Himeno

They don't yet have traffic rights for DXB-AU, so such a flight can't be sold yet.

moa999

Not yet but QF probably will within a few weeks - plenty of capacity for IASC to hand out.

Either way the current rule (per 1 Oct 12 release) will still treat a direct SYD-DXB flight as counting Asia.

Himeno

Oneworld has no reason to review that rule until March, though being able to book xONE3s from SWP would be nice.

They appear to be updating, or at least re-releasing, the rules monthly.

JohnAx

Unrelated to the question and assuming poster has something more creative to do with a freed first-class rtw segment, SFO-LAX-SFO can often be had on a separate ticket for ~$120 a/i r/t (in coach, but there's nothing compelling about flying that short segment in "luxury").

ThomasBne

Deleted.

jbalmuth

I guess that I'm confused about one aspect of this ---- was a Canadian credit card and/or a Canadian credit card billing address required for ticketing while physically in Toronto?

If not, tauphi's experience raises an important question for me:

To achieve the Canadian exception, would it not be feasible to forward one's booking tool login, password, and credit card details to a trust-worthy friend based in Canada, and have them complete the booking there? Wouldn't that eliminate both the excessive amount of time and confusion required in either booking via telephone with AA's RTW desk (and then forwarding to a Canadian-based agent) or via extensive emails back and forth starting from scratch with a Canadian-based TA?

[One of the greatest advantages of DIY online booking is that one can virtually eliminate the enormous risks involved in having another human being trying to replicate one's itinerary exactly --- and when we're speaking about 16 segment itineraries (with lots of code-share alternatives), the risks only multiply. The potential for time savings is huge as well.]

Advise would be appreciated!

checkerboard

When I recently booked an ex-KRT xONEx (while physically in South America), the booking tool accepted my credit card details, gave me a confirmation number, but no ticket was ever issued.

After a week, I called the issuing carrier (AA), who advised that the ticket was not able to be issued, because of the billing address on my credit card. They offered to issue it over the phone (at the ex-USA price).

I declined that offer, and instead had the booking set up so a Canadian travel agent could issue it on my behalf. Since it didn't cost any more to do so, I have no real complaint about this. Sure, it was slightly inconvenient, but so is going to Sudan to start a trip!

jbalmuth

You're describing exactly the DIY flexibility that I'm seeking. You made, reviewed, and locked-in all the choices/decisions, and were then issued a locator. You were then able to get someone in Canada to do the ticketing, someone who didn't need to even look at the itinerary, and therefore didn't mess it up by accidental input errors. The only info you had to send to the Canadian was your locator and your credit card details (and because you used a TA, a small fee).

The "problem" that I would like to explore is how to generate a locator on the tool. Has anyone else beside tauphi and checkerboard been successful in getting an ex-KRT ticket issued based only on what they had input into the OneWorld online tool? If so, could you please share the details on how this was accomplished? TIA!

Himeno

I've had ex-NRT and ex-ICN DONE3's issued by QF and CX via the online tool at the proper NRT/ICN prices despite being in AU and having an AU card.

og

i recently used the Canadian exception to purchase a xCIRC29SA ticket starting HKG. I set it up through the AA RTW desk and told them I would physically purchase the ticket at the AA YYZ ticket desk (ie check-in counter) at the HKG price converted to CAD. My CC has an Australian address. The whole process was painless and tickets issued on the spot.

checkerboard

Yeah, I totally agree that this should be possible. When buying online, country of origin should serve as country of sale.

Other kinds of discounted fares can sometimes apply residency requirements - but as no such provision exists in the xONEx rules, the billing address of the credit card really should be irrelevant.

As for why AA view this differently, I don't really know, and they didn't really explain. It might be a legitimate exception for ex-KRT tickets, on account of some obscure financial services embargo on Sudan. Or it might just be a more general erroneous reading of the fare rules. In any case, if they refuse to ticket such itineraries - I don't think there's much sense in forcing the point, especially when the option of using a Canadian travel agent provides so easy an alternate mechanism for making the purchase.

checkerboard

Well, all this ex-KRT discussion may be much less interesting for us going forward. I just priced another itinerary online, and the base fare for an ex-KRT DONE3 came to $4815 (or about 21,200 SDG). This is about 10,000 SDG higher than last week, and unless it's a glitch, this is most unfortunate.

I'd be very grateful if an expert-flyer subscriber could check if this really is the (new) current pricing, and if there has been an increase, to please also post pricing for the other usual starting points (AMM, JNB).

jbalmuth

ex-KRT DONE3 is still showing as $2,877 on ExpertFlyer.

When I try to price any of my half-dozen wip ex-KRT itineraries I get an error (just tried again now). What is your Plan & book online url? Mine seems to be defaulting to http://rtw.oneworld.com, which has the ominous title of "Beta IBT (oneworld planner". My error issue has occurred for the past 5 days or so..... Please share your url that is showing prices, albeit the higher ones.....

checkerboard

http://rtw.oneworld.com/

Using Firefox 15.0.1

jbalmuth

and the pricing ---- does the americanairlines.eu.amadeus.com site respond, or is it reverting elsewhere?