What is the F OW 3 continent RWT fare out of Canada vs. out of the US...

How about the Circle fare?

Also, on a RTW, are you allowed to "back-track" to connect...say go from SIN-HKG-LHR (if you are fluying westernly), if you are just connecting and not stopping over?

Check fewmiles' site for fairly recent prices ex-anywhere. You can easily find the link in the archives. Roughly, in first, ex-Canada is about US$1000 cheaper than ex-US. The downside is that you do need to deal with an agent there - you have to ticket 7 days (?) in advance of departure. Nominally you're supposed to be in-country to pick up the tickets then, but your agent does that for you. No agent will want to ticket you on AA - no commission. Mine has used CX in the past and I've been a happy camper, but last time she used QF and it was a really rough go. Others are happy enough with QF rtw processing, so I guess I got a new kid on their rate desk. (Who tickets you is mostly irrevelant. Some rate desks are reputed to be cleverer than others, and some airlines can print tickets with more coupons than others, but otherwise it's probably not a big deal.)

On the OWE fares, direction is pretty much irrevelant. You can't backtrack across one of the oceans but in-continent you can go back and forth pretty much at will, within your segment limit (and a few other nits.) You can't fly through your starting point. It's an enormously flexible system.

So, officially:

1. I can have the ticket start in YYZ for $1,000 less.

2. I could have the first segment be YYZ-BOS and not use the YYZ-BOS segment on AA, and then pick up and start using the ticket in BOS on AA from BOS-JFK.

2. Alternatively, I could have the ticket go YYZ-JFK on AA, and fly to JFK on my own and pick up the ticket on CX at JFK, or

3. I could just fly up to YYZ on my own (I actually have an unsed one-way) and have the ticket end in BOS, or even MIA.

4. As for multiple segments within a continent, are you saying at the end of the ticket, I could have multiple unused BOS-SFO-BOS, essentially "open" F segments for future use?

Also, how does Canadian origination apply to saving money on Cirle the Pacific fares?

[This message has been edited by nologic (edited 11-02-2002).]

1. Probably more depending on class, number of continents and the exchange rate at the time of purchase.

2. No to both items. You need to originate in YYZ if you are going to get the Canadian fare.

3. Yes.

4. Sort of. You cannot have more than one transcon in the U.S./Canada so the BOS-SFO-BOS wouldn't work but a BOS-DFW-SFO-BOS would. Remember you are limited to 6 segments in NA and two stopovers (assuming you originate in NA).

Sorry, we don't have prices on Canadian Circle fares (FewMiles is working on getting them) but it is probably safe to assume they are less expensive than U.S. originations. In general, however, I find Circle fares more expensive for most trips than RTW fares.

i thk u probably still have to have yyz (or y__) as your final destination.
but as you said, you can save it for later, or jsut throw it away.

There is no need to end up at the city whence you began - just the country. And the U.S. and Canada are one country, according to OW.

The limit of two stopovers in the continent of origin puts some serious constraints on the utilization of those six segments. People here are always coming up with clever routings that I never thought of, but I think it works best if you can combine your rtw with a paid (or award) trip.

Thus you begin by flying to Canada on another ticket, beginning your rtw (being careful to not use a stopover unless you really get something worthwhile out of it), "completing" your rtw back to your home city, and using your first stopover. Later, you continue your rtw to use however many domestic segments are still left, using your other stopover, and ending up either back at home or someplace you want to stop and have a "paid" ticket back home from.

AA award travel works well for this since they're generous regarding the routing (allowing an open jaw, among other things, and a year to do it).

So basically, you're allowed one extra segment in your home country?

So if I fly back to Boston and stop here, then I have one left, such as a trancon BOS-SFO in P...

Did someone say that if you depart a city w/i 24 hours that it's not a stopover, so I could technically have a spare coupon for a return transcon and end up with a round trip?

No. If you have a ticket originating in N America then you can have up:

- no more than six segments in N America (where a segment is a single flight number, although it may have intermediate stops (where you cannot get off otherwise it is two segments)), AND

- no more than two stopovers (24 hours or more between flights), AND

- no more than one transcon flight.