Originally Posted by
TKMAXX
Thank!. Just to help me figure out how to evaluate what flights there are for ex-CAI, I had a few more questions if you could kindly help me with them!
- Does EF show availability in D based on the POS being Egypt? I can only see the option for other countries like USA, UK, but not the POS being Egypt on EF for flight availability search
- Presumably the AA RTW agents will see availability based on the POS being Egypt (this allows Qantas to restrict D availability even further for ex-CAI RTW trips?)
- I presume AA can sort out this nonsense QR being the 1st flight bug? Or is the recommendation to use some other airline for the first flight because this is a real issue? I think QR don't offer much D availability for CAI-DOH so I might need to do CAI-AMM-DOH anyway
- What tips are there to cut YQ fees? I've read that BA and IB are terrible for adding these in. Should I avoid them altogether, or just ensure if flying on then, it's marketed as a codeshare? When I did manage to make the online tool work for ex-OSL, the taxes and fees were 20k NOK for a 60k base fare!
Yes, AA (or any other ticketing airline / travel agent) can book CAI-DOH as your first segment. That's just a strange limitation of the OW online tool.
You're also correct that QR doesn't offer much D availability ex-CAI, it offers precisely zero to be more accurate. Most middle east flights are marketed as First Class, so you need A on those segments instead of D. (Also grants you access to the Al Safwa lounge in DOH).
When ticketing ex-CAI or ex-OSL, just anecdotally, in addition to BA having high YQ, MH, CX, and QF tend to as well. You may reduce those by booking as codeshares but note CX can't carry an AA code for TPAC due to government restrictions since CX is (or was) overflying Russia.
BTW, ex-CAI isn't cheap anymore, it's quite a bit more expensive than other points of origin now. OSL and ex-Japan are currently cheapest, followed closely by ex-Pakistan, then India and Sri Lanka.