Pardon me if this is a noob question.

I'm trying to get from TPE-GRR around 12/21 to 1/2 to visit the family for Christmas. I know that CO doesn't fly to TPE but there are still some fares listed.

For instance, take SLXUR which routes:

SPECIFIED ROUTE: 0031
YY - MEANS TRAVEL VIA ANY PARTICIPATING CARRIER\'S NONSTOP OR
DIRECT SERVICE
TPE-GUM-HNL-LAX-EWR-CLE-GRR
TPE(YY)HKG/TYO/BJS/SHA-EWR-HOU-CLE-GRR
TPE(YY)SEL(YY)HKG/TYO/BJS/SHA-EWR-HOU-CLE-GRR
TPE(YY)TYO/HKG/BJS/SHA-GUM-HNL-HOU-EWR-CLE-GRR
TPE(YY)SEL(YY)TYO/HKG/BJS/SHA-GUM-HNL-LAX-EWR-CLE-GRR
TPE(YY)HKG/TYO-GUM-HNL-HOU-EWR-CLE-GRR


So first of all, how would you go about constructing an itinerary for this fare? Is it even possible? And how does this YY business work?

Maybe it's just easier to take a LCC to Hong Kong. Anyway, I'm curious to see if anyone has any advice.

Thanks!

I'd start by using a 3rd party booking engine (e.g. Orbitz, Expedia, etc) and seeing what they come up with as options for price and routing that involves CO. If they have something and it really is an S fare then you'll need to book at co.com if you want the 100% EQMs. Here's where things get "fun."

Get the specific list of flights - both CO and non-CO - and go over to co.com. Book the trip as though it is just the CO segments (HKG-GRR or NRT-GRR, whichever you find from the booking site). When you get to the end choose to pay by Western Union rather than with a credit card. Don't worry about the price being all wrong. This will give you a PNR for that itinerary. Then you have to call the co.com support desk and give them the PNR and the additional segments that you want added in. They will "fix" the reservation to add the other carriers' flights in and reprice things. At that point it should be the same price as shown on the 3rd party site and you can complete the booking and get your 100% EQMs.

Be careful on which partners you use. As of October 25th CO is out of SkyTeam so those partners get no credit. And while it is assumed that *A partners will start to earn credit at that point it hasn't been announced officially.

There is also a decent chance that you will not find the S fare as the inventory might not be available; you may have to pay more for the trip based on that, at which point the co.com booking issues may just disappear.

I'd also recommend renting a car from ORD versus waiting hours for a 135 mile flight to GRR. On the return flight, you will be waiting almost 12 hours to fly home.

Best prices seem to be United - consensus on this forum is that you will earn OP miles when flying *Alliance by December.

FWIW, it was $1347 TPE to GRR.

It is $1202 TPE to ORD. Continental has it for $2075.

Thanks for the help.

Got it to price out to $1249 TPE-NRT-IAH-CLE-GRR-IAH-NRT-TPE with the TPE-NRT segments on either JL, BR, NH, or CI. Doesn't look like anything that will give miles though. Kind of a ridiculous routing but S availability is tight.

Or it can be routed through HKG on CX for the same price...

I'll have to keep cracking at it.

As a *A member, NH should give you miles in december.

No one knows how many miles, though. Current united earning for ANA discount econ is 50-70% EQMs, 50-70% RDMs.