Jan 28, 2014, 12:14 am
Last edit by: JDiver
oneworld / AA Explorer award with AA Miles (discuss, questions) [ENDED 8 APR 2014]
N.B. new oneworld/AA Explorer awards are no longer available as of the end of the day on April 7th, 2014.
Existing awards will be honored.
This thread is ONLY to inquire or add about existing oneworld Explorer awards; to comment on the loss of this booking option, please follow the discussion on:
Oneworld Explorer Awards Eliminated -- Effective Immediately [8 Apr 2014]
See the first post, below, for the rules that prevailed through 7 April 2014 and apply to those who booked Explorer awards prior to the end of these useful award tickets.
oneworld / AA Explorer award with AA Miles (discuss, questions) [ENDED 8 APR 2014]
Feb 10, 2012, 8:33 am
#136
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Plat/6MM, Marriott Titanium, IHG Diamond
Posts: 3,240
FYI: Just had a AY-operated flight (WAW-HEL) replaced by a Flybe- (BE) operated flight, AY codeshare; mid-summer travel.
I checked the AA/Oneworld "affliates" page and BE is not listed (yet?).
I checked the AA/Oneworld "affliates" page and BE is not listed (yet?).
Feb 10, 2012, 9:36 am
#137
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,604
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
From Austinrunner's OP:
"Stopover is defined as more than 4 hours for domestic flights, and 6 hours for international flights. If there are no scheduled flights within this timeframe, regardless of availability, you must take the next scheduled flight but may not exceed 24 hours. If the connection exceeds 24 hours, it will be considered a stopover."
So you should be OK if you take the first scheduled JFK-DCA flight on January 3, but probably not the second.
I'm not sure how the co-terminal situation affects the connection rule, but you might be able to take the first JFK-IAD flight on January 3, even if that flight left after the first JFK-DCA flight of the day. It might be worth asking about that, if you want to sleep in on the morning of the 3rd -- and assuming that AA opens up award space on the JFK-IAD flight.
Originally Posted by Jwerking
I must be living life correctly 
as I am now scheduled on AA 4543 on January 3, 2013 from JKF to DCA from 10:55 AM to 12:15 PM.
However, my CX 846 from HKG- JFK is January 2 from 6:30 PM- 9:25 PM. There are no other flights to DCA that evening due to the late arrival - so I must overnight in JFK. Does this create a stopover - as I have already stopover here previously in my itinerary - so cannot do so again??? FYI - there is an earlier 6 am flight from JFK- DCA if that makes a difference.
Please say it is okay to take the flight the next day !
Joyce
as I am now scheduled on AA 4543 on January 3, 2013 from JKF to DCA from 10:55 AM to 12:15 PM.However, my CX 846 from HKG- JFK is January 2 from 6:30 PM- 9:25 PM. There are no other flights to DCA that evening due to the late arrival - so I must overnight in JFK. Does this create a stopover - as I have already stopover here previously in my itinerary - so cannot do so again??? FYI - there is an earlier 6 am flight from JFK- DCA if that makes a difference.
Please say it is okay to take the flight the next day !
Joyce
"Stopover is defined as more than 4 hours for domestic flights, and 6 hours for international flights. If there are no scheduled flights within this timeframe, regardless of availability, you must take the next scheduled flight but may not exceed 24 hours. If the connection exceeds 24 hours, it will be considered a stopover."
So you should be OK if you take the first scheduled JFK-DCA flight on January 3, but probably not the second.
I'm not sure how the co-terminal situation affects the connection rule, but you might be able to take the first JFK-IAD flight on January 3, even if that flight left after the first JFK-DCA flight of the day. It might be worth asking about that, if you want to sleep in on the morning of the 3rd -- and assuming that AA opens up award space on the JFK-IAD flight.
Feb 10, 2012, 2:14 pm
#138
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Virginia
Programs: AA Lifetime Platinum - 2M miles
Posts: 216
Phuket to AKL
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
From Austinrunner's OP:
"Stopover is defined as more than 4 hours for domestic flights, and 6 hours for international flights. If there are no scheduled flights within this timeframe, regardless of availability, you must take the next scheduled flight but may not exceed 24 hours. If the connection exceeds 24 hours, it will be considered a stopover."
So you should be OK if you take the first scheduled JFK-DCA flight on January 3, but probably not the second.
I'm not sure how the co-terminal situation affects the connection rule, but you might be able to take the first JFK-IAD flight on January 3, even if that flight left after the first JFK-DCA flight of the day. It might be worth asking about that, if you want to sleep in on the morning of the 3rd -- and assuming that AA opens up award space on the JFK-IAD flight.
