Advice on AONE4
 

I started planning to take an RTW this coming summer ages ago, and fairly recently decided on an AONE4. My goal is to visit all of these places (other than the US cities) but also to maximize mileage (I'll go from statusless to EXP only using this trip!). I'd love any advice about different routings or really anything else.

I'm based in Seattle but will fly out of JNB as it is about the same price to fly J from Seattle round trip and start in South Africa as it is to just start in Seattle, and, as a bonus I can actually SEE South Africa, which isn't a possible routing starting in Seattle as Kenya is higher up on my must-see list.

Anyway, here goes:

Positioning: SEA-xDFW-xLHR-JNB then NBO-xLHR-xORD-SEA

1. Johannesburg (JNB) - xLHR - Amman (AMM)
2. Amman (AMM) - Sulaimaniyah (ISO)
3. Sulaimaniyah (ISU) - xAMM - London (LHR)
4. London (LHR) - Singapore (SIN)
5. Singapore (SIN) - Bangkok (BKK)
6. Bangkok (BKK) - Tokyo (HND)
7. Tokyo (HND) - Beijing (PEK)
8. Beijing (PEK) - Hong Kong (HKG)
9. Hong Kong (HKG) - New York (JFK)
10. New York (JFK) - xLAX - xORD - Seattle (SEA)
11. Seattle (SEA) - xLHR - Nairobi (NBO)

I want to keep the HKG-JFK flight on there to experience the longest non-stop flight on OW (and in CX F, to boot!).

Thanks for any and all help!

First, a minor typo - Sulaymaniyah is ISU; ISO is someplace in North Carolina.

Your itinerary is fine; however have you looked at the all-in costs starting in Jordan instead of SA? At today's exchange rates, an AONE4 starting in Jordan looks to be around US$700 cheaper than one starting in South Africa, and I expect your positioning costs would be lower, too.

In addition, by starting in SA you'd have to ticket with BA (if you use the online tool) which would subject you to very big fuel surcharges in addition to ordinary taxes. By starting in Jordan you could have AA issue the ticket (as the RJ issuer of record) which would reduce those charges to some degree (from some to a lot, depending on detailed itinerary and stopover points.)

The one hitch that would result from starting in Jordan would be that you couldn't transit Amman after ISU (no transiting the point of issuance) so your Iraq trip would probably need to be made prior to the actual start of the RTW. On the other hand that would save you a couple of segments you could use elsewhere. Oneworld doesn't seem to have a published RTW fare for Iraq, so starting in ISU is off the table for now.

You might apply the difference in access costs to a separate flight from NBO to DAR, then proceed to Asia on CX's JNB-HKG flight, giving you an itinerary like this:

AMM-LHR-NBO//DAR-JNB-HKG-SIN-BKK-HND-PEK-HKG-JFK-LAX-ORD-SEA-LHR-AMM

(Although I'd be tempted to use your N. America transcon to do JFK-YVR or v.v. rather than JFK-LAX, but it's your call.)

Anyway, you could experiment using the online tool to see what the difference is in bottom line, or how it would work with your schedule.

Without having checked anything on the online tool, I'd wager that the fuel surcharge savings will exceed $1,000 USD. Please let us know a more exact amount when you try pricing it up.


+1
The shorthaul LAX - ORD - SEA legs will barely be enjoyable, much less in the league of CX's F service to YVR. I'd use the 2 segments elsewhere....

Confirm that they will let you back track jfk-LAX-SEA....sometimes in the fine print it doesnt allow you to fly "backwards" in an RTW itinerary, though that may only apply to mileage redemption rtw's.

First another minor correction In line 1, "JHB" should be replaced with "JNB"

Note some of your segments, do not have a first class cabin, specifically:
All the RJ flights (LHR-AMM-ISU-xAMM-LHR)
The three flights from SIN to PEK

The AMM-ISU-AMM is not likely to be the best use of two segments (either cost or mileage) and I also seem to remember that flight two/from Iraq are not eligible for AA mileage.

As Gardyloo suggested, starting in AMM might save you money and segments that can be used elsewhere.

The constraints of the xONEx fares are very clearly stated in the rules, at
http://www.oneworld.com/content/libr...20explorer.pdf
and direction within a geographic region is not generally a problem (i.e. back-tracking is not generally prohibited). The limitations of nonstop trans-continental flights in North America, Australia, and to/from the UK, and the number of permitted segments in each geographical region (especially the continent of origin) are generally the issues requiring the most strategic planning.

First, thank you SO much for all your help!

You're quite correct when it comes to price differences! ex-JNB prices out at 72,940.00 + 9,808.00 (tax) = 82,748.00 ZAR or approx 12,072 USD while ex-AMM is 10,028.00 + 549.28 = 10,577.28 USD, so about a $1500 difference! Positioning to AMM is also about $1100 less in J. I don't love the routing options out of AMM but the whole trip is a lot cheaper than starting out of JNB. The overall cost with the J ticket is more than just starting in Seattle but only by a few hundred dollars so probably worth the extra miles and the stop home on the way IMO.

I'll probably throw this at the end of the trip to break the whole thing up a bit more, not a huge problem really. And though I knew you were right I was curious what the xONEx planner would say to an ex-ISU RTW and it validated but failed at booking.

I didn't even think of YVR for some reason, gotta love that CX F!

Thank you again for your help, I've got some thinking to do.

You were right, ended up at about $1,500 less!

Yeah, I get that, the issue was that I had already used up my 4 segments in Asia and the options in Europe weren't particularly attractive or great in mileage. I'll definitely take the JFK-YVR flight on CX though and hop back down for a Seattle visit. I forgot that such a flight existed.

