Well interestingly I called the AA office in HK and upon selecting English (instead of Cantonese or Mandarin) my call was routed to their Fiji call centre who had an issue with me using an Australian card for the ex-HKG fare. But they said that it would be an 'exception' and allowed me to use it charging USD50 reservation fee instead of the USD25 originally quoted.

I'll wait to see what happens but if there is an issue does anyone know how to call straight through to the Hong Kong office? It increasingly seems that the HKD900 fare difference booking with QF might have been easier just to cough up considering it could all be done in one phone call.

The contact details I have are (Oct, 2013):

Clara Cheung, Reservations & Ticketing, The Walshe Group - GSA

Room 1004, Jubilee Centre, 18 Fenwick Street, Wanchai, Hong Kong

TEL: 852-3678-8500

FAX: 852-3678-8501

email: [email protected]

Walsh Group no longer tickets AA in HKG? - Any other Agencies for TKT in HKG?
 

Just off the phone with the Walshe Group Sydney (After not being able to get ahold of the Walshe Group in HKG) -- seems they stopped selling AA in April of this year... just do Etihad and some other carriers that won't help with my ticketing of a Circle Pacific! :-(

So - am gonna try and call the AA Res Center in HKG to see if they will ticket for me there (+852 3057 9197) - but also looking for a plan C...

Does anyone have any travel agency's that could assist with a CIRC22 being purchased out of HKG?

Am based in Australia; - and can use either an AUS or USD credit card (US is offering the better exchange rate these days!).

Appreciate it folks!

deleted

I just looked at my credit card charge. I bought CP < 29,000 J in March & it billed to American Air. I set up with the AA RTW US desk, then I called AA HKG to ticket it.

Does anyone have any experience purchasing ACIRnn at the HKG AA counter?

At the airport counter? I don't remember seeing any reports of anyone having done that.

I don't either, hence my question.

I believe the AA counter has only been open for a short while. Not exactly sure when DFW-HKG service started, but I would guess it would be around the time the Walsh Group ceased selling AA tickets and I would guess the reason was that the AA ticket counter at the HKG airport could handle whatever the Walsh Group used to do.

How to find CIRPAC fares?
 

Apologies to all if there is an obvious answer to this question...

I just want to find out the cost of an LCIR22 or DCIR22 beginning in Manila or somewhere close by.

I feel like I have searched extensively for the answer to that question, and have even purchased a 6 month diamond level subscription to the KVS tool.

Yet I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get it to show me such fares! Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is there a sticky I have missed?

Thanks in advance for your collective knowledge...

The way I found to do it (and others can show me a better way maybe) is to go to Fares Tab
Enter MNL to any other airport that a fare is likely to be issued for eg NRT
Choose which OW airline will issue and sell you the ticket (eg JL), doesn't matter if you choose OW or RT then click GO button, choose currency for display
A list of fares will come up
Then click on any fare and right click and a menu pops up, choose VIEW ROUTING RULES ----> OTHER FARE
A box comes up and you can type into it
Put in the following
MNL/MNL/JL/DCIR22, click enter and bingo. You can change airline and Circle types of course as needed.

Intuitive - methinks not! but it works!

ExpertFlyer has that functionality in our Fare Information search. Just use the same airport or city code for the departing and arriving airport and you will be shown the Circle and RTW fares:

http://www.expertflyer.com/frequent-...areInformation

Welcome to the KVS Tool!

Indeed, that is the correct procedure for accessing RTW/Circle Fares via the KVS Tool.

For more details and examples, please consult the RTW section of the KVS Tool User Guide at http://Help.KVSTool.com/#RTW

Finding CIRPAC fares on KVS - thanks
 

Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions - the link to the KVS FAQ, and the listing of CIRPAC and RTW fares ex-MNL.

I should have been able to find this without asking, but your quick responses saved me a lot of searching...

Now to the planning phase!

