Originally Posted by
herschelflyer007
Hi,
Long time lurker, first time poster. This is my second Done,last one being a Done3, organised by travel agent.Not sure if this is the right place to ask for any areas i can improve (i.e. save $$, earn greater miles etc) my Done4 ex AMM. I am planning to book for Sept 2013 as partial work travel.
Currently this is what i have constructed:
AMM-CDG-HEL-MUC-LHR-BOS-JFK-IAD-YYZ-SAT-SFO-NRT-HKG-SYD-BKK-AMM
The CDG stop is just transit (>24hrs)for a surface sector, and possibly HEL will be transit stop aswell. I am wanting to add more sectors in Northern Europe if possible.
Q1)If i land in SYD is it a valid stop,or i will have to create Done5 instead?
2)I must to go London for a few weeks, but from my reading that on this forum, pax taxes make it more expensive. Can anyone suggest an alternative ?
3)What is the cost of adding two additional sectors for Europe?
4) How can i ticket this, AA rtw desk, then Emeco still available? With what going on in CAI atm, is there an alternative?
I am halfway to AA platinum, so i should hit PLT status halfway through
Any help would be appreciated. I plan to book this is the next few days if possible.
Thanks in Advance.
Welcome to FT!
Because you're originating in Europe, you can't add additional segments in your continent of origin, and, more importantly, you're limited to two stopovers > 24h. (And your current itinerary is 15 segments so you'd only be able to add one more - in some other continent - anyway.)
This is probably a case where looking at your plans in western Europe might make a lot of sense. Originating in AMM, your DONE4 (and that's what it is, not a DONE5) means you're paying ca. $475 per flight, which seems a lot for short hops in Europe where conventional tickets might be less. (For example, in September, HEL-LHR-HEL in Club on BA comes in at US$566.) So doing your Europe-heavy travel before you start the RTW might make financial sense. Use the DONE4 where it gives the most value - on longhaul and "thin" routes where conventional tickets are prohibitive in premium classes.
Emeco is still selling tickets, and you could easily do an airside turn-around at CAI should you choose that route. Egypt is considerably cheaper as a starting point for DONEx tickets than other locations, but FWIW Israel is the same price as Jordan, and AA's GSA at TLV, Tal Aviation, is very skilled at this stuff. Or of course you could book online.
Read up on the rules regarding transiting Asia en route to other countries. You can't stop over in Asia someplace, visit Australia, then stop over again in Asia on the way out. Transfer, yes, but not stop over.
Again, welcome to FT!