jerryhung

You can have 2 stopovers either way

Nowhere, AP has the final say, and it's unlikely you can validate online either. FT'ers can help but don't have the final say

start searching, you'll have more questions later

TJ1010F

Just thought I would throw this on the new page in case

Booked the following for 2 in J, if there are any recommendations for improvements (better planes to fly or routes?) by all means let me know, this is my first rtw booking:

YYZ->WAW LO 788
WAW->CDG LO ERJ-195 Stop
CDG->PEK CA 777
PEK->SIN CA 330 Turn around
SIN->PEK SQ 772
PEK->HND CA 330 Stop
HND->LAX NH 777
LAX->YYZ AC 321

622.06 per person + call in fee

jerryhung

I commented in the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24948602-post2230.html thread, just in case you missed it

mkl8687

In terms of check-in luggage, do we have to retrieve them for the <24hr layovers?

rankourabu

In most cases, yes, especially if overnight.

If for example, the layover is 8am to 8pm, no
But if its 1pm to 11am next day, yes.

valleyrun38

I am also confused about mini RTWs. Am planning to travel YYZ to HKG(over a year out), cruise to SIN (an open jaw) and then fly back to YYZ. Is this a mini RTW or a multi city? Will it meet the MPM requirements ( am especially confused about those).

jerryhung

you should be fine, using SIN as turnaround

YYZ-*-HKG
open-jaw
SIN-*-YYZ

not even sure if you can squeeze in another stop (1 OJ + 1 stop), I'm still confused on open-jaw at times
but if you can, SIN-TPE-YYZ on EVA (BR) is a good way to stop at TPE (either layover or stopover) without YQ.

You can do YYZ-TPE-HKG too, no YQ

Sadly, EVA only releases space 2 weeks out now, so you may have to book something else first, then later call in to change 2 weeks before departure

Cerenity

Based on my understanding, mini RTW is simply a special case of the generic multi-city itinerary where the stops & route result in you literally flying "around" the world.

In other words, its a non-official term that people like to use to describe a multi-city that ends up taking them around the world.

For example, both of these are multi-city itineraries, but #1 is not a mini RTW, while #2 is a mini RTW. This is because #1 crosses pacific (TPAC) twice, while #2 crosses both the atlantic (TATL) and pacific (TPAC)
#1 YYZ-HKG-TPE-NRT-YYZ
#2 YYZ-IST-SIN-NRT-YYZ

allbrosca

I'm doing the opposite cruise. I booked the following:
YYZ-FRA (AC J) FRA-BKK(TG F) BKK-SIN (TG J open jaw)
HKG-ICN (OZ J stop)
ICN-LAX (OZ F) LAX-YVR (AC J)

We looked at numerous stops on the way back but settled on ICN. NRT, PVG, PEK were possibilities, but we had been there before. We were trying to do DPS but couldn't find the flights and wasn't sure if it would work due to uncertainty over MPM.

valleyrun38

Thank you for your excellent explanation of mini RTWs, Cerenity. No longer so confused. And for the suggestions from jerryhung and allbrosca. It appears that you can have 1 stop with an open jaw- fingers crossed.

yqtyyz

I was able to get CDG-TPE (in J and Hello Kitty ) during spring break 2016... I also saw HOU-TPE during mid-March, albeit in Y.

Did I stumble upon some glitch, or did I swoop in before others? Either way, I'm happy with the result.

drvannostren

Well I think you probably overspent in fees, but I'm also not sure your status with AC, if you'd be able to save on YQ as an elite or SE.

YYZ-WAW looks nice, and I've heard the service is really good (I'm flying JFK-WAW in Y, heard it's kinda terrible, but I look forward to the experience) but it's J and doesn't offer aisle access. You're travelling as a pair so this is less of an issue, but still might be a bit annoying unless you take the 2 middle seats. Also WAW-CDG won't have any J, based on Seatguru they don't even have "European" business. So you kinda lose out there.

I'm not sure what you get for HND-LAX, they've got lots of different 777 configs. Seatguru says it's the 2-3-2 J, which looks a bit hurting but their service is great too. Lots of people have big complaints on the ANA threads about the "cradle" seat. I'm not EXACTLY sure which that is, but the J seat I had in the 3 class config was great. I especially loved the HUGE tray table.

Otherwise, thanks for posting. Ultimately it's YOUR trip, so as long as you're satisfied with it and don't mind the cost, then you've got it made.

jerryhung

I think EVA only blocks popular routes (NA routes) to 2 weeks out
Intra-Asia or Europe ones are usually still quite open far out

IAH-TPE was quite open after the news broke out
1st flight is June 19 I believe, and there is 0 space from now till end of August, not sure why they're blocking that.

I thought about flying YYZ-IAH-TPE instead of YYZ-TPE for the HK jet + wi-fi

superangrypenguin

When I looked into this a few weeks ago, this was not true. TPE to Japan is still near impossible to book in J. TPE to any place outside of HKG is still REALLY hard to book (for two in J).

Cerenity

i had similar experience to penguin when looking for backup plans last week for an already booked mini RTW in August (just in case the MERS thing in South Korea gets worse)

Nothing to SIN or KUL on EVA either unless I looked at mid June dates (up to 2 weeks out)

edit: nvm! i just checked and it looks like there is some availability now. maybe it was just a glitch when i looked back then. the daily availability still seems better 2 weeks out, so another possibility is they are just releasing seats gradually...?