Appear in person? I don't think so - I've communicated in the past with Tal in WAW and no such personal appearance was mentioned. Phone them (Skype?) or email them if in doubt.

Mindpearl is a big international company. Their office in Cape Town is near the V&A shopping center. They're very easy to deal with. Yes, same approach. Communicate by email. I'm sending you a PM with contact info.

Well, the plot thickens. I found a fax number that looked like the right format and tried to fax over the weekend (TAL Aviation). No success. I thought maybe they turn off their fax for the weekend. Since I had to get up at 0500 today, I asked my nightowl daughter to try at 0100 our time, and I had a note this morning that the fax went through. So I called the number, and the woman who answered spoke flawless English. However, she balked at sellling the ticket. "We don't take credit cards over the phone. We just sell on invoice." She acknowledged getting my fax explaining what I wanted and said she was trying to figure out what to do with it. (Typical reaction to my attempts at communication.) She seemed genuinely confused by my not just calling AA here and buying the ticket. I told her it was a much better price in Poland and said I'd heard of their office on FT....."Ahhhh, well you could e-mail your credit card." So I did, and I will anxiously await the results. Stay tuned for update and keep your fingers crossed!

All went well with the TAL experience. I don't have access to my e-mail at work, but it occurred to me that I could access AA. Under the "My Reservations" tab, I was delighted to see my reservation listed as ticketed. Only problem is my ticket is in Warsaw. Because I didn't have the presence of mind to put in dummy dates (something to do with going to both ANC and SJU IIRC), they had to issue a paper ticket. They said I could pick it up at their office, or have it shipped to me at my expense. That is considerable expense, both FedEx and UPS coming in at about $140. I'm thinking regular mail might not be so safe, even though there's plenty of time. Also, if I have it here, what would be the advantage? Would y'all consider just leaving it at the TAL office and picking it up when ready to start (which will be Feb 18)? I haven't even communicated with them yet to see if they'd be willing to hold it for 3plus months, but I'm thinking this might really be the safest course.

I did spend my day off playing with the online booking tool, and almost purchased a second trip. But I decided the money might be better deployed elsewhere for the next 12 months, and it will give me something to do these upcoming long winter nights.

I'll be avidly reading about everyone else's plans. Learn something new with each new person asking to have their itin vetted. I am so grateful to all you denizens of the oneworld forum for the invaluable knowledge imparted. Hopefully I'll be able to pass it forward in some way.

Congrats and welcome to the club.

I'd leave it there. Just be sure you know where their office is, and the hours (and especially holidays.) Airline GSAs tend to have offices nowhere near their local airports, sometimes in industrial parks or office complexes not well known to your average cab driver.

The best 2 flights I've EVER been on were on my current AONE4:
CX HKG-LAX -- First Class
CX JNB-HKG -- First Class
.
One can get spoiled!!

Thank you, Gardyloo. I'm inordinately excited to be in the club. You'd think I'd never been out of town before. As for Tal, I've already zeroed in on 'em. Thank God for Google Maps

AAJM: Have a blast, and I hope you stay spoiled.