ex-TLV questions
 

Having decided that the hassle of originating the RTW from KRT was not worth the saving when we consider that there's no F class service anyway, I'm now looking at going the fairly well-established route of ex-TLV.

However, I have a few questions that I hope you experts can help me with:

- Is it possible to end the RTW in another location other than TLV. I know that you can end in another city in the originating country or another country if originating in the ME but it's not clear whether you can do the same with TLV i.e. is it classed as Europe, ME or North Africa? All confusing.

- Is QF9 MEL-SIN-LHR counted as one segment against my 16 (because it has one flight number) or two?

- Is there anyway to avoid the dreaded BA YQ while still starting on BA metal TLV-LHR?

- Can anybody suggest a good way to use up the remaining segments of my current itinerary? We'd like to go to interesting place but our other priorities are F segments and tier points. I guess we could do some more segments in Europe? My current itinerary is looking like:
TLV-LHR-LAX-DFW-YVR-JFK-HKG-HND-SIN-SYD-MEL-SIN-LHR-TLV

MEL-SIN-LHR was planned for QF9
TLV-LHR-LAX as BA F transit
We will use the positioning to TLV to take a stopover in TLV before starting the RTW
Can make the second LHR trip either a stopover or a transit

1. Israel is in the Middle East, so you can end anywhere else in the ME.
2. QF9 will be one segment, MEL-LHR. With your itinerary you could even switch flights at SIN and still be okay, provided you don't stop over (24h+).
3. Since BA will be ticketing the itinerary, no, you can't avoid BA fuel fines.

Regarding tweaking the route, when are you flying? If during the northern summer, you could add DFW-ANC-DFW for an extra 360 TP and 6100 BIS miles, and Alaska is certainly an interesting side trip. Otherwise, adding segments in Europe will require you ride in J and not F, as will additional segments in Australia. But since MEL-LHR is one coupon out of 16, your revised route would be TLV-LHR-LAX-DFW-YVR-JFK-HKG-HND-SIN-SYD-MEL-LHR-TLV, only 12 segments, so you have plenty of room to maneuver.

If you stop over in London the second time, then continue back to the Middle East after, you'll have to pay a big hit in UK APD.

We'll be travelling late September through to middle December so I think we'll miss the ANC flights, just. Which is a real shame as I'd love to go there. I'm still considering moving the itinerary forward to accommodate this.

I'm also wondering whether to add some more segments in Asia to try JAL in F and get some more TPs out of the continent. So perhaps something like:

TLV-LHR-LAX-DFW-ANC-DFW-YVR-JFK-HKG-CDG-NRT-SIN-SYD-MEL-LHR-MCT

I could perhaps through in DFW-ORD-YVR to use up the final segment unless anybody has some other creative ideas.

At present this looks like I get 3 x BA F (at least one guaranteed to be NF), 3 in CX F, 2 in JAL F and 3 (inc the two on QF 9) on QF F plus some US AA domestic.

What about having AA ticket? I've started lots of AONE4s from MRU and JNB with the first flight being on BA.

Well, last time I tried that work-around, AA still added BA's YQ, but certainly the OP could try to book the trip through the AA RTW desk and have it queued for payment to Tal Aviation, AA's GSA in TLV, then compare the price with one obtained using the online tool. (AA would want at least one transoceanic segment with an AA code, but that's workable.)

Part of the problem with AA in Israel is they don't codeshare on any of BA's or IB's flights out, so even if the OP wants to fly TLV-xLHR-LAX, the first segment can't be ticketed with an AA code. I'm certainly not one to try to understand AA's tariff department (not having studies at Hogwarts) but it seems that whenever AA tickets on BA-coded flights, the BA fuel fines get passed through sure as shootin'. But definitely worth a try, as hundreds of dollars are on the table.

I'm sure you mean CGK and not Paris? In any event, you'll need to see how many true F flights JL or CX operate, and the segment lengths. But that could work for you. (Oh BTW AA doesn't fly ORD-YVR.)

