Jasper2009

1) No, the Great Circle Mapper won't really help you. Also, while you can look up the published MPM using tools like Expertflyer etc, Aeroplan's MPM can be lower or higher, so that's little help either. Howver, this thread may be useful:

Aeroplan City Pair mileage (new pseudo-MPM)

2) Very rarely will Europe - NA via Asia work. Most common exceptions would (far) Eastern Europe. to the US West Coast.

3) Same rules apply as for other award tickets (i.e. two stopovers in addition to your destination).

4) Aeroplan doesn't collect fuel surcharges on BR, SQ, CA, LX, SN, TK, A3, SK, NZ, UA. (theoretically also not on AV and CM, but those aren't "currently" bookable)

Pseudo Nim

1. Yes you can. You need to know what the MPM is (see the thread @Jasper2009 linked for the number) and then use GCMap to calculate your actual flown distance. Don't try to be precise to 10mi, as airlines don't always calculate the same way, but it'll be very good at helping you roughly figure it out.
2. Almost impossible, because EU-Anything usually ends up too close to allow a RTW routing. You might be able to find a EU city that's so far from Asia that MPM around both is permitted - maybe SNN and NRT? - but it's going to be hard. Use the Aeroplan website, it will probably give you a routing if it's legal. North America to Asia is much easier to get this done (but then you have to start in North America, which may or may not work for you).
3. The simplest way of understanding stops is that you have 3 stops. Period. If you want an open jaw, you still technically have 3 stops (one on each side of the OJ), you just don't fly the segment between them which leaves you 1 "real" stop. Also, the open jaw can only be around the start or destination.
4. @Jasper2009 posted all the airlines without YQ, but seriously, it's such a played out subject by now. Although some airline's YQ is absolutely egregious (i.e. LH on some routes), if you blanket-avoid every airline that has YQ, you're going to limit yourself, and ultimately, you're missing the elephant in the room that you have a round-the-world ticket for maybe a few hundred dollars more than otherwise, whereas you simply may not be able to fly certain routes if you're dead-set on avoiding YQ. As well, depending on origin and destination, some routes will simply not incur YQ, even if the airlines normally do - for example, if you start out of Japan, Hong Kong or Singapore, YQ is usually government-controlled to a "reasonable" level; out of Brazil and some other South American countries, it's zero; and so on. So find the routes that you want first, then see if the price you're being quoted is something you're willing to live with or not. Don't blanket ignore all the "expensive" airlines. Also, incidentally, I'd rather pay YQ and fly ANA than fly SQ for free, for example (although I'm happy to fly TK for free and not LH for $, so it works both ways).

Just my two cents.

Happy

Thanks a lot on the quick answers.

What is in mind is, we may do a TATL cruise from US to EU that the disembarkation city does not really matter and from which EU city to fly out also does not really matter as it seems there are always some options in EU to fly from A to B or sometimes just take the train. The 2 TATL cruises I am looking at, one ends at BCN, one ends at CPH, or LED, it depends on how it is booked. Both options are still very much up in the air waiting on other variables to fall into place - such as further price reduction of the cruise, or AMEX would have yet another $100 statement credit on $500+ cruise booked (used this in both April and Dec 2017). Again where we wound up disembark does not really matter, even the itinerary does not matter as we have been in the same ports multiple times.

Usually we do a RTW in the fashion of several award tickets often from different programs. A common theme is from EU we fly to HKG on CX using either AA or AS program. Eventually fly back to US from Asia on whoever has award seats and thus which program to use.
Though sometimes we just went to EU and eventually came home from Asia with a detour to Middle East or Australia. All on separate tickets. An example would be, in 2016 we flew MIA-LHR on an AA award. After a few days in London we flew a BA award LHR-SPU, spent 2 weeks in Croatia with a rental car eventually returned at Zagreb. Then we flew ZAG-DOH-SYD on an AA award. Spent 6 days in Sydney for the Vivid Sydney winter festival, flew TG SYD-BKK-HKG on a UA award. Spent a week in HKG then flew CX to LAX on an AS award. So multiple awards across multiple programs.

If we do the cruise, after the cruise and may be spending some time in EU (it depends on how long eventually the whole trip would take) I would like to head to Asia then return to US. I am not sure how realistic is to go to Queenstown in Mid May, nor the availability of NZ (the bigger issue).

The RTW on Aeroplan is intrigue due to the total 3 stops one can do, so I am thinking if I could do a trip on one single award but apparently it would not be possible due to the MPM restriction.

Given the intention of how the trip is structure, is there any way an Aeroplan RTW might be inserted in the whole trip?

Why would you rather fly NH with YQ but not SQ without YQ? I do think on a longhaul some of the YQs are just pure scam.

I also noticed from a blogger's write up on his SFO-ZRH-FRA-DEL-CMB with the ZRH-FRA segment on LH and he only paid $68 in total (fee and taxes) - that is very cheap cash outlay given many airports enroute and LH on the ZRH-FRA segment.

HKG government does not allow surcharge that is not related to real fuel so essentially there is no YQ on any airline.

