seegs

Right now for my dates everything is good except BKK-IST-LHR will be on TK J for BKK-IST but Y for IST-LHR...not the end of the world. Options from SIN are SIN-IST (SQ J on 777-200) and IST-LHR (TK J). Might consider that option but SIN-IST is overnight vs. BKK-IST option is daytime.

Pseudo Nim

TK J on SIN-IST should be the very good lie-flat beds whereas the SQ 777 is their angled product, so it would be a very clear choice for me.

IST-LHR in Y? Nothing to cry about considering intra-Europe J is just a seat between you and the partner anyway

seegs

TK has often been using A330 with Int'l J on LHR-IST flights but it is usually scheduled as 321 with standard Intra-J Europe.

Just debating whether to pay my way to USM and stay at Renaissance Koh Samui or use the Mini-RTW flights to include Phuket as stop instead of BKK and stay at JW Marriott.

seegs

I had my perfect MiniRTW planned and all availability was showing, but the next day it seems TK has pulled the majority of their flights for next July and August to NRT! Any ideas on when the optimal time to pull TK J flights to Asia?

Edit: is it worth calling AE anyways, perhaps website is incorrect? I do not have Kvs or Expertyflyer

krayZpaving

Try the ANA website, seegs. More accurate and detailed availability than Aeroplan. Or www.flisea, which can search both for you.

seegs

Found some availability on TK (IST-NRT), it seems they release 3 seats per flight and the day I wanted had only 1 left. Issue was that LHR-IST flights were zeroed out for entire August 2013. I found LX J LHR-ZRH-IST to connect IST-NRT.

I did notice though that in May/June 2013, LX has a lot of availability for ZRH-NRT. I checked on Aeroplan website and they offer the seats for reward booking on same dates. So is this phantom availability or is LX actually releasing seats to *A partners? ExpertFlyer does not even list August flights for LX yet, is it worth waiting a few more weeks to see if LX releases them as I prefer them over TK?

Am I wrong to prefer LX over TK? I've flown TK in J (not their 777) but never LX in J. Everyone on these forums seem to love LX J on longhaul product, would it be worth a 90 CAD change fee later or am I safe with TK?

Last question, are 2 connections on my way to NRT too much? None of them are too tight (all over 120 minutes), I just don't want lost baggage!

Thanks again for all the help!

arcticbull

How were you looking for the LX space? If you were looking on ExpertFlyer or the likes then you were looking at space for Lufthansa M&M members. Check United.com or ANA for a true representation of partner space. However extra space does usually become available closer to departure (say a week or two) so you can always look again later.

seegs

I saw it on Expertflyer and then searched same dates on Aeroplan and it was there. I was on the phone for 30min trying to book my trip but the final flight (IST-LHR) was showing available on Aeroplan but was phantom.

brownbomber

I have been reading the rules about mini RTW but am a bit confused.

From what I understand I can make 3 stops and 10 legs.
I have found flights so far
SYD BKK TG F
BKK HKG TG F
HKG ICN TG J STOP 1 DAY
GMP PEK CA J
PEK FRA LH F STOP 4 DAYS
FRA ORD LH F
ORD DEN UA J
DEN SFO UA J
All other layovers <24hrs

Then I would like to do (any pacific destination) -SYD.

Cant find any direct flights in F or J from SFO. I assume I cannot go to SFO - Asia -SYD, is this correct?

So my other question are

Can I go back via Europe, turning in ORD
OR can I turn around in Frankfurt...and dont go to North America at all?
So confused... please help!
I dont fully understand the rules, and how to calculate mileage,to be able to make a decision!
What is the max mileage and how is it calculated?

Any suggestion in regards to routing from Sydney gladly accepted.

What miles would be needed also, the table says 205,000 for F ?

Thanks, Ive only ever flown direct flights, and never redeemed on miles,so a litle bit lost here!

Pseudo Nim

Since it would appear that your departure is SYD and destination is Asia1, you can't make this into an RTW. What differentiates a true RTW from a mini is that you can start a true one from anywhere and route around the world. A mini simply leverages the inconvenient location of a continent (such as North America) and the fact that to get from NA to, say, Asia1 or Australia it makes little difference which ocean you fly over - to the airline, anyway. Hence the indirect (sometimes VERY) routings. But no matter what, you can't exceed some reasonable distance between two places. For instance, if you're flying SYD-PEK, you will certainly not be able to do it trans-Atlantic.

You would need your RTW to start from the West Coast. Consider booking something like SFO-FRA-BKK-HKG-PEK-SYD-SFO (HKG-PEK is not legal here but this is to illustrate), then buy yourself a one-way SYD-SFO and just don't get on the last leg. Or book the last leg a year later so you can use it to go to the US another time

LearningToFly

Award Nexus, also called ANX, gives a good representation of available seats on Star Alliance (to which Lufthansa and Swiss do belong), Skyteam and One World. Members of FT community have access to free searches with that tool.

There is also the site of Pseudo Nim at FliSea.com. I use both, but I'll maybe subscribe to ExpertFlyer for it seems to be giving the MPM or Maximum Permitted Mileage for each redemption (I think it does not include all airlines though).

brownbomber

Thanks, PseudoNim, so the turnaround point cannot be taken literally, and one always continues in the same direction back to the point of origin. Is that correct?
As I split my time between Aus and YVR, my journey can easily start from YVR. Thanks for that info.
Is it worth paying the (presumably) massive surcharges for an A380 F or J flight, and are these ever available on miles?

Pseudo Nim

Right - POT is not related to your actual destination, but rather the furthest away >24hr stop on your route. Sometimes it is worth stopping on a city you don't care about to allow a stop in one that you do.

As for F/J on the 380 - depends on the airline. SQ? Resounding "yes" (although no surcharges yet). LH? Yes for F (especially if ex-FRA) but no on J. Just not worth the (comparatively) crappy J seats.

arcticbull

Rather for SQ it *would* be -- they don't allow you to redeem in F/J on their 388s or 77Ws.

Pseudo Nim

Well - afaik they don't *disallow* it, they just make a very concerted effort to ensure no space ever shows up I have seen availability in both F and J on SQ like one or two days before the flight, even on the 388 (although of course only 1 seat max). Unless this changed after their reservation system upgrade.