Partner Blackout Dates on United Airlines

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
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
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
EgyptAir
- Cairo, Alexandria, Dhahran, Jeddah, Madinah and Riyadh
  - December 31
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

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.

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