Haven't booked a Circle Pacific ticket before, but thinking of doing so in the next few days. For background, I'm planning on booking two tickets as follows:

Ticket #1:
[AA]YYZ-oJFK-xLAS-[surface segment]-HNL-[QF]xSYD-oAKL-[CX]xHKG-xJFK-YYZ

Ticket #2:
[AA]YYZ-oJFK-xLAX-[QF]xSYD-oAKL-[CX]xHKG-xJFK-YYZ

Now some questions:

1. Do these seem to be valid ACIR26 routings?
2. It seems like the general consensus is to ticket using AA. Does that seem correct based on this itinerary?
3. Is there enough travel on AA metal that they're going to be willing to ticket me?
4. I'm traveling to Canada this Saturday and would ideally like to start the trips on Sunday. Can I reserve this now, pay once I get to Toronto and fly the next day?

Thanks for help!

4. Ticketing must be completed at least one hour before departure.

Thanks. I'd imagine if the reservation was all set up that ticketing would be a fairly routine procedure at the airport. Am I being overly optimistic?

First check when ticketing is open at the airport. Second allow lots of time. There may only be one person on the desk and they may be away from the desk (on a break) or dealing with other tickets, especially if one of the airline's flights has been cancelled or seriously delayed.

It should be fine. I did this once, years back (when there was the Canada exception). In addition to the counter, Toronto has an Admiral's Club.

The YYZ AC is no reason just to visit that airport. :D

I have ticketed a CircPac at AA YYZ a few years ago and, as reported, it was quite painless. It took 30 min and there was nobody else around. Most of that time was spent on the phone checking all was OK and for the card machine to print out the tickets.

I certainly wouldn't be relying on a tight departure time and getting the tickets. Too risky. Indeed, with AA now bouncing CCs that are billed in non local countries, I'd have lots of time on my side and plenty of "Plan Bs".

My point is that if the counter is too busy, the AC should be able to handle ticketing.

The only report we have of insistence on a CC with an in-country billing address is for South Africa. The poster mentioned a plan of arriving in YYZ, purchasing the ticket on arrival, and departing the following day. That should be doable. In an emergency, there are travel agents in town that can issue RTWs.

AA GSA in HKG recently refused to issue a carefully set up xCIRC29SA (by the AA RTW desk) with payment by an Oz billed AX card. I tried several times and each time they said they would be happy to issue the ticket but at the Oz price - because the CC is billed in Oz $. They said if I could quote a HKG billed card then they would issue the ticket at the HKG price.

I also asked if I could go to their office in person with the same Oz AX cc to pay for the ticket - and they said "no".

This is very disturbing to hear. Was this before or after AA started flying to HKG? Because I wonder if the HKG airport counter or AC would issue it.

Now that you have a valid itinerary, try setting it up by phone with CX in Hong Kong. You should also be able to pay by phone with any credit card, according to earlier postings. BA might also work.

Will they take cash for an AA issued ticket?

Happy wandering

Fred

This probably has something to do with DCC which has been invading merchants in HKG... They are running your card and it's coming back as a AUD card so they are taking the position that it has to be charged in AUD and thus the AUD price.

Just call CX and book it. I have used them for years with no issue charging my US issued credit card. Sure the fuel fines may be slightly higher, but it's always been a good experience. You will have to call and give them the itinerary and a specialist will call you back to confirm and take payment.

What's DCC? Is it that box that offers to "helpfully" charge your card in your home currency?

Correct - very "helpfully" at up to a 10% surcharge.

Unfortunately also allows merchants to easily identify the home country of the card.

Very disturbing. Wonder if they would take a direct transfer - using one of the cheaper money transfer places - downside no points.

2016-2018 Oneworld booking and pricing experiences
 

I'm starting this thread as a central point for people to share their recent experiences and outcomes in booking, or trying to book, Oneworld products including Oneworld Explorer, Global Explorer, various Circle tickets, etc.

This won't be a place-specific thread; feel free to record your experiences in booking or ticketing in any country for any Oneworld product.

Also be mindful that anyone can read these posts, including people within the industry, so use discretion when being overly specific, especially regarding the use of names, email contacts and the like. I won't hesitate to edit or remove posts that have the potential for negative consequences for FT members.

Gardyloo
Oneworld moderator

If I understand correctly there's no need for this discussion anymore. Any oneworld product, in any currency, starting anywhere in the world can now be purchased from any oneworld carrier anywhere. The fare will simply be converted to the issuing location's currency and charged to any international credit card. It's as if the whole world became one big 'Canadian exception'. The restriction that the first segment segment carrier must issue the ticket (or vice versa) also seems to have disappeared. At least that seems to be the situation at the moment.

