of Finnair’s seat map when I opened it.

Dictionaries I used to check the meanings:

• err on the side of caution｜Cambridge Dictionary
• wiggle room｜Cambridge Dictionary
• take your pick｜Cambridge Dictionary