It's fine if it works. Back when I booked all my XONEs through the AA RTW desk, on several queries I always received a very definitive "no" on doing what you're proposing, but it does seem like the online tool allows it, so like I say. (My concern is that the online tool is pretty buggy in the first place, and if the code mavens at Oneworld were to change it during the course of one's trip, getting a re-issue or other changes to the ticket might be problematic.)

It seems to depend on who's doing the calculating, but there could also be some forex issues that would result in different numbers. I would probably do a dummy booking using the online too, where you can see the taxes and fees broken out, and use that as a "control" or baseline when talking to, say, the AA RTW desk or maybe a GSA someplace. Be mindful too that stopovers vs. transits can make a huge difference, particularly in London.

By using BA for your initial flight, using the online tool for booking will virtually guarantee you that the total fuel surcharges for the ticket will be as high as possible. Anecdotal, but even when using an AA GSA, if the first flight is on BA metal you'll likely see a very big and unpleasant YQ/YR total - AA now routinely passes on BA's fuel fines.

If saving a couple hundred dollars in BA YQ is justification for going to an angled seat and fewer miles on MH from KUL, what difference would several hundred dollars make to you by not using BA for the first flight at all? Granted, going CAI-AMM-JFK or CAI-AMM-ORD potentially reduces the total miles by a thousand or two, but if the overall savings are on the order of $700 or $800 (and could be more) - then you could allocate the same dollars to travel outside the RTW that could generate equal or more miles.

Again, this could be easily investigated by running an alternate scenario through the online tool. As you probably know, AA issues xONExs on behalf of RJ, so starting with RJ you might well see a bigger overall reduction in fees (not to mention UK APD if you can skirt the UK.) It might be worth a look.

9 QF 747s have A380 seats. The other 747s, which are slowly being retired, still have the old seats. Any 747 which still has the old F seats are in most cases selling them as J.
The TPAC 747 routes all have the A380 style seats with no F.

[QUOTE=Zeffer;20824483] So I'm leaning towards CAI-LHR-LAX-JFK-DFW-ANC-DFW-JFK-HKG-AKL-SYD-NRT-BKK-NRT-KUL-LHR-AUH for 58,107 miles. /QUOTE]

Can I make a suggestion than you change CAI-LHR-LAX to AUH-TXL-LAX and then instead of ending up in AUH you end up in CAI (swapping around the start and end points). Reason I suggest you do this is because as far as I'm aware Air Berlin do not charge a fuel surcharge which on AUH-TXL (or DUS) - LAX is going to be saving you more bucks ^

Thanks for the info. Not that this a good place to bring this up, but why isn't there something in the seat sticky at the top of the QF forum on this. I seams like a good place for it. JMHO

Yes, that was what I implied. For about US$300, one can do a RT HKG-BKK-HKG; one could also try KUL-BKK-KUL etc...

Of course, then the OP would have to pay the done4 price ex-AUH as opposed to the done4 price ex-CAI.

OP here. I have heard that anecdotally. But I've also heard that AA won't ticket a RTW that begins with a BA flight, and I've had no problem there. (I'd rather book by phone, as the online tool has consistently yielded weird fares.) I asked a GSA about the surcharge implications of starting on BA. He didn't know, but the quote I got from my original dummy booking wasn't outrageous: about a grand.


The mileage difference is 4,188 miles or 6,282 EQPs (CAI-LHR-LAX-JFK vs CAI-AMM-ORD - and I was kinda looking forward to my first AA 777-300 flight in J!) RJ's AMM-JFK flight doesn't operate on the day I need to fly, so the only option is CAI-AMM-ORD plus an add-on to NYC. If it saved me $800 I'd consider it but I don't know how to get a reliable fee comparison: I used the online tool to test a bunch of very different dummy bookings, and it yielded similar taxes and fees. The simplest tactic might be to make several similar bookings in different names by phone, and pick whichever one is cheapest. Can I change the name on a booking after it's on hold?

AA has in the past issued xonex's for me (and others) with the first segment on BA or another airline. The traditional hangup with AA issuance has been at times their insistance on having at least one of the intercontinental (transoceanic) segments on AA. The AA rtw desk has arranged and priced, and the AA GSA in Cairo, has issued aonex's for me with BA as the first segment. In any event, if you choose to use the AA GSA in CAI (as others have) the ticket will be issued by AA.

Just to satisfy my own curiosity I just ran two DONE4s through the machine. On the first I used your CAI-LHR-LAX and on the second I did CAI-AMM-JFK. Of course that would change the order of your N. America segments, but the impact on overall cost will be pretty minor - a couple of changed airport tax numbers, for example. All other flights were the same (and the tool did indeed take JFK-xHKG-AKL-SYD-NRT... as a valid route.)

(Totals converted to USD at today's exchange.)

CAI-LHR with BA as the issuing airline/ticketing - Base, $5810, Taxes/fees $1798, total $7608. Of the $1798 in fees, $1344 was surcharges.

CAI-AMM with RJ as the first segment - Base, $5862, Taxes/fees $845, Total $6707. Surcharges were $449 of the $845.

So a difference of $901.

For what it's worth, for $980 most of the time you can fly LAX-MIA-SDQ-MIA-LAX in F/J for 6380 mi or 9570 EQP. There are similar YUP/KUP fares out there.

My last four DONExs have all been ticketed through AA with non-AA carriers as the first segment.

In theory, any oneworld member can issue any oneworld fare (eg, the AA RTW desk should issue an xAS13, even though it is impossible to have an AA operated flight on such a fare). In practice, it is some what different. There are agents that believe a technical limitation of the online tool (first operating carrier tickets) is a rule (I had a good rant at CX with that one a couple of years ago). Most airlines want an intercontinental/inter regional flight under their own code before they'll ticket.