Hello all,

I'm planning a 4-continent OWE (coach) starting in BDA and I have a few questions.

I'm currently AA PLT. The objectives of the trip are:

1- Visit IPC, TLV and PTY.
2- Visit anywhere else I haven't been.
3- Maximize miles

I have a time constraint of 3 weeks to finish this trip. I have never been to Europe. In Asia, I have only been to HKG, and in South America, I have only been to EZE. I wouldn't mind visiting HKG and EZE again.

I'm thinking of this as a vacation and a semi-MR. The itinerary is either:

bda-jfk-lax-hkg-kul-hkg-sin-hkg-lhr-tlv-lhr-bcn-mad-scl-ipc-scl-lim-scl-dfw-lax-mia-pty-mia-jfk-bda

OR

bda-jfk-mad-bcn-lhr-tlv-lhr-hkg-sin-hkg-kul-hkg-yvr-jfk-scl-ipc-scl-mvd-eze-mia-pty-mia-lax-dfw-jfk-bda

1- I realize it's a grueling schedule, but it better for the body to travel EAST or WEST bound?

2- Are OWE fares in CX elegible for AA miles?

3- On itinerary #2, for the HGK-YVR-JFK-SCL leg, I'm planning to take CX888 (HKG-JFK) and onto a LanChile flight to SCL. Is this valid within OWE rules? I'm not sure I fully understand the two-stopover rule.

4- Any comments/suggestions on the itinerary themselves would be greatly appreciated.

Hi

it's better on the body to go with the spin of the earth (westbound) but you loose a day crossing the international date line. If you go eastbound you gain a day when crossing the date line. Your choice!!

1. I noticed was the plan to get to EUR via JFK - why not take BA2232 direct from BDA-LGW and then into EUR ? Saves you another NA stop for later & could remove the need to leave JFK on inter-continental flights twice.

2. To get the furthest miles (within the rules) you could fly LHR-IST (Istanbul) return and the LHR-TLV return. There are frequent coaches between LGW & LHR.

3. Within Asia, you could get more miles going with CX to/from DEL (New Delhi) than to KUL. If you're feeling up to it go see the Taj Mahal (about a 5 hour drive each way having just done it for $150 US). Well worth it.

4. I would take CX888 direct to JFK before going onto SCL. I'm no expert on to/from South America so others will have to advise on that part of the schedule.

Hope this helps & Happy New Year

[This message has been edited by DP-UK (edited 12-31-2002).]

The general rules are that you are allowed 4 flights per continent, with the exception of North America which allows 6. CX flights qualify as base AAdvantage miles.

[This message has been edited by MiamiPrep (edited 12-31-2002).]

A couple of obvious problems with these itineraries. You have 8 segments in NA and you are only allowed 6. You can only have one transcon in the US. Here is a quick fix of the westbound itinerary. There are probably other improvements that could be made.

bda-jfk-hkg-kul-hkg-sin-hkg-lhr-tlv-lhr-bcn-mad-scl-ipc-scl-lim-scl-lax-mia-pty-mia-jfk-bda

I think CX books OWE economy as M class which does not accrue AA mileage unless you have a Canadian address.

-----
yes. i think exmo is right that no AA mile unless you change your AA address to canada.

------

0. about the dateline change, you DONT gain or lose a day after completing a RTW.
you gain a few hours when you cross a few time zones in each flight, and will have cumulatively gain 24 hours after back to the origin, but then you lose a day when crossing the dateline. (change sign if you go east bound). therefore, the only difference is that you spend about 3-4 hours less on the plane for the same mileage going westbound due to tailwind -- you can say you are flying "faster". flying coach it is less suffering.

on "better for the body", i think it is the jet-lag issue. it is easier for the body to adjust if you fly eastbound. mainly because it is easier to postpone your bed time for a few hours than trying to fall asleep at 7pm. on a RTW trip your biological clock will be turned upside down sooner or later, so i think there is no material difference in terms of jet lag whichever direction you fly. the trick is to manage your sleeping time. i.e. try to sleep (& not sleep) according to the timezone of your next destination.

1. yes, you can use BA BDA-LHR to save segments in NA, as you need more that they gave you. BUT the BA transatlantic miles for this flight cannot be put into AADV

2. IST is a very nice city to visit as well

3. within asia, can also consider japan/korea and bali. the miles are not as long as KHI/DEL. but you will enjoy the destination. -- note it is expensive in japan though

4. yes. i think DP is right about skipping YVR and taking hkg-jfk(x)-scl. it is a valid itin provided you dont stay at JFK for more than 24 hours.
(<24hr is a transit, it counts segment on OWE, but it is not a stopover. in fact you can plane a 23 hr for any of these transit port, and you wont have to pay for the airport tax either)


[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 01-02-2003).]

I simply wanted to thank everybody for your comments. I definitely had the wrong understanding of the stopover rule.

After working the actual flight schedule, the "extra" day gained going eastbound made a big difference in my plans.

Pegasus, it sounds like you have the winds backwards. In the northern hemisphere they're generally out of the west, so eastbound flights can be a bit faster.

I tend to agree that jet lag seems much less pronounced when flying west, but until someone publishes a scientific study I have to admit it could be a strong imagination.

johnax, thanks for correcting me.
i was also confused on the wind direction

Dear BDAPTY,
what might this total trip cost you?