Originally Posted by
VaguelyCynical
Hey everybody!
Welcome to FlyerTalk
VaguelyCynical. I'm astonished no one else has taken that name yet. I think you will fit right in.
Originally Posted by
VaguelyCynical
(1) I am U.S.-based, and would typically depart from the NYC area, but happy to make YYZ my departure point since the online tool prices this itinerary as ~$2000 USD less than one departing from JFK. Will I actually be able to book with this lower price? I know the below is in the fare rules sheet, but I don't really understand its implications.
You need to make the booking at a Canadian travel agent or a Canadian sales office of your preferred airline. The journey will probably be priced in Canadian dollars, so there may be some foreign exchange fee (if your credit levies such a fee) although it isn't strictly necessary to price it in the local currency if the agent/office knows its doing. You are allowed to book it without residing in Canada. You just have to buy it from a Canadian office. (So be aware that the contract would be interpreted according to the local Canadian law, but in all honesty, I doubt that is going to be a big deal.)
Originally Posted by
VaguelyCynical
(2) The online tool errors out when I try to proceed to the payment screen, which from other threads I understand is most likely because I am starting in Canada and ending in the U.S.. Given that, how would I actually book this ticket? Call AA, or would I have to go through TAM since they're the first carrier? If calling AA, how do I actually pay given the YYZ start?
AA is probably the best carrier to ask: they can issue the ticket no problem, it's just that the tool picks the first carrier to do the ticketing.
Presumably you will pay with a credit card.
Originally Posted by
VaguelyCynical
(2a) The online tool does not error if I switch the final destination from OGG to YYZ. If nothing else, I could book this online and then call up (who? AA?) and incur the $125 change fee to switch it back, right?
You could probably actually arrange this before they did the ticketing, if you were fast. But you'd need to contact JJ if they were the ticket issuer. In your shoes, I would call AA in Canada, instead of using the tool, and see where it went from there.
Originally Posted by
VaguelyCynical
(3) Codeshares. I don't have status on any airline and have minimal AA miles, but would assume it makes sense to earn AA miles on this ticket since I do most of my travel in domestic US. Are there any codeshares I should be trying to take advantage of on this itinerary? I admit I don't understand how these can be advantageous...
Yep, pick as many AA codeshares as you can (for mileage purposes). The tool doesn't show every codeshare, so you can try to investigate this yourself by looking at dummy bookings from an AA hub to points along your route, to try to see what codeshares exist.
Originally Posted by
VaguelyCynical
(4) What are the pros of leaving the out flights open-dated? My travel will be flexible, but it seems like picking random dates out in the future and then just moving them up to when I want them as I go is the same number of calls from the road and protects me more if they change their routes in the meantime, right?
The downside is that many agents don't seem to know how to leave the segments open. We had a discussion earlier where some people here thought it was impossible on e-tickets, although an old BA staffer chimed in to say they used to do it. The only flexibility is I think you don't need to worry about no showing or making multiple changes.
Originally Posted by
VaguelyCynical
(5) What else am I doing wrong/failing to think about?
It's a long way to travel in Y class
I don't think anything springs to mind—enjoy your trip!