Baldpacker

I've been planning a RTW journey that is 14 segments and <24,000 miles:

DXB>SIN>MNL>ROR>GUM>SPN>GUM>PNI>MAJ>HNL>YVR>YYC>YY Z>DXB

I couldn't believe it when I received the final price and there were 2505 Euros added on to the base ticket price of 2561 Euros for Economy.

Anyone know why the surcharges would be so high? Is it because of United's Island hopper flights?

Often1

UA supplies a breakdown of all charges beyond base fare, whether those are surcharges or taxes. If you don't have it, call the channel through which you booked. If you need help with all of the codes, post back here once you have the $ breakdown.

sbm12

Sounds like a lot of YQ but not completely egregious. I don't think the Hopper has any special surcharges associated with it.

Kiwi Flyer

I plugged in your itinerary into the *A RTW tool, using arbitrary dates for flights.

Noting there is no YYZ-DXB direct on *A showing in the tool, I selected routing via LHR & FRA as a worst case option (since the tool then adds UK APD).

By far most of the fees are 2187 EUR for "airline insurance surcharge". Interestingly there is no YQ or fuel surcharge listed (but a further 311 EUR for "carrier surcharge/fee"), which makes me think the label of the excessive fee is wrong.

Have you contacted *A to query the fee (include the reference for the dummy booking)?

I also notice there is also a 45 EUR service charge added. W-T-F?

Baldpacker

I'm in a field camp in Yemen with limited phone usage so the online booking tool is my only way to research this. As you say, the "airline insurance surcharge" was the highest fee which does seem wrong.

I'm just in planning stages now but it looks like I'll have to contact Lufthansa's RTW team to figure this one out...

RTW1

Not really... if it's just a connection in LHR there is no APD charged.

Kiwi Flyer

That is how it should work, but often (always?) I find the tool adds UK APD regardless.

In any case, I don't think the OP had selected a routing via LHR (based on sector count).

Baldpacker

I think I had just selected via FRA but in any event that cannot account for the surcharges!

RTW1

And it's most likely to do with those UA flights... remove those and you are back to a normal price.
But as suggested, save your itinerary and forward it to the RTW desk for an answer.

Kiwi Flyer

Agree it does seem to be UA.

Just changing GUM-PNI-MAJ-HNL to GUM-HNL reduces the carrier surcharge fee to 161 EUR and the airline insurance surcharge to 1027 EUR (ie over 1100 EUR saving).

Baldpacker

I just dropped the Guam > Saipan leg (a $324 round trip from Guam) and it brought the total cost down 1000 EUR to EUR 4,179 with EUR 1,607 in "Airline Insurance Surcharge".

Still not sure why the Island Hopper triggers such high Airline Insurance Surcharges!

sbm12

Airline Insurance Surcharge is still going to be YQ or YR.

Baldpacker

I just looked on the United website and I can book the Island hopper from Koror to Honolulu with stops in Guam, Pohnpei, and Majuro for $1,376 including taxes and fees. There's something strange being triggered in the RTW system.

Sat., Dec. 13, 2014 | Koror, Palau (ROR) to Guam (GUM)
Depart:
3:05 a.m.
Sat., Dec. 13, 2014
Koror, Palau (ROR)
Arrive:
6:10 a.m.
Sat., Dec. 13, 2014
Guam (GUM)
Travel Time:
2 hr 5 mn
Distance:
814 miles
Flight:UA192
Operated by UNITED AIRLINES FOR AIR MICRONESIA.
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Fare Class: United Economy (Y)
Meal: Snack

Premier Instant Upgrade Fare Premier Instant Upgrade Fare
Mon., Dec. 15, 2014 | Guam (GUM) to Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (PNI)
Depart:
8:20 a.m.
Mon., Dec. 15, 2014
Guam (GUM)
Arrive:
1:03 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 15, 2014
Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (PNI)
Flight Time:
3 hr 43 mn

Travel Time:
3 hr 43 mn
Distance:
1,017 miles
Flight:UA155
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Fare Class: United Economy (Y)
Meal: Breakfast
1 Stop. Time on the ground in Truk, Federated States of Micronesia (TKK) is 37 minutes.
Wed., Dec. 17, 2014 | Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (PNI) to Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ)
Depart:
2:47 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 17, 2014
Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (PNI)
Arrive:
7:13 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 17, 2014
Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ)
Flight Time:
3 hr 26 mn

Travel Time:
3 hr 26 mn
Distance:
895 miles
Flight:UA155
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Fare Class: United Economy (Y)
Meal: Lunch
No Special Meal Offered.
1 Stop. Time on the ground in Kwajalein, Marshall Islands (KWA) is 38 minutes.
Fri., Dec. 19, 2014 | Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ) to Honolulu, HI (HNL)
Depart:
8:05 p.m.
Fri., Dec. 19, 2014
Majuro, Marshall Islands (MAJ)
Arrive:
2:50 a.m.
Fri., Dec. 19, 2014
Honolulu, HI (HNL)
Travel Time:
4 hr 45 mn
Distance:
2,280 miles
Flight:UA155
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Fare Class: United Economy (Y)
Meal: Dinner
Note: You are departing Koror, Palau (ROR) and arriving Honolulu, HI (HNL).

RTW1

Why not simply send an e-mail to the RTW desk.... Beats speculating.

Baldpacker

What's the e-mail? I haven't heard of a "RTW desk" before?

Will they deal with general questions like this or do they require specific dates and itineraries with intentions of booking?