JAXBA

Hi opieisog - your question would probably get more answers over on http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...-spending-719/

StatusChallenged

If I have AA Platinum,and I want to get my seat selection fees waived, is it still possible to do so while purchasing seats with the British Airways AARP discount? Also, can I apply the waiver for my companion as well,if they are traveling with me?

Calchas

Your AA platinum status entitles you and your party to free seat selection at any time, assuming all your family are on one PNR. Just make sure your AA frequent flyer number is in the booking.

goodtasting

Hello! First time posting here!

I'm starting to do research for a 6-month long rtw trip for next year and am basically looking at whether to go with OW, Star Alliance, one-way tickets or a travel agency like airtreks.

While I found I could find people mentioning all of the above when googling general travel websites, it seems that there is significantly more posts in the OW forum on rtw tickets compared to say, the star alliance forum.

Is there anything specifically about the OW ticket that makes it a better choice than Star Alliance? Or just some coincidence that the people on ft happen to use more of the airlines within OW?

I was able to price out an itinery for both allianced and they came out to be similar in price with the OW ticket actually having some modifications due to the too many sectors which the Star Alliance ticket allowed so am just trying to see if there is anything else that might tip me in either direction other than price. At the moment, while I have about 70k United miles (mainly from cc bonus) , I'm not particularly preferential to any airline.

Thanks!

rens

I would not read anything into the perceived difference in numbers of rtw related posts in each forum. Never checked to see if there is a significant difference in rtw ticket related posts between alliances, and quanity is not much of a valid indicator of post or ticket quality. Further, the number of overall threads and posts in the *Alliance forum is greater than that in the OneWorld forum, suggesting that overall*Alliance interest is quite high.

More to the point my impression is that most rtw ticket posts in this forum are from those who either 1)desire to use the ticket as a cost effective way to get to status, 2)Are committed to fly in OneWorld to use current status benefits or 3)find multiple rtw tickets very cost effective for their particular location and travel patterns.
Since none of these seem to apply all that much in your case, and prices are more or less equal, I'd go with whatever offers the best routing for your needs. From your post it seems like that is *, which would also offer the advantage of being able to build up your United miles and also get at least some status to use for later redemptions andflights.

pandaperth

To add to rens's dot points:

1. the Oneworld Explorer product allows unlimited mileage - which is handy for those looking to quickly accrue frequent flyer mileage and status
2. conversely, it can be difficult to construct a desired itinerary under the maximum mileage allowed on *A tickets
3. Oneworld has good coverage of South America, which the other alliances do not
4. It also has good coverage of Australia plus flights from Australia to New Zealand
5. but *A has much better coverage of the pacific islands
6. and *A has much better coverage of Africa

goodtasting - if you give us some idea of your proposed itinerary, we could provide feedback on how it might be done with a Oneworld Explorer.

Helpful things to include are:

• starting country
• must visit stops, plus desirable stops
• any ordering of stops you require

As an example, on my current RTW:

• start from southern Africa in June
• must visit PER, ATL, LHR
• desirable stops GPS and TLV
• PER must be in Nov '17, LHR must be in Apr '18

My final itinerary is MPM-xDOH-BKK-CMB-HKG-PER-SYD-SCL-GYE-GPS-UIO-DFW-ATL-LHR-TLV-MAD-DKR

Calchas

Welcome to FlyerTalk goodtasting and welcome aboard the oneworld forum.

goodtasting

Thanks for the insights!

This is my first RTW so the idea of even buying multiple RTW tickets to somehow economize didn't even occur to me (although I assume purchase date of the subsequent RTW tickets would need to be timed if I don't want to be amchored down by the departure dates)

I didn't post my itinerary as I am still researching routes but SINCE you ask, here is what I am looking at:

1. (Starting in Singapore where I am living with a trip to Hawaii where I am from and then traveling to SFO to see family followed by a flight to NYC where I am currently planning for the RTW ticket to start)
2.NYC->LIM
3. Travel through SA using land transport or flights
4. GRU->JNB
5. Travel around Africa
6.JNB->CAI and then make our way to Marrakech followed by some backpacking through Europe (does it makd sense to use a segment for JNB-CAI or would I benefit from booking this separately?)
7. OSL->KTM
8. KTM->ULN (when I was looking through OW compared to *, I was having trouble finding this though)
9.ULN->TPE
10. TPE->Miyazaki, Japan via budget airlines, followed by a road trip through Japan to the north
11. Final flight from Sapporo to HNL (or to reduce segments, I can fly a budget airlines from Sapporo down to NRT/HND)
(fyi the above was estimated on *A at 6474usd compared to flights on Kayak for 5250usd. I had too many segments on OW which resulted in 6413usd but missing some segments. In my full itinerary that I was able to string together on *A, it was just shy of 34k miles)

I know it's quite ambitious but this is our starting point and we will work things out from there. I still need to do more research on seasons, and any specific critical dates/seasons I need to hit (eg Machu Picchu) so there's still a lot of planning ahead. At the moment, the above sequence is based om my wanting to see family before we start this trip and I have also read recommendations on front loading all of the "hard stuff" in the front.

