MetalDoggy

Hi - so far I've not had much luck with the airlines on this but I've found out what I can from searching. I'm waiting for a travel agent in Hong Kong to get back to me (but I don't hold much hope), SQ told me that there are no fare rules (!?) and CO would only help me if I could give them an exact itinerary (which I can't yet as I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing yet). It's kind of tricky to work out exactly what you can do as the basic rules are kinda vague. Anyway - the SQ/CO RTW seems to suit me down to a tee for the following trip (give or take) in business:

HKG-SFO//LAS-YYC-EWR-BDA-EDI-LHR-HKG

LAS-YYC and YYC-EWR would be via IAH and BDA-EDI would be via EWR.

As far as I can see, all the CO legs are proper Continental and not Express which is good - I think.

The EDI-LHR leg would need to be a BMI add-on. Is this allowed? I guess if not I would just have to do it as a //.

I believe there are 4 stops max in the US. Does the above count as 5 (SFO, LAS, YYC, EWR & BDA)? If so, could I get away with YYC-BDA via IAH and EWR if I kept my stay in EWR to less than 24 hours?

I understand there is no backtracking. Do the connections count for the purpose of backtracking or is it just where I stop that counts. Eg is BDA-EDI backtracking as I have to go via EWR?

Sorry if any of these are stupid questions. I'm trying but I'm not quite as quick as some of you guys. Thanks for any help!

zvezda

The backtracking prohibition normally applies to connection points as well as stopover points. Sometimes specific exceptions exist in some RTW rules. I would be very surprised if your proposed itinerary were allowed, due to the backtracking prohibition.

ac777

Have you considered an SQ only fare RTW--much cheaper --and do the LAX or SFO -NYC on a different ticket? An el cheapo UA perhaps?

MetalDoggy

Thanks. Darn on the backtracking thing.

I'm not sure if the SQ only is offered out of HKG but they do have a SQ/VS one which is US$800 cheaper than the SQ/CO offering (US$ 4,330 cf US$ 5,130). I could use that for HKG-SFO//JFK-LHR-HKG and fill in the bits myself.

I just don't like the idea of doing connections onto separate tickets as stress levels go up. and also doing LAS-YYC-EWR-BDA-EWR probably won't be that easy for $800 in business class.

My other option is to fly to Bangkok to pick up a RTW there (US$4,670 Star and $5,230 in Oneworld although these prices might be out of date).

Any other thoughts more than welcome. At least the Asian pricing is a lot cheaper than ex USA!