747-444

I have tried calling the different airlines, some don't know the rules ala BA and QF - so I phone back and then get people who know the rules but the taxes seem much higher.

I then go to the One World booking tool which prices the ticket much cheaper, but I can't get in a surface sector to get to my final flight.

Who is the best airline/person to phone?

DownUnderFlyer

Many people here have it ticketed through the AA GSA in South Africa:

http://www.aa.com/i18n/aboutUs/where...p&locale=es_ES

Gardyloo

Why not put your proposed itinerary here and let's see why you can't get the online tool to do what you want?

Mwenenzi

Do you mean taxes or taxes and surcharges ?
Taxes should be the same for all carriers on the same route.
Surcharges vary with carrier. QF & BA have high fuel surcharges
Have not you done *ONE* ex RSA before?

wijibintheair

What is your proposed routing?

cphurley

I have been research ex-JNB itinerary's using the OneWorld Explorer tool; but my potential itineraries include additional continents and would price out as either DONE5 or DONE6 using the tool. I can get my itineraries to validate and price online with the DONE5 and DONE6 rates ($5889 and $6889 respectively - confirmed by EF).

But... the same itinerary (when I finagle to just under 34k miles) should be able to price out as a DGLOB34 ($5114).

My question is one of booking - I've read as much as I can on the forum and I know that I need to call one of the airlines, but will I have trouble getting the ex-JNB rates since I am US based? I have read about some rules regarding pricing in the country of origin (although the online tool doesn't seem to care for XONEX)... and some about contacting either a travel agent in SA or Canada. I've done one DGLOB34 back in 2010 but that was starting in the US and most of what I have read specifically on booking is a few years old.

Any recent experience or advice?

Thanks.

Potential Itinerary: JNB-LHR-ORD-HKG-SGN-KUL-KUL-AKL-AKL-MEL-SYD-JNB

allset2travel

My BOLD. Guess you had sticky keys on keyboard.

Assume your itin is as follow:
jnb-lhr-ord-hkg-sgn-kul-akl-mel-syd-jnb

milecalc gives 33,356 miles BIS

See if you can book the first flight as an AA codeshare (AA6446) op by BA. Next flight will be on AA metal to ORD. For that, I’d try to have AA issue ticket by calling Capetown office.

If it was me, I’d do a DONE5 for a few hundred bucks more to potentially accumulate up to 50K miles (or more) with a full 16-segment itin.

pyffii

Mid last year I booked a DONE5...jnb-lhr-osl-lhr-zrh-lhr-mia-lir-dfw-jfk-hkg-mel-bne-mel-syd-jnb ex AA capetown...First called AA at their RTW desk and paid AA Capetown over the phone by CC no real hastles except I wanted to use AMEX and they couldnt handle the 4 digit security code as they only use 3 in SA....sorted it out eventually and ticket emailed a few hours later...my cost was about $85000 RAND incl.taxeswhich were quite steep...And I couldnt use the AA code share ex JNB as I wasnt continuing directly to the US...Hope this helps...Cheers

Calchas

The rule is, you need to buy the ticket from a sales office in JNB (or elsewhere in South Africa). That should not be too hard of course.

If you try to buy the ticket from a JFK office they are obliged to charge the JFK fare even though you begin in JNB.

wijibintheair

Agree with Allset2travel - try booking JNB-LHR-ORD as AA all the way, the BA surcharges will add considerably to your end fare.
If you can't get seats as AA, maybe also consider using QR JNB-DOH-ORD. This would probably push you out of the DGLOB34, but the reduction in taxes may lessen the end total with taxes.
If you do issue with either BA or QR you can issue the tickets through their offices in South Africa.

cphurley

Any advice or experience specifically on booking in SA? I've never used a travel agent or ticketed outside of online or via AA in the U.S. Should I just google travel agencies in SA? Will they charge a fee - and if so, what's a normal fee range?

Calchas

May I suggest you try AA's recommended agent in South Africa?

They are heavily recommended on other round-the-world threads in this forum. However I cannot speak to that.

cphurley

I came across that name but I also came across a few threads that said Mindpearl stopped ticketing/booking RTW tickets in this situation. That's part of the reason I reached out here... Because most of the information / threads are from a few years ago.

jerry a. laska

That report was mistaken. Mindpearl isn't willing to act as a travel agent and answer questions, etc, etc. You should set up the xonex with the AA rtw desk and then contact Mindpearl to book.
There are many reports of people successfully using Mindpearl to book in the last year. For example, see:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...-anyone-2.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22560677-post8.html

cphurley

Any recent booking experience or advice on similar route but starting with CAI-AMM-ORD instead of London? Would surely save on surcharges but it would take AA almost completely out of my itinerary and would start with RJ.

Would I still be able to setup with AA desk? And what about booking ex-CAI?