Originally Posted by Irish lad
All,
Another useful forum, this site never ceases to impress! I have done some searches but still have a few questions. I am currently planning an AONEx, probably from Cairo to save £££s and was wondering what is the normal time to book and ticket it.
Presumably I check my itinerary is acceptable using the very useful oneworld explorer checker, see that the initial flights I want to take are available in the appropriate class (A for first?) and then send it off to Mrs Sobhi for pricing etc. How long does that process normally take - days, weeks, does it vary much?
Also, I intend to keep some flights open as unsure of my plans here, although I might need to minimise the segments in order to avoid a paper ticket and more hassle I suppose (having read through other threads this seems to be the best way?)
Any comments appreciated.
PS I am mainly doing this to maintain BA Gold as my travel patterns have changed a lot this year, with no work trips.
I've bought three AONEs from mrs Sobhi and I've always been able to sort everything out in two days. One to get the booking done and verified, one to get a price and fax her my credit card details. It doesn't take longer than that. But in general it's of course a good idea to book as early as possible. First, Mrs Sobhi seems to be busy now and then and it may take her for a couple of days to answer. Second, for some routes (US-Hong Kong in particular) first class seems to be always full and trying to squeeze in just a couple of days before departure will depend solely on cancellations by others.
/hv