pentiumvi

Looks like YVR-SGN is still further than YVR-DXB, and will be treated as your POT.

nnanlno

Another silly question (i've been out of touch with the aeroplan game for a while...)

are the positively reviewed J lounge for TK in IST and LX in ZRH open for aeroplan reward tix?

Smiley90

you can access any lounge you could normally access with a revenue J ticket, which includes the LX lounges in ZRH. (not the Senator lounges though)

canadiancow

On any other airline forum, I'd forgive that statement

The mentioned lounges are open, but not ANY lounge.

Smiley90

That's why I wrote "any lounge you could access on a revenue J ticket". I obviously meant "any lounge that the same ticket, but purchased with cash instead of miles, would give you access to". Better? Obviously not any and every lounge!

lsquare

I'm very new to booking a mini-rtw and I got some questions for you guys. I'm not really interested in the ability to stack layovers. I feel there's too little time even if it's to get a feel for the city. I have roughly a month in the future to do this so my plan is to use the mini-rtw to get me to the places that I want and then use Avios to do side trips from there. Is this a decent strategy?

Unless I'm mistaken, I can do YVR-CDG-SIN-HKG-YVR. Mini-rtw allows 3 stop-overs so CDG, SIN, and HKG will be it. Unfortunately SIN isn't a OW hub so I'm thinking of redeeming Avios to go from HKG to SYD. Is that worth doing or should I use cash to buy that fare? As for routing, I'm assuming I can fly UA and connect at SFO to CDG. Not sure which carriers I'll be looking at to go from CDG-SIN-HKG. I think from HKG, I can connect via SFO with UA back to YVR?

opentag

What do you mean by "I have roughly a month in the future to do this" - like you want to travel in a months time or you'll be travelling for about a month when you go?
Your 2 main challenges for the mini-rtw will likely be long haul flight availability and the maximum permitted mileage. SIN will be your destination as the furthest stop from YVR and YVR-SIN maximum allowed mileage is 13206 each way. You'll have to be *fairly* direct on your way there to ensure you stay under that. For instance YVR-SFO-CDG-IST-SIN seems like a plausible routing and it totals 13155 - so you can see there isn't much spare there. You'll note I included IST there - long haul award routes on SQ are very rarely available so you'll need to go through a *A airlines hub. IST on TK or ZRH on LX are the best bets for that.
You'll want to look for the trans-ocean flight availability first in addition to that long haul from Europe to Asia - those will be the most challenging to find. SFO-CDG would of course be great but it may not work on your dates. You'd then need to look at using eastern NA cities and maybe connecting through ZRH or LIS to get to CDG. Same for the flight back from Asia - you'll want to find something via the US west coast on UA or get something on NH via Tokyo or BR via TPE. These are all looking to avoid airlines like LH and AC where you'd end up with big surcharges.
Don't really know much about Avios - hope this is helpful otherwise.

lsquare

Sorry, I meant I have a month off to do this trip.

Thanks for the information. So just to make sure I'm on the same page as you, the stopovers that I listed are eligible, but the challenge is to find the airports to connect to and avoid the surcharges right? If so, then yes, I want to avoid it, which is why I want to fly with UA when possible.

I have a feeling I'm probably better off buying airfare to SYD from HKG or even SIN.

somayaji

Hi all,

First time trying to book a mini RTW and was hoping I could get some help to see if the below itinerary is even possible:

YYZ - TPE
TPE - HKG
HKG - BKK (stop)
BKK - HAN (dest)
HAN - SIN
SIN - ICN (stop)
ICN - LHR
LHR - YYZ

Any help would be appreciated!

opentag

BKK is further from YVR than HAN is so it will actually be your destination. the MPM for YYZ-BKK is 14039 and BKK - HAN - SIN - ICN - LHR - YYZ is 13930 so it's legal. I think you'd going to face some BIG YQ on this route, specifically the ICN-LHR-YYZ parts as they'll be with OZ and AC. Personally I'd look at doing HAN and ICN before BKK if possible and then look for option to Europe with SQ (unlikely), TK or LX. Alternatively you could go back through TPE after BKK and take BR to Europe - though watch your MPM. Hope this helps.

Rykoshet

BKK-ADD-CAI-LIS-YYZ would also be free of YQ, no?

Assuming they did the ICN portion before BKK to maximize free miles on the routing home.

opentag

Yep that should work too - not *my* preferred carriers on those legs but YMMV.

nnanlno

Am a relatively noob. Could the masters of Aeroplan sub kindly critique my following itin and advise if it's possible?

This will be a one way ticket:
AMM>CAI (22 hours in CAI, intending day tour Giza)
CAI>IST (14 hours in IST, intending hit off Blue Mosque)
IST>ZRH (18 hours in ZRH, intending to check out Lucerne)
ZRH>EWR (12 hours in NYC)
EWR>YYZ (on AC, unfortunately)

Also, should one know anything about the new airport at IST (not much info around yet) regarding doing a 14 hours day trip to "downtown" during the day?

p.s. will be redeeming a YYZ>AMM through TATL on another program to complete the mini-RTW

Thanks in advance for any precious inputs!

CanadianMike

Just got back from my first mini-RTW and wanted to give a huge thank you to the regulars who post in this thread helping others.
Definitely made it easier for me to book and figure the whole thing out.
The trip was outstanding so I appreciate it. Already looking to try to find time off to book the next one!

Itinerary, for anyone interested...

YVR - HND - GMP (ANA J) STOP
ICN - BKK - KUL (TG J) DESTINATION
KUL - IST (TK J) 14 hour layover in IST
IST - DBV (TKJ) STOP
DBV - ZAG - ZRH - YUL - YVR (OU, LX + AC J)

Jasper2009

The itinerary is valid and each connection is ong wnough to leave the airport and head into the city.

If there's a choice between flying EgyptAir and Turkish Airlines on the CAI-IST segment, definitely choose the latter.