Trip Reports - YOW-YYZ-YYC-LAX-MEX-CUN-MEX-LAX-YVR-YYZ-YOW on AC and MX in J-Class

Just completed what we up here in Canada call the Mexican Hat Dance. The MHD is a fare anomoly which allows full fare/fully flexible ticketed travel across the country for nearly half-price, but requires that one travel via Mexico. In the midst of a cold, snowy winter, this is not too harsh a price to pay. Not to mention all the extra miles one gets, considering a normal full-fare economy trip between YYZ and YVR would garner 4,000 Aeroplan or Mileage Plus [or any other STAR partner carrier] qualifying miles, whereas this routing adds another 8K to this number, plus current AC doube miles segment bonuses. J-class (there is no F on these flights) garners a 25% class of service bonus.

The trip is chronicled in the Air Canada forum for those interested:
www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum5/HTML/002045.html (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum5/HTML/002045.html)

I probably have to wait (a long time) until 'mexican hat dances' will be offered to go from one place in Europe to another.

I am sooooooooo©® jealous!

And if you did one of these as an FTL or SEN in LH's Miles and More Program, you could easily rack up 25-30000 status miles per $800 US business class ticket. You might be able to work in some First Class segments at the 375% level for even more miles!

I will join Rudi in his jealousy.

Now, since Im a little closer to Canada, Im wondering if it would make sense to do a quasi-Hat Dance by flying on an award ticket to Canada and then begin the revenue portion of the trip from there.... that would seem like a sensible thing to do if you have the miles to spare (to pay for the award ticket to/from Canada from your location), and then do a Mileage Run from Canada to renew status on your favorite FFP. The only other 'cost' I see would be the flying time to/from Canada. Im assuming than anybody begining & ending a trip from Canada can do the Hat Dance. Thoughts?

That's similar to the problem we folks who live in Toronto face, since the fare only works in this part of the country from YOW or YXU [London, Ontario). So we have to buy a ticket into either of these cities to start. I am considering another MHD later this month, since I have to be in YEG early next month and the cheapest upgradeable fares will be at least $800. AC has a "sale" on award travel until May, so I can get a YYZ-YOW-YYZ award for 12K. With the additional double [first two AC segments flown] and triple [all other AC segments] miles bonus AC is offering through April, another run using pretty much the same itinerary would yield 30K miles with bonuses, so even the net of 18K is 4x what I'd get just doing YYZ-YEG-YYZ in upgraded J-class. The qualifying miles would be 15K again if I went in paid J, about 12K in paid Y, which I can upgrade AC sectors into J. [MX would be in Y, unless there was a STAR operational upgrade on those flights.]

Hope you can join us for dessert and coffee on Saturday at Catman's DO Trois, Goucho. I'll fill you in on more if you make it.