Changed Itinerary
 

So I did some more research and I think starting in RUH makes a lot of sense. With BA's "taxes" and surcharges it ends up being more than ex-AMM, (~$11,200 VS. ~$10,600) but the positioning costs to Saudi Arabia are cheaper AND I'll get to experience more F without using any RJ flights. New proposed routing:

Positioning: SEA-xDFW-xLHR-RUH and return

1. Riyadh (RUH) - London (LHR)
2. London (LHR) - Bangkok (BKK)
3. Bangkok (BKK) - Delhi (DEL)
4. Delhi (DEL) - Tokyo (NRT)
5. Tokyo (NRT) - Beijing (PEK)
6. Beijing (PEK) - Hong Kong (HKG)
7. Hong Kong (HKG) - New York (JFK)
8. New York (JFK) - Vancouver (YVR)
9. Vancouver (YVR) - xDFW - xSFO - xORD - Seattle (SEA)
10. Seattle (SEA) - xLHR - Nairobi (NBO)
11. Nairobi (NBO) - xLHR - Riyadh (RUH)

The American routings are just for mileage and any other suggestions, even of an added destination somewhere else in the world would be appreciated.

Also, I know that getting a visa for Saudi Arabia can be very difficult, but am I not correct in thinking I'm fine visa-free in RUH for less than 24 hours?

I have not heard of this possibility, and it's not reflected in the current US State Department web page regarding Saudi visas: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...y_requirements

Assuming you'd be flying on the LHR-RUH BA flight, I fear you might be stopped at the counter at LHR (or at SEA when checking for the positioning flights) when they do the document check. I'd certainly check this out completely before committing to this course of action.

Are you planning to use this trip to make AA EXP or BA Gold? If so there might be some tweaks that could lead to more EQP/EQM/Tier Points without taking too much away from your itinerary.

I hope that you've played with this itinerary on the online tool, to check for misconnects (i.e. BA's SEA - LHR arriving shortly after the departure of the single LHR - NBO daily flight, or the 16 hours between the arrival from NBO before the departure for RUH) to ensure that these fit your needs. Likewise, I hope that you've noted that there are no F cabins to/from DEL or NRT.

Having recently passed through Amman on Royal Jordanian a few months ago, I would advise you to not avoid them just because they don't have first class cabins. On our short trips (i.e. AMM - MAD and CAI - AMM) the flights were outstanding, every bit as good as anything else available in C/J in OneWorld. Amman has an excellent airport with fine lounges.

The other great advantage of having AA issue your xONEx ticket is that you have access to their Round-the-World help desk (1-800-247-3247) for making free date/time itinerary changes. From other threads here you can find many testimonies to that group's abilities, in many cases unmatched by other OW airlines.

http://www.saudiembassy.net/services/transit_visa.aspx

This states that transit visas are not required for 18 hours or less. Should I expect trouble from BA or Saudi immigration considering I'd be taking the return flight a mere 1:40 later? Is that the kind of thing I should talk to BA about?

Yes, AA EXP. I would love to hear any advice you have about changes to maximize EQP/EQM, though as of now my route give me ~104k EQP.

Thanks, yes, most of the planning has been done using the online tool so I know that, for example I have a ~23 hour connection for that route. I don't worry much about long connections because I like running around, though I'll hate eating the cost of a bunch of HEX trips, haha.

Yeah, my offhanded comment about RJ was a bit silly. I'm still considering going through Amman depending on whether I decide to head to Sulaymaniyah.

That is an advantage of starting in Jordan. How difficult is it to make the free changes on a BA ticket, especially while travelling?

Well there ya go. Looks fine, but I'd still be concerned as to how BA would react at LHR on the way to the Kingdom. I'd allow extra time so that they can (if possible) issue you a boarding pass for the return. (It will be on a different PNR as it's your first OWE segment, so might not be completely straightforward.) I would absolutely have something printed with a Saudi Arab government emblem on it somewhere describing what that web page shows.

I once did a LHR-MCT-LHR turnaround and the BA people at LHR couldn't give me the return BP in advance (because MCT-LHR was using an AA code.) So I had to get it from the (non-BA) service counter at MCT in the middle of the night. I couldn't go landside at MCT due to a bunch of Israeli visa stamps in my passport (and was so advised by the Omani transfer desk person) so had to wait around until the plane was about to board. I certainly wouldn't have wanted that to happen in RUH - no beer in the lounge. :eek:

If you're going to make EXP as it is, then no worries. Fly where you want to go. But remember no Plat/EXP bonuses on JL segments.

I have had serious problems with changes to BA tickets and would second the idea of currying favor with the AA RTW desk. That said, while AA does the issuance on behalf of RJ for ex-AMM tickets when using the online tool, I'm not sure that those xONExs carry AA's (01) ticket numbers, so the RTW desk might balk. You might phone them to see how it would work. In any case I'd probably try to have at least one of your transoceanic flights carry the AA code, even if it's on CX or BA metal. That would probably grease the skids with AA if you want to use them to sort out changes. Note BA (and QF, don't know about CX) charge "administrative" fees for date/flight changes even when they don't require a re-issue.

Not sure how you arrive at 104k EQP.
Unless I am mistaken, your routing is RUH-LHR-BKK-DEL-NRT-PEK-HKG-JFK-YVR-DFW-SFO-ORD-SEA-LHR-NBO-LHR-RUH which Great Circle Mapper says is 50768 miles which is 76152 EQPs

?

Happy Travels.