But not trying to pry, but how many tier points do you need? The route above in F (where available) would get you 2000+ TP, more than enough for BA Gold.

Thanks for the help.

Yes indeed I meant CGK but as I research further it seems impossible to find CGK-NRT with an F cabin despite it being advertised on JAL's website.

I will be silver with about 900 TPs when I start the RTW in TLV. I'm hoping to end up with either 2,500 or 3,500 TPs in order to get the 2-4-1 vouchers although that's not my main objective. However, if a slight tweaking of the routing can get me over the next threshold then that makes sense. I think I have another 200-300 TPs of flying to do after the RTW but before my membership year expires.

I really want to maximise flights and length in F while trying a variety of F products rather than just BA. Besides that I really want to visit Tokyo and if I can Anchorage and my wife really wants to go to Vancouver and Melbourne.

It's hilarious how easily this escalates. It started with us planning one RTN trip in F and then realised that we could do a RTW in F for not much more. And it's become an obsession.

I would suggest starting in Amman, rather than Tel Aviv. There RJ ticketing is done by AA and BA surcharges will only apply to BA segments. However, there is no F to Amman, as far as I know. If you can burn a segment, there is an AMM-TLV flight or even better AMM-DME or some other point from which you can get F.

There is also the bug in the online tool causing AA issued RJ/JL starting itineraries to fail.

Hi MadProfessor,

I recently purchased a AONE3 ex-TLV. I set it up through the AA RTW desk and purchased it at Tal Aviation - it was simple and easy.

Unfortunately taxes were equally high and I did not make any savings through AA (same BA metal start).

However my final decision to ticket through AA was more to do with their existence of a dedicated RTW desk (in case of any delays or problems).

Some observations:

CGK-NRT exists with an F cabin on a daily basis but 'A' availability is very poor 'D' is better in case you are interested in the tier points.

JL are very stingy with 'A' availability but they tend to open closer to the flight date.

I also have DFW-YVR-JFK - initially as a xYVR but changed it to a day stop as the connection is tight if you take AA887.

I found Expert Flyer a great tool for routes and 'A' availability finding.

J

Johnny - did you find EF better than KVS for BA availability? I'm finding it difficult to find any availability in F on LHR-TLV and CKG-NRT at the moment. And would you mind sharing your final routing with me?

Hi,

I haven't used KVS so can't compare but I think there is a 5 day free trial of EF which you can sign-up and try out.

As for F LHR-TLV there is only one daily morning option and you will need to take into account that mid / end September is Jewish holiday season which will impact on availability. A quick check on EF shows 'A' availability on 23/24/27/28 Sept.

My AONE3 routing is:

TLV-xLHR-LAS-xDFW-YVR-xJFK-MIA-xDFW-HNL-NRT-HKG-DPS-xHKG-SIN-xLHR-TLV.

Not a fully utilized FT AONE3 routing but tailored to my personal interests of Surfing, Fishing and a little Gambling.

I will also credit this trip to BA and will earn 1,900 tier points and 84,156 miles - which I calculated through the BA calculator.

J

I find it MUCH easier to think out the routing using EF, with help from MileageMonkey and FT input, then set up the ticket with AA in the USA by phone, and then issue through an accredited travel agent. The on-line tool is too spotty and often tries to make undesirable rooting choices. In my experience, it also seems to under report A and D availability for some routes.

As a starting point, AMM has, in my opinion, the advantage over TLV of better options and far superior international hotels (with points) as well as a vast array of tourist sites and sights within a few hours taxi ride, not to mention the local cuisine. And I have never had any trouble traveling to or from TLV by RJ.

OK - how many Aussies chortled at this??
And how many undesirable rooting choices have you made, eh?

I don't think I want to know. :eek:

Sorry for the spelling error, but I do hope other English speakers also enjoyed it!

