Originally Posted by
arcticbull
That sounds like an agent-related issue…
Originally Posted by
dsquared37
Exactly, and there are examples where it's been booked in the middle. My comment was simply to relate that agents refuse to book o/js at all points of itins for spurious reasons.
Agree. Agent competence/comfort with the rules is the key factor here; as currently published (to us), the rules give a great deal of latitude in the placement/booking of open jaws. (I have no idea what guidelines/rules are given to agents that are not published to us).
Originally Posted by
arcticbull
Hmm. What I was trying to say is that both ends of the open jaw need to be in the same award region. So if you're flying SFO-ICN then your return leg needs to be somewhere in North America for it to be considered a valid open jaw.
This is not correct. I recently booked an O/J award where the origin and destinations are different regions (North America and Asia). I have a stopover also.
It took me three phone calls. Rather than feeding cities or flights right off the bat, i started by giving the agent the 'big picture' (in regions) of the O/J award i wanted to book. First agent said it could only be done as two one ways and was adamant about it. Second agent didn't think it was possible but was willing to check with a supervisor, supervisor said it would be possible; as agent did not inspire a lot of confidence, i decided to call again. Third agent immediately said that yes, my requested O/J award would be valid, as well as my requested stopover.
I was very lucky to get this last agent. He was very competent.