Living in TLV - I'm intrigued by the OW RTW tickets ex-AMM. What's so special about booking from AMM?

From what I gather, it's the fact that the tickets book on AA stock and have low YQ charges. Are the prices ex-AMM low as well? What can one expect to pay for a RTW out of AMM?

Thanks,
Bostonbali

For the time being, AMM and TLV are among the price-leaders for premium cabin RTWs. Israel-originating RTW prices are almost identical to AMM-originating (actually Israel is usually a couple of dollars cheaper.) In USD terms, last time I checked the price was US$6200 for a DONE3 (3-continent, business class) ticket issued in TLV versus $6214 if purchased in AMM, depending on the USD:JOD exchange. Prices ex-Israel are quoted in USD, not NIS, so with the weak dollar at the moment they're even better deals.

Yes, AA issues tickets on behalf of Royal Jordanian when using the Oneworld online tool; however there are reports that it's not as easy as advertised, due to bugs in said tool. AA-issued tickets tend to have lower YQ charges compared to tickets issued by BA or QF, however this depends to some degree on the particular route and choice of carriers used in the ticket. It's also the case that AA has much better support for AA-issued tickets through its dedicated RTW desk in the US.

If you use the online tool from Israel, your first segment will have to be on RJ, Iberia, Malev or BA. Evidently trying to get Iberia to issue ex-TLV tickets is also a frustrating exercise when using the online tool; don't know if anybody's tried to use Malev for RTW ticketing. That leaves BA, which will invoke the fuel fine scenario.

For residents of Israel, however, there's an easy work-around to buying on-line or trying to get IB or MA to issue. Simply phone AA's GSA, Tal Aviation, in Tel Aviv. Tal (an Israeli company) is AA's GSA in Israel, Poland, Scandinavia and other places, and they are very capable. Use the online tool to plan and validate your itinerary, then use Skype or whatever and book the trip with the AA RTW desk, get a PNR, then phone Tal and they can issue the ticket at the Israeli price and with AA's version of the taxes and fees.

http://www.talaviation.com/

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...l#post16122310

Sample current base cost of DONE4s (~USD, from Expert Flyer):

These are 2 tickets issued within past month.

DONE03 ex-AMM in Canadian dollars:
FARE-JOD 4400.00
EQUIV FARE-CAD 6112.00
TAX 550.49
TICKET TOTAL 6662.49
$6,852.37 charge in US $


DONE04 ex-AMM in Egyptian �:
FARE JOD5103.000
EQUIV PAID EGP42579.00
TAX 1774.00YQ
TAX 194.00US
TAX 1329.70XT
TOTAL EGP45876.70
$7,787.57 charge in US$

Excellent summary, Gardyloo - thank you very much!!

Sorry to resurrect an oldish thread, but is there any reason why this is limited to Israeli residents? Won't Tal Aviation deal with foreigners?

Sure they will. I guess my wording was obtuse - it's convenient for Israeli residents since Tal is headquartered in Israel.

Many thanks. I thought that was probably the case, but this will make it clear for others in the future as well as for me.