Thank you all so far for the suggestions! I read several trip reports as well, but I am really interested to hear more personal experiences comparing A and D classes. For example, what makes the A experience so much better on CX, JL or BA?
Originally Posted by
Gardyloo
First, welcome to FT!
As to your main point, well, only you can decide if 3 or 4 true international F segments out of 16 is worth a 40% increase in price. In terms of mileage accrual (most, not all programs) it won't make much difference. You would get access to some pretty fine F lounges, e.g. QF's in SYD, but, again, it's a judgment call.
Presumably you're aware that XONEXs bought in other countries than the US can be cheaper - sometimes considerably - and often at a final price that still justifies the cash or mileage cost to access the starting countries. For example, an AONE5 ticket bought in Israel or Jordan is almost US$3000 cheaper than if bought in the USA; a DONE5 bought in Israel/Jordan is almost $2000 cheaper. The advantage of those tickets is that you're not limited to two stopovers in N. America, so if you have any domestic flying to do in N. America you have the full 6 segments and 6 stopovers at your discretion.
Thanks! Since I live in the US I would prefer to earn AAdvantage miles. I would play around with other starting points to see if they can bring down the price.
Originally Posted by
pnsnkr
I used the online booking tool and these were the prices that appeared in the end.
Originally Posted by
Unterwegs
I did almost all of my RTWs so far in F (mostly on Star now, but this is a different story).
For short flights the difference is not really worth the price difference. Inside Europe you will not find F, in the US F is crappy anyhow and you can fly F with a DONE, inside Asia there are a few flights with F but if you don't specifially plan your routing you will end up in flights without F anyhow. Same for South America (LAN does not have F)
So it comes down to F between the continents. Are you willing to pay an extra 1000 $ (your cost difference will likely be somewhat different) for the 10 to 15 hour flight?
My personal opinion is: absolutely on CX, JAL. Perhaps on BA and QF (not been on the QF380 yet). No way on AA. So your routing does not look like an AONE makes a lot of sense.
Your routing is also not ideal for Star. Their Sout America Network is almost non existent, also your only choice between the South Pacific and the US is UA and even their new F is substandard.
Thank you Unterwegs. Actually, I played with *A as well, with different itineraries (no SAmerica or Australia), but it looked like they were much more expensive and the mileage accrual opportunities are much smaller, as one of the previous threads has pointed out. Of course, I would love to hear your opinion.