From Austinrunner's OP:
"Stopover is defined as more than 4 hours for domestic flights, and 6 hours for international flights. If there are no scheduled flights within this timeframe, regardless of availability, you must take the next scheduled flight but may not exceed 24 hours. If the connection exceeds 24 hours, it will be considered a stopover."
So you should be OK if you take the first scheduled JFK-DCA flight on January 3, but probably not the second.
I'm not sure how the co-terminal situation affects the connection rule, but you might be able to take the first JFK-IAD flight on January 3, even if that flight left after the first JFK-DCA flight of the day. It might be worth asking about that, if you want to sleep in on the morning of the 3rd -- and assuming that AA opens up award space on the JFK-IAD flight.
I am only at 14 sections - so thought I would work on adding two legs while I am in Thailand. I will need BKK-Chiang Mai - Phuket- BKK. Can I get any 2 of these 3 legs using my OW ticket. I can do an open jaw because I currently do not have one in my itinerary.
I did check Phuket to AKL on the ITA site but it does not show any OW carriers between Phuket and BKK. Any alternative routings available???
Also, I have the month of October to possibly go somewhere from KIX before I fly to GMP to visit my daughter. I think I can go to Shainghai from KIX and back - which is a possibility for a week. Any other thoughts from KIX?
Tomorrow is the end of my 5-day hold - so it will be ticketed tomorrow - so no more dreaming of diff place to go.
Thanks
Joyce
Feb 10, 2012, 9:23 pm
#139
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 22
Is it worth it to fly Iberia instead of BA to avoid fuel surcharges?
I have two totally unrelated questions that I hope somebody can answer for me:
1. I'm booking a (hopefully) business class OneWorld RTW trip using AA miles, part of which will go from South America to Europe to Africa. I'm currently planning to fly from Rio de Janeiro to somewhere in Europe (where I will spend a month traveling through the Scandanavian countries, Poland and Germany), then either to South Africa or Kenya. I was going to take British Airways from GIG to LHR to NBO/JNB, but it sounds from what others have posted that Heathrow is to be avoided because the fuel surcharges and taxes will be horrendous. So my other option is GIG - MAD - NBO/JNB instead. I've read that Iberia's service and planes are terrible, but is it so bad that it's still worth it to take BA instead? Either MAD or LHR works as a jumping off point for my travels in Europe (to be bought as separate air or rail fares) so it comes down to a question of price vs. service/reliability/safety.
2. When booking a OneWorld RTW ticket, does the type/"cost" of miles for a given flight matter? For example, if I were booking the first leg of my trip from MIA to LIM, would I be able to get on a flight that only had Business Anytime seats available at 60,000 miles, would I have to find a flight that still had MileSAAver availability?
Thanks for any help you can give!
1. I'm booking a (hopefully) business class OneWorld RTW trip using AA miles, part of which will go from South America to Europe to Africa. I'm currently planning to fly from Rio de Janeiro to somewhere in Europe (where I will spend a month traveling through the Scandanavian countries, Poland and Germany), then either to South Africa or Kenya. I was going to take British Airways from GIG to LHR to NBO/JNB, but it sounds from what others have posted that Heathrow is to be avoided because the fuel surcharges and taxes will be horrendous. So my other option is GIG - MAD - NBO/JNB instead. I've read that Iberia's service and planes are terrible, but is it so bad that it's still worth it to take BA instead? Either MAD or LHR works as a jumping off point for my travels in Europe (to be bought as separate air or rail fares) so it comes down to a question of price vs. service/reliability/safety.
2. When booking a OneWorld RTW ticket, does the type/"cost" of miles for a given flight matter? For example, if I were booking the first leg of my trip from MIA to LIM, would I be able to get on a flight that only had Business Anytime seats available at 60,000 miles, would I have to find a flight that still had MileSAAver availability?
Thanks for any help you can give!
Feb 10, 2012, 11:15 pm
#140
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,861
mileSAAver is the only type of AA seat you can book on a oneworld award using AA miles.
Only you can determine whether paying US$863.80 per person in BA fuel surcharges and UK fees is worth it:
Only you can determine whether paying US$863.80 per person in BA fuel surcharges and UK fees is worth it:
$301.00 BA fuel surcharge for GIG -> LHR
$252.40 BA fuel surcharge for LHR -> JNB
$256.40 UK air passenger duty
$54.50 UK passenger service charge
Maybe you could take IB instead and donate the difference to your favorite charity.
