Originally Posted by
slhu82
Trying to book my first RTW.
I have a couple questions for xCAI.
I already have some booking when using webTool. I am based on US. Plan to position to CAI this Dec and spend 3 weeks from CAI to LAX and stay in LAX for 3 days, visit LIM and stay at home for another 5 months and visit middle east.
This is what I have so far.
1. xCAI -> xAMM -> xDOHA -> SIN (in Economy RJ/QR) I found D fare from ET but OW only shows availability in OW only
2. SIN - > xHKG -> PEK (CW)
3. PEK- > xHKG -> LAX (CW)
4. LAX -> xMAI -> LIM (AA)
5. LIM -> MAI (AA)
6. MAI -> LAX (AA)
7. LAX -> LON (BA)
8. LON -> AMM (BA)
9. AMM -> CAI (RJ)
1. I have no choice for my first segment CAI -> SIN. If I call CX or AA RTW desk, will they able to book CAI -> xDOH -> SIN? I already read many posts, it indicates fee is going to be pretty high. If so by how much?
2. Webtool does not allow me to end at AMM or DOH, will call AA or CW resolve this issue?
Any recent experience using AA? Will AA's price be similar as webtool?
This is actually better in one of the other threads and you'd get more help on it there. I'd say likely the pricing thread. This thread is about bugs in the online tool.
Your CW's should be CX for clarification of others looking at it.
You have too many trans-cons in the US (LAX-xMIA-LIM and again MIA-LAX, only 1 is allowed. You'd need the other to transit DFW or ORD. It looks like you're using LAX as stopovers on both, otherwise I'd recommend going PEK-HKG-JFK instead. (or ORD) to avoid the 2nd transcon.
I don't know how inflexible you are with your dates on the first leg to SIN, but no way I'd accept economy on this ticket. Yes, you can do CAI-DOH-SIN without AMM, but the OW tool can't do it. You have to call AA or CX to do have QR on your first segment and CX phone agents aren't the most competent. You need to find someone at CX who can refer it to the specialist team (which I just verified 2 days ago does exist, but they have to call you back, there's no number to reach them like AA).
Yes, you can end in DOH or AMM. The base version of the online tool will allow it, but the AI version ('new version') does not. You currently have plenty of segments remaining, so you can book it as a stopover on the return and just never use the DOH-CAI segment if you want to use the 'new' tool. Dropping AMM out of CAI will give you back one of your Europe / ME segments as well.
Beware the UK APD out of LHR, it's quite high and can be avoided by going from DUB instead on QR. AA flies to DUB from the US as well, I believe it's from PHL and ORD. (though you can still fly into LHR and out of DUB, it uses a surface segment, but you'll have that available. For that matter once you drop AMM from CAI, you could even add LHR to DUB on this ticket but I believe you need to make it a stopover to avoid the long haul APD).
BTW, you currently have a DONE4. If you have any interest in Africa at all, a DONE5 is only about $80 more expensive (plus potentially a bit of YQ)
Originally Posted by
danger
My estimate of the taxes and surcharges is based on you having QR and BA flights, which typically charge higher. It's not my understanding that the carrier of the first leg determines the charges; I understand they are based on the overall carriers used. Others here will know more.
I haven't found QRs fees to be high, but it may be because of my ticketing carrier. So far I've only had QF and CX ticket these. I know different carriers assign YQ differently when they issue the tickets, but reading some of the ones priced by AA, it also doesn't seem excessive with a lot of QR segments. My understanding (from a discussion a year or so ago from one of the travel agents on the forum) of QR's fees is that they have a flat fee to start, then a small per-segment fee after that, so in an itinerary like mine with a ton of QR segments, it probably ends up far less than using other carriers on long hauls. I know testing it using MH or CX on a long haul jacked it up quite a lot compared to QR.