Here's an itinerary I'm thinking about. It's just a 5-week vacation -- I like to hop around a lot of places, just my short attention span at play. It's driven by the desire to visit Africa and a few select countries in Europe, along with the goal of avoiding monsoon season in Asia for the most part. Oh, and another goal of wanting to take BA as much as possible for the long-haul flights, for their business class seats.

So, does this seem like a valid itinerary?

ATL - ORD (AA)
ORD - HNL (AA)
HNL - SYD (AA)
SYD - CHC (QF)
CHC - AKL (QF)
AKL - SYD (QF)
SYD - BKK (BA) (Bangkok picked as Asia entry point simply to get a BA flight)
BKK - HKG (CX)
HKG - JNB (CX)
JNB - VFA (BA/Comair)
VFA - JNB (BA/Comair)
JNB - CPT (BA/Comair)
CPT - LHR (BA) (I'm just passing through London, but I wanted the BA metal)
LHR - ZRH (BA) (where I really want to go in Europe)
ZRH - TXL (overland)
TXL - LHR (BA)
LGW - ATL (BA)

I'm not happy with how the trip ends. I'm really just flying through London at the end but the timing is awful, having to go from Heathrow to Gadwick and it looks like it's going to add an overnight stay in London to my trip. I'm not sure what to do about that. I'd rather skip London altogether but it also seems like I have to fly direct to Atlanta to adhere to the '2 segments in originating country' rule.

[This message has been edited by ebell (edited 06-05-2003).]

Trip looks OK but here are a few comments.

You are not limited to two segments in the country of origin but two stopovers. Thus, you could take BA LHR-ORD or LHR-MIA and then AA to ATL from either city.

Do you really need to stop in Asia? You are adding an extra continent without really exploring all your options there. You could fly SYD-JNB on QF direct. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Asia in addition to BKK and HKG try a side trip to DPS or KIX/NRT or SIN.

Also, the AA flight from HNL-SYD is actually a codeshare on QF.

Just noticed in another thread you were deciding on a FF program. Note that if you pick AA then the BA miles across the pond do not count.

However, if you are traveling trans-Atlantic after July 1 you can take BA LHR-YYZ and then AA YYZ-ORD(or MIA)-ATL and get mileage credit for the BA flight.

Keep in mind the two stopover rule in NA and the 20 segment maximum rule when doing your planning.

Thanks for the great responses!

As far as picking a FF program, I do a lower-tier elite level of domestic US travel centering around the East Coast (and a lot of ATL-IAD trips). I like using miles on FF tickets and hope to go to Asia next winter. I'll have to look at AA's schedules for routes I frequently fly.

So far as the 'no AA credit on BA' flights, do you have a pointer to where I can look to dig up the rules on this? Why would I get credit then for traveling LHR-YYZ after July 1st? (And my trip would be all of August and into September.)

I'll definitely look into the SYD-JNB flight. For some reason I thought it was an ineligible codeshare. I don't need to go to Asia, I just thought I had to for routing. This'll cut down to a OWE4 which would be good, and let me disperse more time in Africa and Europe.

I also looked into flying MUC-LGW-ATL on the final stretch, all in one day. TXL just seems like a tricky airport for connections I'd want to make. I think I'd have to be mad, however, to do something like TXL-LHR-YYZ-ORD-ATL in one go. I had a bad time last year with BUD-CDG-AMS-JFK-IAD (I think it was).

Another possibility is to fly on Aer Lingus from Zurich or Geneva (not sure which city has service) to Dublin, then Dublin to Chicago and finally to Atlanta. I have flown the business class on EI a couple of times and they are similiar to my experiences with AA. Dublin is a easier airport to deal with than London. Don't forget the FF'er DC happy hour this month at Rock Bottom Brewery in Bethesda.

Regarding BA credit on AA program, I think you get credit for Canada and South America flights but not from U.S. to LHR.

Unfortunately, there are no Oneworld carriers flying direct IAD (or DCA or BWI) to ATL so you are unlikely to get AA miles for those trips.

Historically, AA and BA have not given mileage for the other's flights across the Atlantic. That will change somewhat on July 1 of this year when BA flights in full fare coach, business and first across the Atlantic will qualify for full mileage credit on AA, except for flights to the U.S. Thus, you can fly to Canada, Latin America or the Caribbean on BA and get AA credit.

The direct SYD-JNB flight is operated by QF and is eligible for a DONE* ticket. There is also a connection via a QF codeshare operated by SA from PER-JNB that is not eligible. The direct QF flights operates Mon, Thurs, Sat and Sun.

You do not need to do TXL-LHR-YYZ-ORD-ATL in one go. For example, you can stop overnight in YYZ just make sure your connecting flight to ORD leaves the next day before your scheduled arrival time in YYZ. That way you will spend less than 24 hours in YYZ (or ORD or wherever you choose to stop) and it will not count as a stopover. One connection you could do would be TXL-LHR-YYZ. leaving TXL at 1050 arriving YYZ at 1755 and the next day do YYZ-ORD-ATL, leaving YYZ at 1015 and arriving ATL at 1512.

