YULMrBean

He shoots! He scores! We win the gold! And, Air Canada is shovelling out the discounts so I take the opportunity to persuade my wife that this is the time to book a trip to New Zealand. Ah, AC does not fly to NZ you say. No problem – I get a AC discount (Z) class fare to Sydney and then Air New Zealand to Auckland in (J) followed by short hops around NZ. First, I need your help to check of my math:
YUL / YVR 2290 miles
YVR / SYD 7776 miles
10,066 x 2 (Return) +125% (Z Class bonus) = 25165 + 5788 (Status miles we have already) = 30953 miles. Wake up!!! Sorry.
Now we fly Air New Zealand: SYD to AKL (J) 1340 x 2 = 2680 miles; AKL / NPL (Y) 147 miles; NPL / CHC (Y) 315 miles; NSN / AKL (Y) 306 miles. Total 34,401.00 miles.
So, I am correct in thinking that the flights on AZ translate into status miles on AC? If so that leaves us 600 miles short of elite status and I have to persuade my wife that we could really use the benefits. It means squeezing in a shopping trip after Christmas. Help!
I cannot find the meal / beverage service schedule for YVR to SYD and SYD to YVR in executive first (Phoned AC and they did not know!). What do they serve after the 23:45 departure from Vancouver? Is it better to eat before?
Should I buy chocolates for the crew? If so recommendations for purchase in YVR.
I will pay for this info with a trip report. Promise.

global happy traveller

i believe NZ's minimum mileage is 500 miles for travels less than 500 miles.... so you may reach E..... but just remember to complete your travel my Dec 31.... cross into Jan 1 and it splits in half

redeye departure from YVR to Asia (broad term)....is dinner + breakfast...

Dinner - salad, 4 mains to choose, cheese, dessert or fruit...... wine selection changes but typically a combination of domestic wine and international wine......... a whole lot of booze..... some inflight snacks (packaged, sandwich or specially baked items)...... and a lie flat bed..... thats about it........breakfast a tray with bread and omlette or pancake stuff....

yyznomad

Don't the NZ sub 500 mile trips equate to 500 EQM anyway? If so, you have your 35K.

CZBB

Would replacing YUL-YVR with YUL-YYZ-YVR help; or even YUL-YYZ-YYJ-YVR

trooper

Be VERY careful with your NZ bookings.

Many NZ fares do NOT credit to "other" FFP's at all.......

Jasper2009

I´m pretty sure all Exec. flights within NA earn 150% miles, so your calaculation should be:

2290 x 2 x 150% +
7776 x 2 x 125% +
NZ flights

Flights on NZ earn a minimum of 500 miles, but only the most expensive economy booking classes earn 100%, many booking classes on NZ don´t earn any miles at all.

rehoult

Your SYD-AKL flight should be eligable for a 25% COS bonus according to the NZ partner listing on ap.com. Therefore should get around 3,360 each.

margarita girl

If you go before the end of the year, you will get Elite for 2010 and your status will expire in Feb 2012. If you go in January, you will get early qualification for 2011 (assuming you get 35K miles) and your status will expire in Feb 2013.

BTW, how much will this little vacation cost?

okazon69

Careful. YUL-YVR is 2288 miles, and YVR-SYD is 7767.

(http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=yvr-syd gives 7757, while http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/Acco...alcAction.jspx gives 7768, and https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...Xc&hl=en#gid=0 gives 7767.)

Don't overestimate....

will5404

Unless you book some of NZ's most expensive fares you wont get credit with Aeroplan for the NZ domestic segments. The extra cost is generally not worth while when its much cheaper to earn miles in NA.

Are you flying to earn Elite or is this something you were going to do anyway? Flying on a Z fare is one of the most expensive ways to earn E.

tracon

Are the Z fares any cheaper from the US?

That will get you a couple extra segments plus a positioning segment.

lcohen999

Silly question and I mean no disrespect.

If you have the wherewithal to book you and your wife in J to SYD (which must end up in the near $20,000 for the two of you) what do you need *G for.

Flying in J on AC and ANZ really gives you the same perks, lounge, checkin, luggage, etc.

YULMrBean

Thank you for your replies. I wonder how many other people befitted AC’s Olympic largesse?
When Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal, I was hovering over my keyboard awaiting what discounts AC would offer on a twenty-four time frame. At midnight AC offered the following fare for executive first from Montreal via Vancouver to Sydney (NSW):-
Promotion Code: - Special Offer - Save 20 Percent
Base Fare - discount applied 5351.99
Surcharges 30.01
Fuel Surcharge 230.00
Taxes, Fees and Charges
Canada Airport Improvement Fee 20.00
Air Travellers Security Charge (ATSC) 17.00
Australia Passenger Service Charge 46.66
Australia Passenger Move Charge 43.85
Canada Goods and Services Tax (GST/HST #10009-2287 RT0001) 1.00
Canada Quebec Sales Tax (QST #1000-043-172 TQ1991) 1.58
Total airfare and taxes before options (per passenger) 5742.09
Number of Passengers2
Total11484.18
RBC Travel Insurance (declined) 0.00
Grand Total - Canadian dollars $11484.18
This is a (z) class fare with status miles accruing at 125%. I calculated the miles from Air Canada’s timetable which were higher than those from several flight distance websites. The SYD to AKL and the internal NZ flights were calculated as an aggregate from the aforementioned websites. The purpose of the trip is business and pleasure with the possible benefit (?) of obtaining elite status as we are so near the thirty-five thousand mile mark. Since miles accrued on Air New Zealand seem to be an ambiguous area it looks like a quick visit to Vegas is on the cards. The overall net benefit of elite is questionable as we would probably fly J anyway as the chances of an upgrade seem slim for elites on European and Asian travel.
It would appear that I will have to post individual queries regarding chocolates and possible photos aboard AC. Please excuse the prose as in preparation drinking (sampling) SAQ Quebec stock of New Zealand wines (Tonight “Lake Hayes Pinot Noir Otago”- brilliant!!!)

Jasper2009

If you´ve already bought your tickets on Air New Zealand, you only need to give them a phone call (with your booking reference handy) and they´ll be able to tell you which booking class the flights are booked in. There´s a chart on the Aeroplan website that lists all mileage-earning booking classes on Air New Zealand.

If you mainly fly business class on long-haul flights, the main benefits of Elite status are:

- you can confirm upgrades to C at time of booking when booking Latitude fares, Lat fares Canada-Europe tend to be 30%´50% cheaper than exec. class fares, so you could do more trips per year in the future
- chance of an upgrade on flights within NA where you´d usually buy economy class tickets

Bringing chocolates for the crew is definitely not expected, but most FAs will very much appreciate your gesture. To minimize the risk of the chocolates being thrown away (due to safety concerns, there are some nasty people out there), buy a sealed box of chocolates, maybe a well-known brand from a shop at the airport

Enjoy your glass (bottle) of wine!