Taking a side trip
 

I'm heading to Tokyo from Zurich on BA next week using a special fare negotiated last year (around CHF5K in Club World)and will be staying through the new year. I'm hoping to insert a trip to Auckland over the holiday period with a possible layover in Sydney for New Years.

What I'd like to know is would it be better to arrange some form of NRT/Auckland/NRT side trip or could a RTW ticket ultimately be cheaper? I have no need to come back through Japan on the way home. Just need to be back in Europe the first days of 2001 (gone for ~15 days). Would prefer keeping it all on a OW carrier in Business.

Any help is appreciated....

Jenn

Hi Jenn
Could you clarify whether you have already paid the CHF5K for the ZRH-NRT-ZRH trip? If so, a NRT-AKL-NRT would be cheaper I think.

The ZRH/NRT/ZRH is fully flexible and can be canceled upto the day of the flight. So it should be no problem to change the ticket. Maybe another question is is there a minimum advanced purchase for a RTW?

Thanks

urgh, side trip? NRT-AKL? I hope you do know you're talking about a 10 hour 5,500 mile flight (and of course even more if you're flying CX or QF and take a transit). And it's high season down there. Expect to pay USD1700-3000 for an Air NZ discount ECONOMY ticket between Christmas and the first week in new years.

I suggest you contact your local BA office for a RTW fare. Wild guess, but a 4 cont OWE or Global Explorer in C might be around USD4-5K. You should also try calling SQ, SR and other airlines and find out if they offer RTWs.

Silver,

Fully aware that this isn't any normal side trip http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif I've just gotten to the point that if the flight isn't more than 10 hours it seems too short. Getting a good meal, a movie, and some sleep inside of 6 hours isn't enough http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Just a matter of perspective I guess. I'm calling the various airlines now to check on the RTW stuff.

michswiss, I guess you are from CH? Have you checked SSR Reisen? (www.ssr.ch)

They have fares for ZRHAKL ranging from 5,090CHF (Garuda) and 5,600CHF (BA/QF). And inbetween are KE and TG. All business class fares.

If these KE and TG fares allow for stopovers at their respective hub cities, then adding a 'sidetrip' from SEL to NRT or even from BKK to NRT would not be that bad.

Yes, RTW tickets often have advanced purchase requirements.

Well I've figured it out. I've changed my arrangements from ZRH-NRT-ZRH with a side trip to NZ into an RTW. Booking made directly with BA on Saturday. Credit card damage on Monday including cancelling the previous arrangement. I've decided to do the whole thing in First http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif where available. It also looks like there is no minimum advance booking (unless 4 days in advance is enough).

The new agenda looks like:

ZRH-LHR - BA
LHR-NRT - BA
NRT-SYD - Qantas
SYD-AUK - Qantas
AUK-LAX - BA
LAX-LHR - BA
LHR-ZRH - BA

One last question. What should I expect for Miles and EC points for this?

Jenn

Mind if you share how much you paid for it? Are you using an Oneworld Explorer, or is there a BA/QF RTW? BTW, if it were an OWE, I (and definitely many others on this board) would have suggested you do ZRH-x/HKG-NRT and try out CX if you were on first. BA is beautiful and QF is nice, but CX is **gorgeous**. But I guess it's too late if you've already issued the ticket as your first segment must be fixed.

Silver: I think it is a Oneword RTW fare originating in Switzerland. Travel is through 4 zones. I was quoted CHF 9'999 in First. CX would have been a great idea except that I have to work a full day on Tuesday in Zurich and must be in meetings in Tokyo by noon on Thursday. CX wouldn't get me there until mid-afternoon.

I would really like to try CX. Would the rules allow me to fly CX from NRT to AKL via HKG possibly laying over a day in HKG? I think it would be cool to spend a day there. Especially to try the lounge!

You should be able to re-route your ticket with a 75$ charge as you wish, with a stopover in HKG. Be careful in chosing which flight to take for NRT-HKG, some flights are CY configured. HKG-AKL is most likely 343, therefore you won't have the Betsy full flat seats. If you want the Betsy seats you should fly on the 744 to Sydney first, and then connect with QF. Although in my opinion, the 343 conventional first class seats are comfortable enough.

Well I've changed the middle leg to get me to HKG and then to AKL. Thanks for the idea Silver! I'm on CX451 with the new First out of NRT with a stop in Taipei. Now I need to check if I can get on CX505 non-stop. I'll be spending 2.5 days in Hong Kong before heading AKL.

All in all, a little more than a side trip now http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

A side trip my family and I took in 1999 was a slightly shorter flight but it worked very well for us.

We booked with a consolidator in San Francisco (Skytours) and we were flying San Francisco - Helsinki on Finnair. We also wanted a sidetrip to Barcelona at the beginning of our trip. So it was booked like this:

SFO-HEL 07JUN AY048
HEL-BCN 08JUN AY905
BCN-HEL 15JUN AY906
HEL-SFO 17JUL AY047

It was basically booked as a trip from San Francisco to Barcelona with a 6-week stayover in Finland (which was our main place to visit) Finnair didn't seem to mind, and it worked out to $850 roundtrip per adult.

Very nice http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Kai