$252.40 BA fuel surcharge for LHR -> JNB
$256.40 UK air passenger duty
$54.50 UK passenger service charge
Feb 11, 2012, 5:10 am
#141
Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 22
Only you can determine whether paying US$863.80 in BA fuel surcharges and UK fees is worth it:
$301.00 BA fuel surcharge for GIG -> LHR
$252.40 BA fuel surcharge for LHR -> JNB
$256.40 UK air passenger duty
$54.50 UK passenger service charge
Maybe you could take IB instead and donate the difference to your favorite charity.$252.40 BA fuel surcharge for LHR -> JNB
$256.40 UK air passenger duty
$54.50 UK passenger service charge
Feb 11, 2012, 5:35 am
#142
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,604
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Unless there has been a recent change, award flights out of Brazil are exempt from YQ. Not sure if the exemption applies to oneworld awards that begin someplace other than Brazil, but it might be worth looking into before finalizing an award itinerary. You might be able to fly GIG-LHR, have an open jaw, and then fly out of some other European city on IB via MAD without having to pay any YQ or U.K. airport taxes/fees.
Unless there has been a recent change, award flights out of Brazil are exempt from YQ. Not sure if the exemption applies to oneworld awards that begin someplace other than Brazil, but it might be worth looking into before finalizing an award itinerary. You might be able to fly GIG-LHR, have an open jaw, and then fly out of some other European city on IB via MAD without having to pay any YQ or U.K. airport taxes/fees.
Feb 11, 2012, 1:16 pm
#143
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4,861
Awards that begin somewhere else do not benefit from the Brazil exclusion. I tested it before my last post.
Feb 11, 2012, 2:12 pm
#144
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
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Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
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Any idea whether, for a oneworld award originating in Brazil, all BA segments on the itinerary are exempt from YQ, or only the segment(s) from Brazil to the first stopover point?
Originally Posted by Austinrunner
Awards that begin somewhere else do not benefit from the Brazil exclusion. I tested it before my last post.
Feb 12, 2012, 2:29 pm
#147
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: UA, AA, SPG, HH
Posts: 672
First and foremost this thread is great, big thank you to everyone that has contributed such detailed info to the sticky!
Ok so I'm in the midst of planning a multi-month excursion to Asia and am thinking an AA OneWorld award is my best bet. I read through the sticky on the first page and I think my itinerary should comply with all of the rules but was hoping I could run it by you guys. I attempted to put my routing into the format that I have noticed you guys use, here we go:
Here is a map of the itinerary: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=IAD-DFW...-JFK-DCA&MS=bm
IAD - DFW (AA) - SFO (AA) {Stopover}
SFO - LAX (AA) {Stopover)
LAX - HNL (AA) {Stopover}
HNL - NRT (JL) {Stopover}
NRT - ICN (JL) {Stopover}
ICN - TPE (CX) {Stopover}
TPE - HKG (CX) {Stopover}
HKG - BKK (CX) {Stopover}
BKK - HKG (CX) - MNL (CX)
MNL - NRT (JL) - YVR (JL) {Stopover}
YVR - JFK (CX) {Stopover}
JFK - DCA (AA)
I will be attempting to get biz for every segment. Price would be 150,000 AA miles since it totals up to ~ 23,576 BIS (so I think it should fall under a zone 7 award).
Rules Checklist:
2 OW Carriers: JL & CX
No More than 16 segments: I think this would come to 15 segments
Not allowed to connect in any city more than twice but allowed one stopover in addition to the 2 permissible connections (is my understanding of this rule correct?): Stopover once in NRT and connect once in NRT. Stopover once in HKG and connect once in HKG.
Questions I have:
1. What sort of taxes/YQ I should expect to pay on something like this? I expect they should be fairly minimal since i won't be flying on any BA metal?
2. If J is unavailable on one of the segments am I allowed to voluntarily downgrade and book that segment in Y (and potentially call in and switch to J as availability opens up)?
3. Seems like JL is a bit stingy with their J availability, do they usually release more seats close to departure date?
4. I don't really understand the open jaw policy regarding co-terminals. For example, if I flew HNL-NRT {Stopover} / HND - ICN is that considered 3 segments? Whereas if I fly HNL - NRT {Stopover} - ICN that is considered only 2 segments since I fly in and out of the same airport?
5. Given that this itinerary has so many stops I'm confused which city is considered my "destination city"? Is Washington DC considered both my origination and destination city since that is where I start my award and that is where I end my award?
6. This itinerary does not have any open jaws since I have no land segments and I begin and end in DC (albeit at different co-terminals). Is this correct?
