Hi guys,

Thanks so much for your efforts on this site. It's so damn helpful! So I'm looking to buy a DONE3 or 4 ex CMB, and I've got a few questions that I haven't been able to find answers for yet.

Any help you can offer on any of these would be hugely appreciated!


* I've seen references to xONE3s only permitting 17 sectors instead of 20 but I see no reference to that in the QF fare rules. Is it true?

* Within Asia I'd obviously prefer flights with proper long-haul J class seating, rather than regional aircraft. On which intra-asian sectors do CX and JL offer long-haul business class configurations?

* In europe I'm very flexible with my destinations. I'm looking for interesting routings that aren't just to or from a OW hub (lon, hel, mad/bcn, bud & amm). Are there any OW flights which stop over in non-hub cities, so I could see somewhere interesting without always flying via finland, spain, hungary, jordan or the UK?

* BMI bought BMED in February. Are BMED flights still valid?

* I don't understand what it means to be permitted 2 stopovers max within my continent of origin "in order to get to or from a gateway". How circuitous may my route to my gateway be? Is there no maximum number of sectors at all, or must I exit the continent as soon as I reach a city which has flights to my next destination? e.g. Can I fly from CMB to BKK, stay for less than 24 hours, fly from BKK to HKG, stay for less than 24 hours, and then fly to NRT for a few days (using my first "stopover"), before leaving the continent via SIN on my way out? (Obviously, I understand that each of these sectors contributes to my overall limit -- the question is simply whether there are sector limits or other routing restrictions on how I choose to "get to my gateway".)

* I’d like to experience LAN but don’t want to add south america as a continent. Do any of the LAN carriers operate any flights within north or central america? If not, there seems to be a LAN flight from MAD-FRA but I can't tell if it's an IB codeshare. Is it? (Incidentally, any opinion from those who've travelled LAN as to which you'd prefer between SYD & AKL: QF regional biz, or LAN?)

* Regarding the Nth American one-transcontinental-sector limit: does it only apply to non-stop flights? I need to fly between the east and west coasts of the US a lot. Could I just fly NYC-DEN-LAX back and forth three times so as to avoid the transcon restriction? (Sure, I'd burn through twice as many sectors, but I have no interest in going anywhere but the coasts anyway.) Are there any other intermediary airports instead of DEN which would work just as well? (If this isn't permitted, is NYC-MEX-LAX?)

* Regarding the new surface sector rule, does anyone yet know for sure whether surface sectors count towards the intra-continental limits too, or only towards the total tally?

* This is a slightly tangential question which probably belongs in the AAdvantage Forum, but someone might be able to help: I’m AA platinum thanks to the challlenge, which I started prior to June 16 2007 and which will therefore expire in February 2008. What is the period within which my new status will be determined: the 2008 calendar year, or the twelve months from June 16 2008? (This is important to me as I'm planning to fly SYD-JFK on December 29th, but I don't wanna lose all those status points 48 hours later!)

Thanks in advance for whatever help you can offer guys! (I'll post my draft itinerary when I've got it... )