In any case, based on the above, if anyone has any recommendations on routing (ie wherher to start my ticket in NYC or LIM, or whether a different sequence might benefit me, etc) or links to threads for newbies on rtw ticket setting up, I am all ears!

Thanks!

travelmanrick

Hi all,

I am new here but love this site. Lots of great info and a lot of people posting some awesome stuff. Thank you all.

Is there is post on this site that lists the countries which are cheapest to start a RTW itinerary?

I live in the US, but have always started my journey in Thailand as its been 25% cheaper.

Thanks in advance and I hope to contribute a lot to this site.

Rick

headinclouds

Now that we have an idea, some thoughts.

This appears to be an economy class ticket starting in the USA. Bad idea as prices starting in the N/S America are among the highest.

You will not earn many FF miles in OW since the inventory for economy class earns 25-50% of actual miles flown. And it is doubtful that you could reach any status higher than the lowest level is some FF programs. And with all the travel on land, you may run into lots of baggage fees.

Because you may be doing a lot of surface travel, concentrate on the must fly long haul flights to get to the 16 segment maximum. I would not include many short haul flights in Japan or HKG-TPE. I believe all airlines now have a 16 segment limit on itineraries.

Since you mention a 34K mileage limit, you may want to consider the oneworld explorer ticket. No mileage limit but limited to 16 flights and no more than 4 in an area. The problem with OW is that travel around Africa is difficult and you would use many flight segments just to get around.

Try a 5 continent trip that starts and ends in Japan. You could do something like this for $3820 +taxes/fees.

TYO-HNL-LAX-SFO-JFK-SCL-LIM-GRU-JNB-(African land travel)-DOH-RAK-(more land travel)-MAD-OSL-(European backpacking)-DOH-KTM-HKG-TYO. No OW flights to Mongolia.

You should be able to get to Tokyo for a reasonable amount of money or UA miles. Since you are a resident of the USA, get a US based credit card and charge your trip to that card. That should give you plenty of miles to get from TYO to HNL at the end of the trip.

Another itinerary:
KUL-TYO-HNL-LAX-SFO-JFK-SCL-LIM-GRU-JNB-(African land travel)-DOH-RAK-(more land travel)-MAD-OSL-(European backpacking)-DOH-KTM-KUL. Then on a separate ticket to Taiwan/Japan/Hawaii. This is only $3500 + taxes/fees.

sambf

My first post after following for a while.I was unlucky enough to be involved in the debacle of the three day flight to Las Vegas and I have some questions/observations.
Is it unreasonable to expect taxi fare to hotel as whole flight was given ticket for hotel hoppa, huge queues for hoppa.
We also had dinner in the restaurant on the second evening of delay as we felt a buffet pass for 9.30pm was too long to wait for sustenance after a long period of sitting on the plane listening to lies and not being offered any refreshment.Should we claim that also?
Observation. My wife and I were booked in J and learn from another passenger who was also inJ but had booked with avios that he had a far larger payment given to him than we did,over double.We were initially told compensation was calculated on how much you had paid for your ticket.Any comments on what we can claim.I have been charged for missed nights in hotel in Las Vegas, and because of these delays only managed a few hours of our stay.

Gardyloo

Welcome to FT!

Your post belongs on the airline-specific board. Because this is a board that welcomes newcomers, I'm not going to delete it; instead I'd recommend you look on the BA board (assuming that was the airline) for guidance.

Gardyloo
Oneworld moderator

squeeler

There are very specific rules for flights originating in the EU. The BA board has comprehensive help and advice. Welcome to FT! And good luck.

rens

Rick

First, welcome to FT and this forum.
Currently, Japan, Norway and Mozambique are among the countries widely considered as among the less costly base fares. Note that relative cheapness may vary by type and fare class in a country, so the answer depends in part on the specific ticket you are seeking.
Further complicating the selection are positioning costs, ie what it costs you to get to the cheaper starting point. This obviously varies with where you are starting. Flight availability, routings and taxes/fees can also vary by starting point and carrier availability. So a definitive answer involves the specifics of your travels and is a bit more than just looking at fares
Given that you start in Thailand, I'd first compare starting there with starting in Japan, given relatively low positioning costs between the two.
Most use expertflyer.com as the source for up to date fare information. Although a subscription service, free trials are available

Hope this helps to get you started.

travelmanrick

Rens,

Thank you for taking the time to respond and provide such a detailed response. I really appreciate your time.

Cheers,

Rick