Ok so I'm in the midst of planning a multi-month excursion to Asia and am thinking an AA OneWorld award is my best bet. I read through the sticky on the first page and I think my itinerary should comply with all of the rules but was hoping I could run it by you guys. I attempted to put my routing into the format that I have noticed you guys use, here we go:
Here is a map of the itinerary: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=IAD-DFW...-JFK-DCA&MS=bm
IAD - DFW (AA) - SFO (AA) {Stopover}
SFO - LAX (AA) {Stopover)
LAX - HNL (AA) {Stopover}
HNL - NRT (JL) {Stopover}
NRT - ICN (JL) {Stopover}
ICN - TPE (CX) {Stopover}
TPE - HKG (CX) {Stopover}
HKG - BKK (CX) {Stopover}
BKK - HKG (CX) - MNL (CX)
MNL - NRT (JL) - YVR (JL) {Stopover}
YVR - JFK (CX) {Stopover}
JFK - DCA (AA)
I will be attempting to get biz for every segment. Price would be 150,000 AA miles since it totals up to ~ 23,576 BIS (so I think it should fall under a zone 7 award).
Rules Checklist:
2 OW Carriers: JL & CX
No More than 16 segments: I think this would come to 15 segments
Not allowed to connect in any city more than twice but allowed one stopover in addition to the 2 permissible connections (is my understanding of this rule correct?): Stopover once in NRT and connect once in NRT. Stopover once in HKG and connect once in HKG.
Questions I have:
1. What sort of taxes/YQ I should expect to pay on something like this? I expect they should be fairly minimal since i won't be flying on any BA metal?
2. If J is unavailable on one of the segments am I allowed to voluntarily downgrade and book that segment in Y (and potentially call in and switch to J as availability opens up)?
3. Seems like JL is a bit stingy with their J availability, do they usually release more seats close to departure date?
4. I don't really understand the open jaw policy regarding co-terminals. For example, if I flew HNL-NRT {Stopover} / HND - ICN is that considered 3 segments? Whereas if I fly HNL - NRT {Stopover} - ICN that is considered only 2 segments since I fly in and out of the same airport?
5. Given that this itinerary has so many stops I'm confused which city is considered my "destination city"? Is Washington DC considered both my origination and destination city since that is where I start my award and that is where I end my award?
6. This itinerary does not have any open jaws since I have no land segments and I begin and end in DC (albeit at different co-terminals). Is this correct?
Feb 12, 2012, 3:15 pm
#148
Join Date: May 2004
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,204
First and foremost this thread is great, big thank you to everyone that has contributed such detailed info to the sticky!
Ok so I'm in the midst of planning a multi-month excursion to Asia and am thinking an AA OneWorld award is my best bet. I read through the sticky on the first page and I think my itinerary should comply with all of the rules but was hoping I could run it by you guys. I attempted to put my routing into the format that I have noticed you guys use, here we go:
Here is a map of the itinerary: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=IAD-DFW...-JFK-DCA&MS=bm
IAD - DFW (AA) - SFO (AA) {Stopover}
SFO - LAX (AA) {Stopover)
LAX - HNL (AA) {Stopover}
HNL - NRT (JL) {Stopover}
NRT - ICN (JL) {Stopover}
ICN - TPE (CX) {Stopover}
TPE - HKG (CX) {Stopover}
HKG - BKK (CX) {Stopover}
BKK - HKG (CX) - MNL (CX)
MNL - NRT (JL) - YVR (JL) {Stopover}
YVR - JFK (CX) {Stopover}
JFK - DCA (AA)
I will be attempting to get biz for every segment. Price would be 150,000 AA miles since it totals up to ~ 23,576 BIS (so I think it should fall under a zone 7 award).
Rules Checklist:
2 OW Carriers: JL & CX
No More than 16 segments: I think this would come to 15 segments
Not allowed to connect in any city more than twice but allowed one stopover in addition to the 2 permissible connections (is my understanding of this rule correct?): Stopover once in NRT and connect once in NRT. Stopover once in HKG and connect once in HKG.
Questions I have:
1. What sort of taxes/YQ I should expect to pay on something like this? I expect they should be fairly minimal since i won't be flying on any BA metal?
2. If J is unavailable on one of the segments am I allowed to voluntarily downgrade and book that segment in Y (and potentially call in and switch to J as availability opens up)?
