this is the rule last year (in asia)
no penalty for re-issuance, rebook if first segment not used. $75 for re-route/re-issuance after 1st segment used (no for just rebooking)

now the RTW desk is saying there is a 10% penalty for changing the date of 1st segment once ticketed. and 25% for no show. is this a US rule? or the rule has changed this year?

thanks my knowledgable FT'ers

I don't know all the rules in Asia but if it is about the Explorer, this first segement restrictions have been around since last year.

thanks chiangi.

i have the rules clarified now.
penalty applies only after ticketing deadline, which is 7 days for N.A., and any time (a few hours) before the first segment commence for rest of the world. therefore, there is basically no restiction except for N.A.
however, one does need to re-issue at no additional cost

Hum... so can I ask a follow up question?

I have a OWE issued by AA in coach (M-class)

I had the ticket now and will leave at 20April, but I cannot do anything if they need my physical ticket since now is the final weeks of term and no time to goto airport ticket office.

Case:
1. I booked QF HKG-SIN, what if I change it to CX?
2. What if I want to change date of 1 segment?
3. What if I want to change routing? (e.g. HKG-LAX-.... to HKG-JFK-...)?

Thanks!!

If you have made a booking with AA's RTW desk, you can ask your travel agent nearby to take over the reservation. Get the Sabre PNR from AA and tell AA that you will have it ticketed by an agent.

Once it is issued, changing carriers and routing will require a penalty. A ticket has to be issued seven days before the travel commences. (AA's RTW desk once told me that tickets issued in Europe are excluded from this rule. Not sure if she was correct.)

Prior to this ticketing deadline, any reservation changes are free of charge including the first sector (to be more precise, the sectors before the first stopover).

After ticketed, the first segment cannot be changed including the date. If you want a change in the first sector, it will have to be a reissue, which will carry a penalty. I don't know how much.

But not sure if these rules are stil valid. I last had one issued in Dec. and haven't looked into the rules.

In general, if your ticket does NOT have to be re-issued, then there is no fee.

1. Change of carrier - no fee
2. Change of date - no fee (with noted first segment restriction)
3. Change of routing - pay US$ 75

You get one free change, before or after you've commenced the trip, as long as you don't change the first segment within 7 days. Remember that "change" is per RTW ticket, not trip, thus if you are going to be making some changes, make them all at the same time. You can make the change over the phone with AA RTW desk, and "trade-in" your tickets at a airport ticket office prior to your flight, just arrive early as it takes a while to print out a typical RTW ticket.


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Oneworld Explorer RTW price chart: http://home.webflyer.com/fewmiles/oneworld/owe.html

I believe that hsi.chang is correct according to the rules.

In my experience I find:

- AA will charge you the 75 dollars no matter what.
- The ticketed airline will always change the first segment date for free. I have never tried this on a US originating ticket. Since tickets outside the Americas carry no advance purchase a re-issue for a change of date on the first segment would be STUPID since the ending price would not change. However, the rules do say they should re-issue.


In general, try and avoid re-issues like the plague. These tickets are still relativly uncommon and most agents will need signifigant help. You would need to leave 4 or 5 hours for even an uncomplicated ticket.

Do not be suprised when the agent first tells you there is an add collect of 3,000 USD because of some blah blah blah rule. My favourite was being told I had to pay for a First Class ticket from Buenos Aires to Miami that I had done 3 months earlier on the ticket since the rules only permit entry into the US from Brazil. What the agent was actually saying was "take this to someone else, because I do not want to deal with it".

What you get out of the re-issue is up to your will power. At some point the ticket agent that will just give you what you want. They will have been on the phone with tarrifs for hours and each agent in tarrifs will have a new story for the ticketing agent. The ticketing agent will be just as frustrated as you and will finally make a judgment call as to wether you are asking for too much.

I have done 8 re-issues. They have NEVER been done the same way and I always feel angry when it is over.

Anyway that was my rant for the day,
rich

change of carrier/rebooking (except for 1st segment) NO FEE

change for 1st segment (7 days in advance for ex-NA to avoid penalty), need to re-issue ticket (if the ticket is issued already): NO FEE (past deadline: 10% penalty)

change of routing (after ticket is issued and 1st segment used) $75
(before the ticketing deadline, i.e. 7 days in NA, 1-2 days in others due to the pricing lead time if via RTW desk) -- no fee

every time RTW ticker changed reservation which requires re-issuance (e.g. 1st segment rebook, later segment reroute), it would be re-priced, the difference will be based on the price of the date of change and the exchange rate on that date -- so unless the price hiked on apr/1 or soros attackes the currency, the change should be a very small number

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 04-05-2001).]

Listen to Rich. We have spoken about the issues I had with a change, and yes, I was charged $75. Later, I will tell the story, but I don't want to get into it now. As he said, avoid it like the plague. They wanted to charge me $6300 additional, if I remember right, and I had to explain the rules to tariffs and put them back in their place. Even surprised the agents (3 of them at that point) who asked if I was in the industry since I was able to *verbatim* quote the rules of the fare. It was a nightmare. Actually, it was a little pathetic. I need a life...

Intersting information about ex-North America first segment changes. The rules do say they are supposed to re-issue any changes to the first segment worldwide. I just find that if it is only a date change they sticker it and send you on your way.


In some Airline dream world this may be what they want to do. However the rule states 75USD to re-route. It does not say 75 dollars plus or minus foreign currency gains or losses. This is probably why the agents find the whole process so confusing and just re-issue the ticket in whatever manner they can.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that every agent everywhere does these re-issues differently. Knowing the rules of the fare is IMPERATIVE or you will at the airlines mercy.

rich

I second the comments here about the difficulty of getting re-issues accomplished. I have successfully maintained my sanity in these situations by planning two trips to the airline office, preferably at least 24 hours apart, apologizing profusely for inconveniencing the agent, and suggesting that they handle the matter in between other customers.

In fairness to the agents, this can really mess-up their day. I've seen agents at CTO's work on my reissue non-stop for over 2 hours (during which I have volunteered to fetch them coffee, etc.).

In contrast to most experiences on reissues, I had a pleasant surprise at AA's CTO located in Bangkok. The staff re-issued my ticket in record time (something like 4 minutes) and jokingly pointed out the errors in how a prior reissue had been done. They indicated they do quite a lot of these tickets, since BKK is such a popular RTW origination/stopover point.

One problem with dealing with AA counter agents in the U.S. is that most of them are lucky to do one international reissue every few months and simply don't have much experience in dealing with foreign currencies, taxes, etc.

Thanks a lot!

I too have had to get several re-issues and would avoid them as much as possible. Unfortunately a lot of my travel is unpredictable and re-issues are becoming a way of life.

I am trying to figure out what strategy to use here. Looking at some old threads here, CTOs (City Ticketing Offices) seemed to be ideal. As for airports, I had terrible problems in small airports but great successes in major airports (LAX, ORD, DFW, etc.). I still find it best to work with the RTW desk, get everything setup and then go to an experienced agent.

I am wondering if I should work with a local travel agent whom I can train on this and work regularly. Can anyone here share experiences of how re-issues became manageable to them.

Your location says California, and you mentioned LAX. If you are in Los Angeles, give me a mail and I will give you the name of the agent that I used. She actually was very good, and I am not a fan of TA's. She did a lot of work for me, and went to bat for me on several occasions.