After a bit of tinkering our route is now looking like:

OSL-xHEL-BKK-HND-BKK,KUL-MNL-SYD,CNS-xSYD-AKL-LAX-MIA-UVF-LGW,LHR-OSL

Have removed the overland segment to HAN and decided to do a full loop back round to BKK instead saving a surface segment. And added in St Lucia towards the end of the trip.

Annoying having the wasted segment from LGW-LHR but can't seem to avoid it as the only direct flight to London from UVF is to LGW, and to OSL only from LHR.

We're now at a stage where we're ready to book and lock it in pretty much. Just wondering, is there any advantage to book via e.g. the AA service desk, rather than through the tool? It is accepting the itinerary and spitting out a price (~�5.3k), so is there anything to be aware of to stop me just putting in CC details and going with it right now?

Excited!

I assume that price is for 2 tickets, right?

Yes 2x LONE4

Any reason you couldn't recapture an Asia segment by flying OSL-xHEL-NRT-BKK...? Both Finnair (A350) and JAL (787) fly to Narita daily. Then you could return to MIA after UVF and transit Heathrow to Oslo, like this: OSL-xHEL-NRT-BKK,KUL-MNL-SYD,CNS-SYD-AKL-LAX-MIA-UVF-MIA-LHR-OSL

Or if you wanted to do BKK first, OSL-xHEL-BKK,KUL-NRT-MNL-SYD,CNS-xSYD-AKL-LAX-MIA-UVF-MIA-LHR-OSL

Thanks Gardyloo, we want to do BKK first so your second option could be interesting and save a segment for somewhere else. Although unless I'm missing something we don't need actually that extra one to avoid the LGW,LHR transit, as we could already change:

...UVF-LGW,LHR-OSL to
...UVF-xMIA-LHR-OSL

But both use 4 segments so swings and roundabouts. Was trying to find a way to go LGW, somewhere, OSL...to get an extra trip somewhere, but OSL has very limited direct flights After London will be the end of the RTW essentially, saving final OSL for a second trip so probably we will prefer direct to London at that point, being weary and worn out and all

Don't suppose I could get your wisdom on this too?

You'd still have a stopover in Europe available after London, so just go from Gatwick to Rome or Barcelona or some other place served from LGW, then route via Helsinki back to Oslo, e.g. OSL-xHEL-BKK,KUL-NRT-MNL-SYD,CNS-xSYD-AKL-LAX-MIA-UVF-LGW-FCO-xHEL-OSL

If the online tool will take your money, I'd go with that. There are too many newbies at the AA RTW desk for my liking these days.

My trip is coming in couple of months and it`s time to start thinking where to go.

This is what I have been thinking about:
MPM-DOH-HEL-xLHR-LAX-MIA-JFK-NRT-KUL-DPS-HKG-MLE-xDOH-xLHR-CPT

Some thoughts:

-There is direct flight from HEL to MIA but i would like to try AA77w from LHR and i can get AY a350 also from HEL. New CX first lounge is there also that i would love to try (I`am OW Emerald by then). How much you think it is going to raise price by going through LHR versus direct AY HEL-MIA?

-Is that ending from MLE valid? I know there is direct flights from DOH to CPT but i`am going to skip last leg and this way i could end up in London and go there with QR a380 from DOH. But is this backtracking?

I`am still figuring out how to get some nice beach locations there and might go SJU from MIA..

This is DONE ticket so i have gone through routes the way that i could get nice lounges, JAL J class, AA, QX and QR

Edit: More questions about the routes because I cant understand these even if i have read FAQ now 3 times

-Online tool for RTW gives error if i try to start from MPM and replicate my purchased trip. I can put starting point to CPT to avoid error (after that DOH-HEL) but then it says no flights between middle east and europe. But my ticket that have been issued already has MPM-DOH-HEL. Why it says that if i start from CPT and not MPM?

-I was playing with the RTW tool and figuring out would it be better to go around the globe opposite way that i have first thought so I made this routing:
MPM-DOH-HEL-NRT-KUL-DPS-HKG-LAX-MIA-.. and then i thought i had to go back to the Africa for my starting point, but it gives me options to flight LHR for stopover, then BCN for stopover and even back to Helsinki before going back to Africa. I thought i can`t come back to Europe if i have leave there once (i had stopover in DOH and HEL beginning of the trip). What is the rule that I don`t understand? (okey there might be many rules..

Anyone willing to help me one this one? I appreciate a lot if some of you will take time to teach me about those rules. First RTW for me so cant wait to choose destinations and start searching hotels

Thank you!