3. Seems like JL is a bit stingy with their J availability, do they usually release more seats close to departure date?
4. I don't really understand the open jaw policy regarding co-terminals. For example, if I flew HNL-NRT {Stopover} / HND - ICN is that considered 3 segments? Whereas if I fly HNL - NRT {Stopover} - ICN that is considered only 2 segments since I fly in and out of the same airport?
5. Given that this itinerary has so many stops I'm confused which city is considered my "destination city"? Is Washington DC considered both my origination and destination city since that is where I start my award and that is where I end my award?
6. This itinerary does not have any open jaws since I have no land segments and I begin and end in DC (albeit at different co-terminals). Is this correct?
Ok so I'm in the midst of planning a multi-month excursion to Asia and am thinking an AA OneWorld award is my best bet. I read through the sticky on the first page and I think my itinerary should comply with all of the rules but was hoping I could run it by you guys. I attempted to put my routing into the format that I have noticed you guys use, here we go:
Here is a map of the itinerary: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=IAD-DFW...-JFK-DCA&MS=bm
IAD - DFW (AA) - SFO (AA) {Stopover}
SFO - LAX (AA) {Stopover)
LAX - HNL (AA) {Stopover}
HNL - NRT (JL) {Stopover}
NRT - ICN (JL) {Stopover}
ICN - TPE (CX) {Stopover}
TPE - HKG (CX) {Stopover}
HKG - BKK (CX) {Stopover}
BKK - HKG (CX) - MNL (CX)
MNL - NRT (JL) - YVR (JL) {Stopover}
YVR - JFK (CX) {Stopover}
JFK - DCA (AA)
I will be attempting to get biz for every segment. Price would be 150,000 AA miles since it totals up to ~ 23,576 BIS (so I think it should fall under a zone 7 award).
Rules Checklist:
2 OW Carriers: JL & CX
No More than 16 segments: I think this would come to 15 segments
Not allowed to connect in any city more than twice but allowed one stopover in addition to the 2 permissible connections (is my understanding of this rule correct?): Stopover once in NRT and connect once in NRT. Stopover once in HKG and connect once in HKG.
Questions I have:
1. What sort of taxes/YQ I should expect to pay on something like this? I expect they should be fairly minimal since i won't be flying on any BA metal?
2. If J is unavailable on one of the segments am I allowed to voluntarily downgrade and book that segment in Y (and potentially call in and switch to J as availability opens up)?
3. Seems like JL is a bit stingy with their J availability, do they usually release more seats close to departure date?
4. I don't really understand the open jaw policy regarding co-terminals. For example, if I flew HNL-NRT {Stopover} / HND - ICN is that considered 3 segments? Whereas if I fly HNL - NRT {Stopover} - ICN that is considered only 2 segments since I fly in and out of the same airport?
5. Given that this itinerary has so many stops I'm confused which city is considered my "destination city"? Is Washington DC considered both my origination and destination city since that is where I start my award and that is where I end my award?
6. This itinerary does not have any open jaws since I have no land segments and I begin and end in DC (albeit at different co-terminals). Is this correct?
2. Yes you can book in Y as voluntary downgrade and change to J if it becomes available.
3. Not sure.
4. HNL-NRT / HND-ICN is consider three segments. HNL-NRT-ICN is two.
5. Destination city is DCA.
6. Yes, no open jaw in your routing.
Feb 12, 2012, 8:47 pm
#149
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
If your post appears to be missing but is only for AA or AA and AA partners, please follow to this thread. /Moderator
Feb 12, 2012, 9:10 pm
#150
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Virginia
Programs: AA Lifetime Platinum - 2M miles
Posts: 216
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
From Austinrunner's OP:
"Stopover is defined as more than 4 hours for domestic flights, and 6 hours for international flights. If there are no scheduled flights within this timeframe, regardless of availability, you must take the next scheduled flight but may not exceed 24 hours. If the connection exceeds 24 hours, it will be considered a stopover."
So you should be OK if you take the first scheduled JFK-DCA flight on January 3, but probably not the second.
From Austinrunner's OP:
"Stopover is defined as more than 4 hours for domestic flights, and 6 hours for international flights. If there are no scheduled flights within this timeframe, regardless of availability, you must take the next scheduled flight but may not exceed 24 hours. If the connection exceeds 24 hours, it will be considered a stopover."
So you should be OK if you take the first scheduled JFK-DCA flight on January 3, but probably not the second.
I was almost there - but not quite.
Could someone please check CP availibility for HKG to ORD in coach for 2 people for any day after Jan 2. I am willing to layover in HKG for a few days and then end up in ORD to go visit my daughter in MKE and just pay my own way back to DCA.
Thanks
Joyce