Originally Posted by
ShortTermParking
I can't get the OW tool to price the route;
The online tool has many "issues" and for some reason oneworld doesn't seem interested in fixing them.
I get an error that tells me to call QF customer service. Am I required to book with QF because they're the first carrier, or can I just call AA's RTW the desk to get things going and book the segments?
Any oneworld member can (in theory) issue a ticket for a oneworld product. The "first marketing carrier tickets" is an limitation in the online tool which some agents seem to think is an actually rule rather then a programming shortcut. I've had to quote fare rules to some agents insisting this was a rule and refusing to give a fare quote based on the "rule".
The main issue with payments is there is a rule that says if buying a ticket in another country, the higher fare of the country of sale vs country of origin applies. eg, if I buy an ex-Japan RTW from an agent in Australia, I'd be made to pay the ex-Australia price as it is more expensive then the Japan price, thus I need an agent in Japan to issue that ticket.
The online tool assumes country of sale and country of origin are the same and prices accordingly, however the bugs in the tool often create the need to find agents overseas.
However, due to a misunderstanding of this rule, some agents (such as AA GSA Mindpearl in South Africa) are taking this rule to mean the card used for payment must be local. Whereas the rule just means that an agent in South Africa needs to sell the ticket in order to get the South Africa price.
Maybe CX SA will issue an ex-SA ticket without the problems Mindpearl has been causing lately
http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_A...etails.ZA.html