JGR01

I would think the less restrictive fares (refundable and changeable) would be more flexible in the connections allowed. Some also allow co-terminal while others do not.

I guess I should consider myself LUCKY that I have not run in to a restriction on connections. I regularly did four flights to get home from BDA weekly (BDA-JFK-BOS-ORD-MSP).

Tho thinking about connection vs 'stop over' there may be other issues involved. (Connection = X on ticket while origination/stop over = O). I did MSP-MIA-JFK-LAX-ORD-MSP (5 connections) with no 'greater than 4 hours' between flights to create a stop over. All one ticket and a decent fare (and all upgrades as EXP!).

screwedbyaa

Thanks, guys. The consensus seems to be that unless specifically noted in the fare rules, there is no "global maximum."

Dave Noble

..................

925

Yes, there are usually conection limits specified by rules. There are also connection limits left in most computer systems... most choke around 10 or so. Yes, most rules have an MPM. Most MPMs are honored. For some percentage (discussed elsewhere) you can exceed MPM for a percentage increase in fare. At the fixed percentage, the fare simply becomes invalid. This really is archane, but there is a lot to learn. I think the best discussions were in Mileage Run forum.

virtualtroy

Am bumping this [with a PM to the last post, as whoever was responsible seems to understand these rules well] amd am curious to understand the principle.

If IATA fare rules state that a point-to-point flight is based on the direct mileage + say 10% and anything over is payable in increments of 5% mileage excess = 5% of one-way point-to-point base fare, up to a maximum excess of 25% over and above MPM, how does the following work:

Assuming that MPM CAI-AKL is 12,360 miles (base mileage of 10,300 + 20%), were I to fly, say, CAI-LHR-SIN-AKL-MEL-SIN-LHR-CAI = 28,510 miles.

Do I halve this to 14,255 and assume that this is within the band of 20% over base mileage, therefore total surcharge for the round trip will be 20% of the base one-way or round-trip fare?

Complicated stuff...

TerryK

Mileage is calculated separately each way.

CAI-LHR-SIN-AKL -> TPM=14187
AKL-MEL-SIN-LHR-CAI -> TPM=14348

MPM can vary between fares and airlines, although they are generally pretty close to each other. Some fares also allow routing exceptions for MPM.

CAI-AKL should be 12403 MPM. It should be 15M for outbound and 20M for inbound.

giggy

I searched and read everything but could not find the answer Im looking for.
I've been looking for a long range MR for later this year and found a good one. I looked at the fare rules, since I was concerned about going over MPM. Nowhere in the fare rules did it mention MPM. I also checked the rules on expertflyer. same thing. So..If there's nothing regarding MPM in the rules, does this mean its Not Applicable? thanks Giggy

ricktoronto

If you found an actual fare then MPM or not it's a valid fare or it doesn't come up.

giggy

Cool, I found it on AA.com but I'm afraid that when I pull the trigger it will default to a much higher fare. Anyone else with advice would be most appreciated. THANKS AGAIN

Efrem

What ricktoronto said. AA's computers know about MPM rules and take them into account when they figure fares for connections. If you see the fare, the fare is OK. If it goes up before you book it, that's probably because the fare class sold out just then on one or more legs - not because the computer suddenly caught on that ORD moved a few hundred miles west.

giggy

thank you that was what I was hoping. My search got me a bit confused. wondered if it gave fare and then bumped it up 15-25% once you tried to buy it.

wanaflyforless

Fares do not change during the purchase process because of MPM or other fare rules. When fares do change during the purchase process, it is almost always because inventory just sold out or became available.

Perhaps you were buying an M fare and M inventory just sold out on one of the flights you had selected. Inventory is very dynamic; it constantly changes as airlines are trying to maximize their revenue and customers are buying seats at various times.

The casual user need not care about MPM! Go to AA.com and AA.com will worry about fare rules for you! Buy what they show you.

The reason some of us care about MPM:

We want to do things AA.com (or other websites) don't think of.
If planning a MR, perhaps we want to go from ORD-DFW on our way to Paris and want to see if that routing would be permitted on the lowest Chicago-Paris fare.
OR
Perhaps we have friends in various cities around the US. We know that on an international fare, one can stop for under 24 hours without it counting as a stopover. So maybe we want to visit our friends in CID and RDU on our way from Chicago to Paris. We look up the MPM to see if an ORD-CDG fare will accommodate
ORD-CID stop less than 24 hours - visit friend
CID-STL-RDU stop less than 24 hours - visit friend
RDU-JFK-CDG

BTW, the MPM on AA's ORD-CDG fare is 4977.
ORD-CID-STL-RDU-JFK-CDG is 5152 miles.
The MPM can be exceeded in increments of 5% up to 25% maximum for a 5% addition to the base fare per increase.

So yes, I could fly ORD-CID-STL-RDU-JFK-CDG stopping in CID and RDU for less than 24 hours on an AA ORD-CDG fare, provided:
- There is inventory on every segment; if I am using HKAPEX, I would need for there to be H inventory on every leg.
- The fare rules do not restrict the number of transfer to less than the five I am making.
- All other conditions (min stay, advance purchase, etc) of the fare rules are met.

dstan

Great post, very informative. Always wondered how that worked. Thanks! ^

RChavez

Also one thing to consider is that the fare may be route-based, not distance-based. Distance-based fares have MPM restrictions and surcharges based on exceeding them.

Route based fares have no distance limitation, but you must travel according to the associated routing options. These often can be far more cost effective for mileage runs by maximizing the segments.

Most domestic US fares are route-based. Some Int'l ones can be as well, but usually only on markets/regions where the carrier has strong online coverage.

glu800

I was doing some random searches for award flights from SFO to Tokyo, and noticed that the system was coming up with some interesting routings, including SFO-JFK-HND, and it was bookable using the saver award option (meaning 25K for off-peak). Doesn't this routing violate the MPM rule by quite a bit? I thought AA had a 25% over MPM rule for award flights?

And if that's the case, could I book SFO-JFK-HND on partner airlines (i.e. JAL) using the same amount of miles?

Thanks for any help!