Originally Posted by
BrewerSEA
So I did some more research and I think starting in RUH makes a lot of sense. With BA's "taxes" and surcharges it ends up being more than ex-AMM, (~$11,200 VS. ~$10,600) but the positioning costs to Saudi Arabia are cheaper AND I'll get to experience more F without using any RJ flights. New proposed routing:
Positioning: SEA-xDFW-xLHR-RUH and return
- Riyadh (RUH) - London (LHR)
- London (LHR) - Bangkok (BKK)
- Bangkok (BKK) - Delhi (DEL)
- Delhi (DEL) - Tokyo (NRT)
- Tokyo (NRT) - Beijing (PEK)
- Beijing (PEK) - Hong Kong (HKG)
- Hong Kong (HKG) - New York (JFK)
- New York (JFK) - Vancouver (YVR)
- Vancouver (YVR) - xDFW - xSFO - xORD - Seattle (SEA)
- Seattle (SEA) - xLHR - Nairobi (NBO)
- Nairobi (NBO) - xLHR - Riyadh (RUH)
The American routings are just for mileage and any other suggestions, even of an added destination somewhere else in the world would be appreciated.
Also, I know that getting a visa for Saudi Arabia can be very difficult, but am I not correct in thinking I'm fine visa-free in RUH for less than 24 hours?
I have not heard of this possibility, and it's not reflected in the current US State Department web page regarding Saudi visas:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...y_requirements
Assuming you'd be flying on the LHR-RUH BA flight, I fear you might be stopped at the counter at LHR (or at SEA when checking for the positioning flights) when they do the document check. I'd certainly check this out completely before committing to this course of action.
Are you planning to use this trip to make AA EXP or BA Gold? If so there might be some tweaks that could lead to more EQP/EQM/Tier Points without taking too much away from your itinerary.