I cannot remember exactly but I notice BA does not collect YQ on QF award inside Australia and New Zealand. So may be flights originated in these 2 countries also are not subj to YQ.

pentiumvi

Just to point out, you can't have stop-overs or an open-jaw on an one-way award. Wasn't sure whether you intended to just book EU-US...

crimsona

Aeroplan prices out many tickets as origin to destination. Having no YQ ex HKG only applies for the leg ex HKG if they are the destination. Similarly, a roundtrip North America to Australia would be expensive, only one ways ex Australia are discounted

Happy

Because I do not plan to return to US immediately after EU. As mentioned, most our trips are RTW in nature, just that they are not on a single ticket but multiple tickets across multiple programs.

I am aware of that. It is not Aeroplan alone. Pretty much all programs that charge YQ would do the same. They would charge the scam fee whenever they can. The only way they do not is because government regulations.

HHG

Hello Flyertalkers

If anyone is kind to help, it would be great.

1. Would YXE--MNL (stop), MNL-CGK (stop), BKK-IST (stop), IST-YXE would work as an RTW ticket. hopefully all in business class.
2. Would YXE-LIM (stop), LIM-BOG (stop), BOG-YXE is fine as a roundtrip ticket (in economy, if that matters)

ChrisA330

You need your exact routing to determine what it doable. For #1 , the MPM is 14451 and CGK is your point of turnaround. So when determining what is eligible your total trip including all segments to and from CGK cannot exceed 14451 miles.

There are itineraries that will work for #2 as well. MPM is 7874 and LIM is the destination.

PlaneHunt

Just wanted to give an example of what happens when there is a schedule change.

Originally booked itinerary:
YYZ-LGA (AC)
JFK-ZRH (LX)
ZRH-LIS (TP)
LIS-CMN (TP) - STOP
CMN-IST (TK)
And continuing on with a stop in Istanbul, with a destination of Perth via Singapore. Flying home via Singapore and Taipei.

Logged in last night on the TAP Portual website to look at picking seats (although I can't seem to find where to do this), and noticed the LIS-CMN flight had now changed to earlier in the day, actually earlier than I was due to arrive in Lisbon. I am not sure when the schedule change happened, and how long it would have taken Aeroplan to call me (if they even would have), so I decided to call in and speak with an agent. I had a second goal in mind while calling as well, to see if I could route through Boston to Zurich, instead of New York; when I booked Swiss was only available from JFK, but when I looked last night Swiss from BOS-ZRH was available, so I was going to try and see if I could get that. The BOS-ZRH flight actually arrived earlier into Zurich as well, which would allow catching connections to BRU, LIS, CMN. The routing was not ideal, but it was all that looked to be available. The agent could see the availability, and I asked if I would be able to change it free of charge in the future if more ideal routing came up, she said she would have to check on that. She looked for alternate routing through multiple Star Alliance hubs, but nothing was coming up that would get me into Casablanca on that day I had originally booked. There was a YYZ-LIS flight available on TAP, but only in economy.

The agent said she was going to call another department, and put me on a brief hold. She came back offering the direct YYZ-LIS flight in business class, which would allow me to connect to the rescheduled flight to CMN. My Aeroplan e-mail confirmation shows the YYZ-LIS portion booked as a Z fare, instead of the usual I, so I am not sure if Aeroplan paid out of pocket or got the seats through some sort arrangement, but I am pleased since I have a more direct route and I do not have to change airports in New York. I did not have to pay any change fees or additional taxes for this, nor did I have to pay the TAP carrier surcharge .

New routing to Casablanca is as follows:
YYZ-LIS (TP)
LIS-CMN (TP) STOP
Travel onwards remains the same.

Now I just have to cross my fingers that I get one of the newly reconfigured TAP A330's with lie flat, and a good crew!

Pseudo Nim

Suggest you credit the Z class flight to another Star program - AC may not credit it because they "know" it's an award booking, but someone else might, who knows.

TTC192Rocket

With ET being available again, was wondering if this would work:

YYZ-CPT (Stop/POT)
CPT-JNB (Stop)
JNB-BRU/VIE (Stop)
BRU/VIE-YYZ

JNB, BRU, VIE all show up as options if I'm connecting or doing 1 Europe + 1 of CPT/JNB anyway, so if I make one of those a stop by calling in, would it still be under MPM?

The goal is to fly Ethiopian and South African so I can check them off my *A list.

Thanks!

YOWgary

I can book YYZ-LHR-ADD-CPT-BFN-JNB-ADD-YYZ on the website, so you should be fine.

To be super picky, you have to have one stop on either side of your POT, but since JNB and CPT are almost equidistant from Toronto I would imagine you're fine either way round.

If you're doing this in J, be warned that ET are still running their 787 with the angle-flat seats on YYZ-ADD. I recently flew their 350 (with flat seats) and quite enjoyed it.

ChrisA330

No you don't. If you're transiting the same city twice it must be on either side of the POT...but stopovers can be anywhere.

346fetish

Working on an Aeroplan RTW right now. Flying SGN-ICN-NRT nonstop. My question: can I fly back NRT-ICN-LAX nonstop or it will be considered as "backtracking?" Thanks in advance.

346fetish

ChrisA330

What's the total itinerary? As I mentioned in the post directly above yours, you can only transit the same city twice if it's on either side of your point of turnaround.