On FF programs, as was mentioned in another thread, you can obtain status on AA via the challenge program. Your trip will run over 30,000 miles and you are flying business. The Platinum Challenge on AA will give you Platinum status for 10,000 Q points (miles * class of service bonus). You're going to have over 45,000 Q points by the time you finish the trip. In fact, you will qualify for PLT status by the time you hit SYD. Don't register for the challenge until after 16 June (hmmm, or is it 16 July???). That way your status will last through February, 2005, without having to requalify.

[Edited to fix spelling the spell checker didn't catch.]

[This message has been edited by ExMo (edited 06-05-2003).]

The ZRH-DUB flight is an EI flight operated by Swiss, according to what I can find. That's not a codeshare that's valid, is it?

I've got it down to a OWE4, with the SYD-JNB route eliminating Asia. Here's what I'm looking at now.

ATL-DFW-HNL
HNL-SYD
SYD-AKL
AKL-CHC-ZQN
ZQN-CHC
CHC-SYD-JNB
JNB-CPT
CPT-LHR-ZRH
(overland to Berlin)
TXL-LHR-YYZ-ORD-ATL

I think this should be valid. I have only four stopovers in Oceania (Sydney, Christchurch, Auckland, Queenstown) though the CHC-SYD-JNB flight has me overnighting in Sydney just from the schedule's. The stop's only about 16 hours so I think that just counts as a connection. (Same thing with Toronto, actually, I have an overnight stay there on the way back but an extra stopover left in NA anyway.)

You may have only four stopovers in Oceania (SWP) but you have five segments. Outside of your continent of origin (NA), it is segments that count, not stopovers. I suggest that you drop one of the NZ segments (AKL-CHC or CHC-ZQN) and buy a Qantas ticket locally, either a "Red e" deal between AKL-CHC or a regular economy ticket from CHC-ZQN. If you pick the right flight, it should cost you less than US$50. Much cheaper and easier than trying to add a segment to your OWE ticket. You can buy the ticket online at the Qantas web site.

Otherwise your itinerary looks OK.

You can add 2 segments in North America but your trip ends when returning to origin. Limit is 20 segments and you have 16. You could return LHR-LAX-MIA-somewhere near ATL and then fly MIA-CUN-MIA for Christmas in Cancun, for example. Lots of possibilities, just remember your RTW ends when you reach your city of origin. If you don't need to be in AKL (and it is viable to skip it) you can fly SYD-CHC-ZQN-CHC-SYD to save a segment. Be sure to visit Milford Sound if you have the time (and Arrowtown, about 30 miles from Queenstown and much neater).

Okay, I talked very briefly to the BA RTW desk today to get the scoop on prices. Here's what I'm thinking now for business class OWE4:

ATL-DFW-SFO (AA)
SFO-LAX-SYD (AA with codeshare on QF metal)
SYD-AKL (QF)
AKL-CHC (QF)
CHC-ZQN (QF)
ZQN-SYD-JNB (QF)
JNB-CPT (BA/Comair)
CPT-LHR-GNV (BA)
(overland to Berlin)
TXL-LHR-YYZ-ORD-ATL (Mix of BA and AA and AA codeshare)

I think that works out to a OWE4. I'll do the Platinum challenge on AA and hopefully, how it shakes out, I'll have enough miles for a business class trip to SE Asia next Christmas.

[This message has been edited by ebell (edited 06-08-2003).]

My timetable shows no flight ZQN-SYD, it is ZQN-CHC-SYD (this would force you to pay for an extra sector on the OWE, which is not economical). Perhaps the schedule has changed for your travel dates. Also CPT-LHR in D is sold out for many dates, you might be forced to route JNB-LHR which has much more availability. Once again depends on your dates (and you give no hint of the season). Personally I think your OWE could be improved in lots of ways, but to each their own (you've had lots of suggestions that you have chosen not to incorporate).

Hrm, I'll need to double-check. I'm going in August/September. I see a weekly ZQN-SYD flight on Saturdays, but that's in the itinerary planner.

A lot of the suggestions I incorporated. I got rid of Asia by taking the SYD-JNB flight, and fixed up the flights in NZ. I also figured out stopovers in NA and routed back through YYZ at ExMo's suggestion for the AA miles. The one suggestion I didn't take was to save some segments at the end for an extra trip in the US. I might do that, I'm still deciding.

Really, my trip's motivated by having 5 weeks off and a list of places I want to go. So, I'm not trying to maximize miles, per se, so much as make my flight's convenient. I do thank everyone for all their help, though. This is a great forum!

[This message has been edited by ebell (edited 06-08-2003).]

Just a followup, but I got my ticket set up through British Airways 800 number. It's pretty much set in stone now (unless I change dates later) but I still need to pay to get it actually ticketed.

Here's what it ended up being. I couldn't go to Queenstown like I wanted because it was an unallowed codeshare, and I changed things around to minimize mileage, actually, because I was trying to maximize vacation time. Ended up being about $7500 for a DONE4 after taxes, a touch over.

ATL-ORD
ORD-LAX-AKL
AKL-CHC
CHC-SYD
SYD-JNB
JNB-CPT
CPT-LHR-ZRH
TXL-LHR-ORD-ATL

I'm not at all maximizing miles or stopovers, and probably should've done something more clever in North America, but that's where it stands. I'm looking forward to the vacation, it's about 6 weeks long.