Q) Can I upgrade some of the sectors to fly business/first class?

A) In limited circumstances. (i) You can upgrade your entire itinerary - subject to availability - by paying the higher class fare but otherwise without penalty, (ii) flights operated by AA may be upgraded with AA miles, (iii) US/Canada domestic flights operated by AA may be upgraded with 500-mile "sticker" upgrades issued by AA, (iv) flights on BA that offer World Traveler Plus (WT+) service can be upgraded for USD300/AUD600 except for service between LHR and SYD/MEL where the charge is USD450/AUD900. BA also offers "on board" upgrades for prices ranging from GBP200 up if there is a spare seat on board. Talk to the purser when you board, but these upgrades only qualify for the mileage/status you originally booked. For instance you were in BA economy and upgraded on board to WT+ for GBP200 on LHR-SIN, you only get the discount economy miles, not the WT+ miles.


Q) What is the booking class for RTW tickets on OneWorld? I want to work out how many miles I will earn.

A) Basically Economy = L, Business = D, First = A. On AA flights within the US that only offer Coach and First, you are booked into the A (First) inventory if it is available. For domestic flights with Lan Chile (where there is no premuim cabin), Y is the applicable booking class for business or first class tickets; economy tickets still book into L class. As specified in another FAQ, other than the AA business-books-into-first thing, if the inventory is not available for your class you get downgraded to the next inventory bucket and no compensation or refund is payable.