UA Mileage Pros, could you please give me your advice on my trip? How would you improve this ticketed itinerary? What should I be thinking about? I booked the outbound legs with UA miles (70k UA miles for each seat). I have no status on UA.
It's for my first (and only) honeymoon! My main concern is the 50 minute connection time at FCO.
At the time of booking, neither the TG nor the LH FRA-BKK nonstop were available. It's my understanding that LH will only release first class inventory about two weeks prior to departure.
My two thoughts for improvement would be to change the DFW-FRA leg into first class and also get rid of the FCO connection and book us on the nonstop TG FRA-BKK in first class.
I have a few alerts on expert flyer set. Fingers crossed. How would you improve this?
We'll be spending a few days at the Conrad Koh Samui on HHonors points (already booked). From there we are thinking about heading to either Northern Thailand or possibly Siem Reap, Cambodia. Can I get to our next destination by adding on an additional leg after "flight 4" for no additional mileage?
OneWorld Return - our return flights have us leaving out of BKK to HND on JL in biz on March 10. We have 6 hrs to make our way to NRT for our nonstop to DFW in AA first.
Was there nothing available going the other way through NRT?
... And I don't believe that you can stay in Koh Samui for a few days and then continue to Chang Mai or Siem Reap on a one-way mileage award.
Check out BKK for a few days as it's really different than Texas --- I had a condo in BKK for 4 years - e-mail me if you want any suggestions!
Koh Samui is nice, but that's a lot of flying to get to a beachy resort. Granted it's quite pretty, but you won't get a real feel of Thailand there. Make sure you spend someone a bit more Thai. As LilAbner said, Bangkok is fascinating and safe (although I prefer the cities before the beaches on my trips). I also highly recommend Chiang Mai...take a cooking course there.
I think these days, UA is permitting stopovers on one-way awards, but you should double check. You might be able to treat USM as a stopover.
As for the short connection in FCO, it makes me a bit nervous to be honest. You shouldn't have to clear EU customs as you're just transiting (they're so much more enlightened than the US), but it's still pretty tight. I would make sure to have a backup plan in case you miss that flight. Clearly trying to get directly from FRA to BKK is what you should focus on.
Schengen to non-Schengen in FCO at 50 minutes will be tight.
Paying the extra points to spend most of the time flying in biz and the one segment in first is similarly me but I can see you have identified that part of the problem. Good luck fixing it.
Making the changes will cost a bit of money inside 21 days but that's likely still better than the extra flights.
Agreed on the connection time in FCO - that's almost definitely going to be a problem. It just takes an extra 10 minutes arriving at a hard stand and waiting for the bus to the terminal, or a short queue at Schengen exit immigration, or at security for this to go wrong. I would strongly advise changing this if / when better options become available.
I would also add a night in BKK on the way there - you should be able to find something that has just under a 24 hour connection. And / or do the same in Europe on the way - you will be exhausted at the end of this journey doing it non-stop.
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No stopovers on one way awards with Mileage Plus.
Regarding your FCO connection, I had a similar itin booked and was able to change to a direct FRA-BKK flight in TG First about 7 days out. It will be a bit more difficult for you as you need 2 seats. As a UA-Non elite, be aware of change fees if you decide to do this.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by astroflyer
Koh Samui is nice, but that's a lot of flying to get to a beachy resort. Granted it's quite pretty, but you won't get a real feel of Thailand there. Make sure you spend someone a bit more Thai. As LilAbner said, Bangkok is fascinating and safe (although I prefer the cities before the beaches on my trips). I also highly recommend Chiang Mai...take a cooking course there.
I think these days, UA is permitting stopovers on one-way awards, but you should double check. You might be able to treat USM as a stopover.
As for the short connection in FCO, it makes me a bit nervous to be honest. You shouldn't have to clear EU customs as you're just transiting (they're so much more enlightened than the US), but it's still pretty tight. I would make sure to have a backup plan in case you miss that flight. Clearly trying to get directly from FRA to BKK is what you should focus on.
Enjoy your honeymoon.
Since both FRA and FCO are schengen, the OP will enter Europe at FRA and exit Europe at FCO (passport control in addition to security). FCO can be a mess of an airport to get through quickly, with long lines at times. If one must connect further in Europe beyond FRA, look for other major airports served by TG. For instance, could you connect in LHR instead, or perhaps AMS, even CDG, and get TG award availability in FC? I'd also favor an overnight connection (just under 24 hours) somewhere in Europe for this itinerary.
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Have you looked at going west? Close in C awards open up X: LAX on TG to BKK. Also OZ or UA will get you to ICN where you can connect to OZ or TG to get to BKK.
I just did this (Thailand Honeymoon), no matter what you do it will be a great trip! Good luck.
Have you looked at going west? Close in C awards open up X: LAX on TG to BKK. Also OZ or UA will get you to ICN where you can connect to OZ or TG to get to BKK.
I just did this (Thailand Honeymoon), no matter what you do it will be a great trip! Good luck.
I have not looked at anything going west; nothing west-bound showed up as an option when I was booking this a few months ago. The novelty of an around-the-world trip won me over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by goodeats21
No stopovers on one way awards with Mileage Plus.
Regarding your FCO connection, I had a similar itin booked and was able to change to a direct FRA-BKK flight in TG First about 7 days out. It will be a bit more difficult for you as you need 2 seats. As a UA-Non elite, be aware of change fees if you decide to do this.
Thanks. I'm hoping the non-stop FRA-BKK opens up closer to departure. Nothing yet.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Jan 14, 13 at 11:54 am..
Reason: merge
Programs: UA 1K; Marriott Gold;Priority Club Gold; Amex MR
Posts: 1,521
Something else I just remembered...The early TG flight FRA->BKK is on their new A380. While it would be great to have 2 seats open up this flight, I would not count on it...so the 2nd flight is more likely. It is on their leased 777 with suites, which is a nice way to go, but will arrive in BKK around 2PM. You will need to adjust your USM leg accordingly. It also means a fairly lengthy layover in FRA.
**When I took the trip last month, no space ever opened up on the A380. I was able to switch to the 777, with a resulting 10 hour layover in FRA.
Something else I just remembered...The early TG flight FRA->BKK is on their new A380. While it would be great to have 2 seats open up this flight, I would not count on it...so the 2nd flight is more likely. It is on their leased 777 with suites, which is a nice way to go, but will arrive in BKK around 2PM. You will need to adjust your USM leg accordingly. It also means a fairly lengthy layover in FRA.
**When I took the trip last month, no space ever opened up on the A380. I was able to switch to the 777, with a resulting 10 hour layover in FRA.
I only see one TG flight on 25 Feb 2013 which is on the A380. It has 4 open seats in first class. I don't see a second flight on a 777. Could it be seasonal?
Fingers crossed. Business has plenty of avaliability showing on expertflyer.com