I assume that you have already purchased the ticket, otherwise the MPM and CAI starting points are no longer cheap, if available. As you know, do not make any changes until that 1st flight is completed. Forget the RTW tool. With all the recent changes, it is giving errors when it should not and allowing invalid routings. It is causing confusion.

I also assume that you have a stopover in HEL. Why not wait until then to redo you routing. If you need more time, just change the dates of the existing routing once in HEL. Doing a transit thru LHR (not a stop) adds about $50 in taxes.

Thank you for your reply headinclouds!

You are right that I already have the ticket. When I bought it I just quickly made some routing to make sure I will get it re-route it later. I made sure then that I can make those first flights without changes (MPM-DOH-HEL).

I have stopover in HEL and I`am going to make re-routing then to make 100% sure there wont be any price change. Why I am "rush" in this one is because I have friends in couple of those planned stopover places and depending on the rules I can`t make route plans yet.

Friend of course wants to know exact dates when I come and it also helps me so i can keep eye on hotel sales and grab the ones that fits for me (Hilton winter sale or flash sales in Asia example).

Hope someone can help with the routing rules that are little complicant for me even after reading everything on FAQ thread.

Ba yq depends on where u go. U may find it cheaper to go elsewhere if u don't plan to fly back. Make sure u pick a place u have a visa

You can enter Europe/Middle East 1 extra time if it is a transit without stopover between Africa and the previous/next continent. You can certainly do a ...MIA-DOH-MPM/JNB/NBO etc. Since you have already stopped in Europe, you can only transit DOH.

What may be a problem is that you have flown between the ME part of Europe/ME continent and the Europe part of Europe/ME continent. You may not be able to do a MIA-LHR/MAD-Africa. There were many updates to the rules during the last 6 months and depending upon when you bought the ticket, clause 3.2.3 (travel may not include any flown or surface sector between Europe & Middle East) may apply. Being an ex-MPM ticket, that clause was in effect at the time. So if you want to go in the opposite direction to Asia, you are limited to the DOH transit. I will let the expert, pandaperth, let us know if I am wrong.

I suspect that the RTW tool does not know that you have an older ticket with the above restriction. That rule was dropped recently.

Hello Leo123

Apologies for not replying sooner, but I have had better things to do (see my signature)

As I understand your situation:

• You purchased your ticket in early August, right at the end of the ex-MPM feeding frenzy
• You intend to fly your first two flights (MPM-DOH-HEL) and then make big changes to the rest of your ticket
• At the end, your intention is to not fly back to Africa, but to get off at a transit point in Europe and abandon the last flight

So, assuming the above is correct:

• The fare rules changed on August 4th, and the restriction on inter-zone flights in conjunction with a second visit to Europe/Middle East was removed � so that is not a problem on your ticket
• Because you will stopover in Europe/Middle East at the beginning (in HEL) your return visit must be a �transfer without stopover�. So:
  �MLE-xLGW-MRU would certainly be valid
  �MLE-LGW//LHR-CPT would probably be valid, but
  �MLE-xDOH-xLHR-CPT probably would not be valid
  Now IIRC, serfty has managed to get two transfers without stopover approved, but my reading is that �transfers without stopovers� is not the same as �a transfer without stopover� and so what you want should not be allowed. But hey, try it by all means

You can use The Matrix to get an idea of the YQ on various segments

The online tool has not been updated when the fare rules change; in particular, it is hopeless with regard to the provisions for backtracking through Europe/Middle East in conjunction with travel to/from/via Africa. So, don�t try to use it to verify whether your itinerary is valid

Since your intention is to not take the final flight, you should perhaps look at other options in order to minimise the charges you will pay for that last flight. From London you could consider flights to West Africa (such as LOS) or East Africa (such as NBO), which might have lower total charges � again you can use the matrix to investigate this

Thank you so much pbd456, headinclouds and pandaperth

You are right about these Pandaperth:

Your post helped me to understood better what options i have to end this trip and also to make decision that for me it is better to round the world in west direction.

I cant get the oneworld tool working properly so I have only one more question left: Is this valid routing:

MPM-DOH-HEL-BCN-HEL-JFK-CUN-xMIA-POP-xMIA-LAX-NRT-KUL-DPS-HKG-xLHR-CPT

17 cities but 16 segments?

Thank you!

Yes, your routing is valid. The restriction is 16 segments and you are complying with that

Your current plan has your last Asian destination as HKG
Are you aware that CX flies HKG-MAD? You could do something like HKG-xMAD-DKR, which may have lesser charges than HKG-xLHR-CPT.

Also IB flies to PVG and NRT, which might give you routing options that are better for you
See this sticky thread - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...-services.html

IIRC in the Caribbean you are interested in beach locations, in which case my personal preference would be for BGI rather than POP - YMMV of course