Just in case you haven't been following this thread on the BA board, BA has now announced that it's going to 2-class service to TLV with the phase-in starting this autumn. They'll be using A321s with Club World seating installed, and also using T1 at LHR for some (all?) of the flights, which will now number 3x daily.

So if you're still contemplating an AONEx from Israel, better get the first segment booked before it vanishes off the BA timetable, or else consider starting it in Cairo, where the 777s stay until January (when they too are replaced with A321s.)

Or, save a ton of fuel surcharge money and buy an AONEx out of Amman, and save your BA F European segments for later, e.g. AMM-ORD-DFW-ANC-DFW-YVR-JFK-HKG-HND-SIN-LHR-MCT-LHR-MAD-AMM, or some such.

Or, if time allows, have a look at an AONE5 ex-South Africa, which is around US$1000 cheaper than an AONE4 ex-Israel, and which would give you access to even more "true F" longhaul segments, hence an even greater tier point harvest.

Gardyloo - I have been following that thread. It chimes with what I've been finding on the OW online tool where I could book A for TLV-LHR in September but my return segment at the end of the RTW in December was booking into D whatever dates I tried.

I priced AONE4 ex-AMM and it was slightly more expensive (c. USD 1,000) than ex-TLV and would burn non-F segments. ex-CAI and ex-TLV come out at about USD 11,500 inc. taxes for AONE4. ex-JNB is coming out at USD 800 more than ex-TLV but it's obviously AONE5. That's flying directly east to HKG on CX to avoid BA YQ. The positioning costs are also about double that of ex-TLV on a very quick look.

ex-KRT is still coming out USD 3,500 cheaper but is obviously a nightmare to start from and is even worse than ex-AMM for dropping F segments.

However, saying all of this I can't find anyway of getting more than 9 F segments out of any itinerary.

Another day of work wasted to plotting the RTW.

Using Tal Aviation
 

I have just priced an AONE4 out of TLV and now need to pay for it. Can anyone recommend someone at Tal Aviation I should contact, or provide me with the appropriate email address or both?

Thanks in advance.

From aa.com:
See also:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...requested.html

All ticketed
 

Many thanks to those who continually help and offer advice. Within 2 hours of the original phone call to Tal Aviation my AONE4 was paid for and ticketed.

Sudan was just too dodgy for me - and since the positioning flight is out of Hong Kong - getting to TLV in J on RJ was way cheaper and easier on OW than going to JNB.

A final little twist ... I hope
 

Been waiting for days now to see the actual transaction on the credit card. For a while the money was pending - but now all released back to the card.

The AONE4 shows as ticketed - anyone seen this before?

Not with AA, but with QF a few years ago. Once the credit authorization finally went through (long story), the ticket was issued, then it took a month for QF to actually take the money.

Yes, many times, but not recently. It can take up to six months for an airline to actually process a charge.

. sorry ignore

You can use IB in/out of TLV to avoid BA fuel fines (but no F), or may be able to find codeshares on BA (EF is a great help with that).

It's not true F, but I enjoy adding AA sectors to the Caribbean, since that counts as North America (even if you go to, say, Curaçao which is right off Venezuela).

I like using EF to research flight options, then use the on-line tool to plan specific sectors/dates/times, since that makes it easy to see how the connections are going, elapsed days, etc. Then I use the summary from the on-line tool when calling the AA RTW desk, and just read off the cities, dates, and flights. I then ticket with an in-country AA office. If you use an independent agent, be sure it's one that can take over and issue PNRs set up by AA (many can't because they don't use Sabre).

Yes, ex-JNB can be great, but does require some care to be sure to book code shares when it's cheaper. I use the on-line tool to price a base itinerary, then change some flights to code shares and re-price to see if it increases or lowers the "taxes."

Besides not being true F the front cabin is only sold as D on AA in the Caribbean thereby affecting the TP's that will be earned. As the poster wants to maximize tier points he might be wise to stick with US flights. See, e.g.:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ess-class.html