Trying to Book 4 Business Class Seats Is Brutal in 2026

Family travel on points has become dramatically more difficult over the past few years. This is a blog post genuinely highlighting my awe and admiration for the parents out there booking international trips on points. Especially if you’re trying to fly everyone in a premium cabin, I’m finding it harder this year than ever before.

This isn’t a blog post on “how to travel as a family on points” but rather a reflection on how award travel has changed over the years.

Travelling as a Family vs. Solo

When I go on trips with my entire family (parents and little brother, a total of four of us), the goal is to book at least all three of them on the same flight, and I can fly separately if needed. Usually, it’s because I’m flying in and out of a different city, so this works out. When it makes sense, I’ll book all four of us on the same flight and sometimes even with my grandfather, who lives in New Jersey.

The other requirement that’s different when travelling with family compared to solo is needing to book direct-ish flights on a predictable schedule. If I’m travelling alone, I’m happy to wait until close in and snag Etihad first class close in on any flexible date. With my family, I can still book flights at any time, but ideally on an airline that reliably releases award space.

Family Trips on Points

In the Past

It’s never been “easy” to book 3+ business class seats on one flight, but it’s usually been manageable. Here are examples of what I’ve booked for family trips in the past:

• EVA or Japan Airlines one year back when they released 3 and 4 business class seats at calendar open
• Swiss or Lufthansa within a few months of departure
  • Usually, will release 2+ business class seats on one flight if I have at least 2 days of flexibility
• Air China, as it used to be easy to grab 4+ business class seats on one flight via Aeroplan
• LOT Polish Airlines, which had decent availability all year round
• 5 business class seats on Etihad JFK-AUH-MLE via Aeroplan

LOT was my first business class flight

My Next Trip to Asia

Next August, my family plans to visit China to see our extended relatives, since my brother is graduating from high school. Naturally, I’m in charge of booking flights, and I’m genuinely torn on what to do:

• Japan Airlines and ANA only releases 2 business class (and two first class) seats at calendar open
  • Booking these seats feels a little too much like fighting in the Hunger Games
• EVA releases good award space to its own Infinity MileageLands program, but I’m not sure if they release 3+ reliably per flight
  • I also don’t have enough Citi points (I’d like to save Capital One for JAL Mileage Bank)
• Starlux will release up to 7 business class seats, but only close to departure and not on any reliable schedule
  • Positioning to the west coast is also very annoying from Ottawa
• Qatar only releases 2 business class seats at calendar open
  • More space does open close in, but not reliably

At this point, reliability honestly matters more than maximizing aspirational value. Thus, I’m leaning towards booking Cathay Pacific. Although Cathay also only releases two business class seats at calendar open, they reliably open premium economy and economy award space, so we can at least get everybody on the same flight.

Cathay Pacific B777-300ER business class

Cathay also operates a very convenient Toronto–Hong Kong–Wuhan route, which minimizes the need for positioning flights. While I’ve split up the party into 2+2 in the past, so we could all fly business class, that’s not ideal on this trip since we’ll have a lot of luggage and my dad is also disabled now.

I’m also considering Air France on Ottawa/Montreal–Paris–Shanghai/Beijing, which would only require a short intra-China positioning flight. PMB contributor Sash booked Air France to Japan earlier this year and did manage to find three saver seats on the entire routing.

Takeaway

Booking premium cabin award travel for a family has always required planning and flexibility, but it genuinely feels harder than ever right now. Personally, reliability now matters almost as much as finding award space itself.

Airlines are releasing fewer seats at calendar open, saver space disappears instantly, and many of the best opportunities appear unpredictably close to departure. That is great when I’m travelling solo, but much harder when coordinating a family trip with fixed dates, luggage, and accessibility considerations.

If there’s anything you think I’m missing when considering my family trip to China next August, please do let me know in the comments!