Originally Posted by aaupgrade (Post 36553326)

Call the AA RTW desk and book with them. Their 800 number, free when calling using Skype, is +1.800.247.3247. Date and time changes are free after flying first international flight segment per ONE rules, although QF has made up their own rules and anecdotal evidence suggests they are charging for any and all changes, and it appears they are difficult to work with. I would avoid booking with QF at all costs. AA will want to book you on AA TPAC and TATL marketed flights; whether it's their own metal or their codeshare flights on QF, BA, AY, IB, QR, CX, JL, MH, etc. I have found in the past when booking AONEn that they will make exceptions when, for example, CX has A3 and the AA codeshare of the same flight has A0, they will then book me on the CX flight number.

You did not indicate what class of service you were booking, but I assume you are looking at an economy LONE4 since the Australia and Japan prices are very close to similar, 3614 AUD and 3397 AUD respectively. If you are considering business or first class then you should really consider booking your DONE4 or AONE4 ex-Japan and take a positioning flight from Australia to HND to start your xONE4 as it is almost half the price ex-Japan. DONE4 or AONE4 ex-Australia are 14,986 AUD and 20,862 AUD respectively; whereas DONE4 or AONE4 ex-Japan are 7,913 AUD and 11,991 AUD respectively.

Making your booking much later may result in inventory not being available for some of your desired flights. I am doing planning right now for an Oct 2025 AONE4 which will end in October 2026. I have determined that I need by book by mid-February at the latest with dummy bookings for my 2026 summer and fall flights. Then once I take my first flight in October 2025, in November 2025 I'll book the remaining summer and fall 2026 flights. Keep in mind when booking with AA you can only book 330 days out; whereas with most airlines outside the US you can book at around 360 days out. I also suggest getting a subscription to EF (Expert Flyer) as it will be invaluable for doing research and checking on L, D, and/or A class availability.

Originally Posted by aaupgrade (Post 36553326)

AA will want to book you on AA TPAC and TATL marketed flights . . . .

Originally Posted by izzik (Post 36554538)

Very minor detail but AA RTW desk will want to book you on AA TPAC OR AA TATL marketed flights. You don't need to do both.

Originally Posted by Dr. HFH (Post 36554914)

CX JFK/BOS-HKG is considered TPAC even though it nearly always flies eastbound (due to the jetstream).

Originally Posted by izzik (Post 36554538)

Very minor detail but AA RTW desk will want to book you on AA TPAC OR AA TATL marketed flights. You don't need to do both.

Originally Posted by Dr. HFH (Post 36554914)

AA doesn't "want" (prefer) this, it requires that either TATL or TPAC be on an AA marketed flight if you book through the AA RTW desk. While I recall that one FTer once claimed that s/he was able to book there without an AA marketed trans-oceanic flight, the agents have always been clear with me that it is a requirement. Note also that this does not depend on the routing actually flown. For example, CX JFK/BOS-HKG is considered TPAC even though it nearly always flies eastbound (due to the jetstream).

Originally Posted by dvs7310 (Post 36557651)

Pretty sure they also allow South America for the inter-continental segment (perhaps not Colombia / Ecuador / Peru where they don't sell Flagship service), which is significant since if you're going North America to South America, Brazil is the only country that has codeshares on AA metal, but Argentina and Chile are AA coded only. So for AAdvantage members wanting South America on a xONE4, 5, or 6 anyway, they probably have to have AA codes there regardless, so why waste them on the TPAC and TATL?

Originally Posted by Wheres_Waldo_23 (Post 36182676)

I may be crazy, but I'm still not seeing it - between the first post and the top navigation bar, I don't see the Wiki (where it typically appears on other forums - see screenshot below). Anyone else having this issue / is it limited to folks with a certain # of posts/time on FlyerTalk?

Originally Posted by kayzng (Post 36562502)

Quick question, does anyone know what would be the fare class if book under LONE3?

Originally Posted by pandaperth (Post 36541083)

Yes, this is a valid Global Explorer (it is however an invalid Oneworld Explorer)
You have five flight segments in Europe/Middle East which the Oneworld Explorer does not allow (the max allowed is four)
The Global Explorer limits the number of stopovers per continent (max of four, except for the continent of origin where the max is two), and does not limit the number of flight segments per continent.

Originally Posted by Ropedancer (Post 36563812)

I managed to get onto the AA RTW Desk easily and had very helpful agents. . . . They knew exactly what I needed and were helpful in optimizing segments.

Originally Posted by Dr. HFH (Post 36564259)

And this is why so many of us use them for these tickets.