I pulled up an old copy of the OWE rules (from late 2012 I believe) and it said this: The current rule sheet says this: So yes, the "higher price" restriction has been removed.

The first-carrier-issuing-the-ticket "rule" has only applied to tickets bought using the online tool; it was never a rule enforced by the airlines when the ticket was booked manually.

OK, the rule sheet says: "When travel originates in a country for which a specific local currency fares is published and the ticket is sold in another country, the fare will be that published for the country of origin converted to the currency of the country of sale at the bank selling rate."

So what happens in a country where there is a specific local fare, but it's in dollars or some other currency? I can't remember this possibility ever having come up, but it must exist. And is there any significance to the fact that the phrase 'a specific local currency fareS' is in the plural (despite the singular 'a')?

I think the plural "fares" is just another case of sloppy editing. Checking back through my old rules sheets, it was there back as far as 2007.

But thank you for pointing out that the wording of this rule has changed - significantly IMHO. I am going to make a post the correct thread to give this wider dissemination (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...ule-sheet.html)

As for those countries whose fare quoted in a currency other than its own currency - IMHO there is no significance. For example, fares from Tanzania are quoted in USD, so if someone in Australia purchases an ex-Tanzania ticket the fare will simply be converted from USD to AUD at the BSR.

It was never a rule, just a limitation on the online tool to make programming it easier. However, some agents think it is a rule and I've been told at least once to go talk to another airline.
I contacted CX about a quote for a DAS13 (CBR-SYD-NRT-ITM-NRT-HKG-SIN-MEL), CX had the flights that touched HKG, QF/JL had the rest. The agent told me to go talk to QF since they had the first flight. They relented and gave the quote when I started reading the fare rules to them.

what is the best currency to get a quote on ex mpm? at usd, i think the roe is 58.xx and the base fare is a few hundred more expensive than expeetflyer.

I'm only 3 segments into my trip which started in HND. I'm crediting my post Aug 1 AA flights and BA flights to BA in order to get BAEC Silver (OW Sapphire) by December (my membership year with them runs March-March). That way I'll go into my next membership year with BAEC Silver (Avios bonuses on BA and AA coded flights and US domestic lounge access) and on my way to BAEC Gold in 2017. I'll split my 2017 earnings between AA and BA with 75K RDMs going to AA and about 82K Avios.

FWIW, I'm AA LT Plat and buy domestic F most of the time (or F award) unless it's a really short flight. So the SWUs and higher up on domestic upgrade list aren't big sellers so I do not feel the need to go for EXP. I travel only 1-3 US domestic flights, so can't justify $450 for lounge access, so BAEC Silver/Gold will provide me the lounge access which is more of a plus, especially at IAD where there is no Admirals club but there is a BA lounge; F Lounges worldwide when traveling in J will be nice too.

As I mentioned in post 265 here I've been working with three Mozambique travel agents to see if they can correctly price a DONE5. As that thread is more about ex-CPT, I think this discussion is better suited to this thread.

I sent this itinerary for pricing: MPM-xDOH-CMN-DOH-CPH-xDOH-GRU-SCL-BOG-LIM-EZE-JFK-CUN-PHX-DFW-SYD-JNB.

Putting this itinerary into the oneworld booking tool but starting, for example, CPT-JNB-xDOH . . . and dropping one of the South American segments (in order to, (i) get a price with BA being the first carrier and, (ii) stay within the 16 stops) produces a valid itinerary so I believe the above is also valid.

The first agent has bowed out, it seemingly being too difficult for him. The other two have been very eager to assist and have admitted it's their first foray into the xONEx field.

One has come back saying she has been in touch with QR and they have advised: "The itinerary as it stands does not qualify for RTW product, due to following reason. Only 1 intercontinental departure and 1 intercontinental arrival permitted in Africa". The agent then included this image:

http://imgur.com/a/jvSnu

I went back to her saying the itinerary does indeed have only one intercontinental departure and arrival in Africa. She replied saying she would relay that to QR and get back in touch when she had more.

I've posted an update in post eight, here.