Originally Posted by
nk15
My first relaxed attempt for a DONE6 not that good, $10k, 19 cpm and likely 13 cpp, lol. A few questions:
1. Does it matter what dates (close to booking vs. a few months later) or days (midweek vs. weekend) you choose for pricing? Is this based on actual dynamic pricing as it applies to regular flights? Also, I assume some near future flights may not have availability and therefore not showing at all?
No. The fare is fixed (actually in both cases, it's fixed, but the movement in available booking codes makes it look dynamic). All that matters is the availability of the right booking codes for the fare in question. DONE6 fares will let you book into D class internationally which is usually going to be available.
Originally Posted by
nk15
2. Does it matter which carriers you choose for each segment, and if yes, do we have a rank ordered list of who is cheaper in general and has the lowest surcharges/fees? (at least a vague one? in general?)
BA and QF have high surcharges.
Originally Posted by
nk15
3. Are there key airports to try to avoid for taxes/fees, perhaps LHR (although probably hard to avoid I assume, as a major OW hub.)? Others?
The Heathrow Passenger charge is about £34 (about 50 USD). That is to pay for the terminal facility and everyone who passes through LHR pays it. However, if you stop in the United Kingdom for more than 24 hours, and then fly to somewhere more than 2000 miles away, a large government tax comes into play. That tax can be drastically reduced by stopping again (>24 hours) in Europe first.
Originally Posted by
nk15
4. Do number of connections increase the price in general, reduce it, variable, or it doesn't matter? (I know they count as segments).
No effect on the base fare, but of course the more segments you have, the more airport service fees you are paying, and the more fuel surcharges as well probably.
Originally Posted by
nk15
5. I assume number of continents affects the base price?
Yes. ex-Tokyo it looks like this. (The number at the end of the fare basis signifies the max continents, so DONE3 is three continents; DONE6 is six.)
Code:
Fare Basis Airline Booking Trip Type Fare Cabin Effective Expiration Min/Max Advanced
Class Date Date Stay Purchase Req
DONE3 AA D Round-Trip 5515.55 (USD) B -- / 12M
DONE4 AA D Round-Trip 6558.48 (USD) B -- / 12M
DONE5 AA D Round-Trip 7523.26 (USD) B -- / 12M
DONE6 AA D Round-Trip 8220.79 (USD) B -- / 12M
On top of that you will add applicable government taxes, airport fees and airline surcharges.
Therefore it is probably better to squeeze something out of a DONE3 by repeatedly backtracking than attempting a DONE6.
Originally Posted by
JohnAx
As far as I know (which often isn't very far) if you want to fly from Dublin to Hawaii for $1600 it will be an I fare, not a J fare. I mention that because I-class fares are usually quite restrictive while the 'normal' DONEx fare is obviously in D-class and extremely flexible. If you don't need the flexibility, ignore the comment.
You are entirely correct, and indeed a very valid point—as I had to change an I fare between Brazil and Europe with less than 12 hours notice earlier this week (somehow I found availability). I was confining my comments to someone looking to generate points for his frequent flier programme.