There are nuances to reducing carrier charges, that why an experienced TA can be well worth their fees

For example, having the last segment of an xONEx marketed and operated by a particular carrier may remove much of the YQ/YR charged by a different carrier on other segments of an itinerary.

sounds tricky.. ;)

Another vote for NufNuf who has just rejigged my RTW ticket. The DONE4 is now rerouted OSL-LHR-HND-SIN-NRT-MEL-CHC//NAN-LAX-BOS-ORD-LAX-LIR-LAX-LHR-DOH-OSL.

With codeshare booking, this should earn 20,038 with TPs to BA. I've got a couple of other bookings prior to and during this ticket that will add another 660 TPs so well in the bracket for BAC Gold at the end of this trip.

He worked hard not only on the routing but for sensible transfer times at airports (minimise chance of lost bags whilst avoiding 8+ hours at LAX etc). The bold indicates stopovers with a minimum of 3 days. Since I live in the UK, the DOH trip is actually 3 months after we get back from the main RTW journey so it's almost like a free bit of late autumn warmth.

I've already been warned about JL setting cabin temps at 26C/80F so travelling in shorts/t shirt on those sectors!

Wait what? AMEX travel? They will book a RTW for you?

Quick question for the experts - is a surface sector permitted as the first and/or last segments of an Explorer fare so long as it is either a. within the country of origin b. within the Middle East c. between the United States and Canada d. between HKG and China e. between Malaysia and SIN f. within Africa or g. between Maldives and Sri Lanka/India?

Even though the rules use that terminology, it is not in practice a "Surface Sector" that counts as part of the 16 allowed .

The booking merely starts and ends in different locations in compliance with the fare's rules i.e. 4(c).

I have seen 16 segments booked from XXX-()-YYY with YYY-XXX not part of the routing.

Reduce YQ/YR on RTW
 

Hey serfty, I am about to complete my 1st DONE4 next month. Last three legs are HKG-JNB-DOH-OSL. Prepping for #2 RTW and was hoping you can cite a couple of examples for final segment that could lessen the YQ YR on some/all legs of a RTW. Or conversely, what carrier to avoid for final leg. Cheers

maybe consider paying a travel agent, as suggested?

Having used a TA to book my DONE3, and having been told that they didn't know exactly why I had more than £1,500 in YQ etc., I wouldn't assume that all TAs are built the same. So any answers to this question would be really helpful, including for those of us who already pay TAs, and could perhaps better guide them on future bookings.

Hi
I am planning a RTW ticket and not sure if the following is a bug in the system or in my understanding. The following prices without issue
OSL-HEL-DFW-EZE-JFK-HND-SIN-HKG-AKL-NAN-MEL-BKK-LGW - (surface) -LHR-LCA-LHR-OSL = 16 segments (bold = stopover)
However attempting to swap the BKK-LGW + surface = 2 segments to BKK-HEL-LHR = 2 segments brings up the
"Your itinerary exceeds the 34,000 mile limit on a Business or First class booking. To finalise your itinerary, please reduce the length of your trip." error
From what I can see both options should be equivalent from a segment point of view and the routing via HEL is not adding any stopover.
Can anyone see an issue or is this a bug?

Edit:
Interestingly I just tried some other BKK-LHR options and swapping to BKK-KUL-LHR will price as will BKK-HKG-LHR and BKK-CMB-LHR but via DOH, MCT or HEL error

If I understand correctly your revised routing would have OSL-HEL as your first flight and HEL-LHR-LCA-LHR-OSL as your final flights. The error will be due to having five European flight sectors when you are only permitted four.

Edited to add: Transferring in KUL/HKG/CMB between BKK and LHR removes the fifth European sector hence why it prices up.

The 34,000 mile limit is for the Global Explorer. But can show on screen as a false error message when booking the continent based no mile limit Oneworld explorer. Software would be better if just stated "error".

That becomes OSL-HEL-DFW-EZE-JFK-HND-SIN-HKG-AKL-NAN-MEL-BKK-HEL-LHR-LCA-LHR-OSL
That has 5 segments in EU/ME. Only allowed 4. Surface segments count in the 16 total, but not in the continent count.
Only allowed 2 stopover in continent of origin: EU/ME.

As Franky The Anorak has pointed out, your proposed itinerary has too many flight segments in Europe for it to be a valid Oneworld Explorer.
Oneworld Explorers are limited to four flight segments per continent (six for North America).

On the other hand, Global Explorers do not have limits on flight segments per continent - instead they have limits on stopovers per continent (maximum of four per continent except for the continent of origin (where only two are allowed)).
Because you have five flight segments but only two stopovers in the continent, the tool tried to make it a Global Explorer but then ran up against the 34,000 mile limit on business class Global Explorers.
For once the tool was correct!

ETA
FYI this old thread points out the main differences between the two RTW products.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onew...rld-explo.html

Thanks all,
not realising that the surface segment is not assigned to a continent meant I did a simple 2 segment vs 2 segment comparison and didn't think to check segments per continent.
I have also found out that my understanding of revenue vs mileage for AY flights when ticketed by another carrier seems to be wrong so will be needing to rethink my use of AY. A shame as I do like them.

As a follow on to my previous post yesterday, I have been looking for AA codeshares in Asia. I can find some e.g. AA 8486 from BKK to HND operated by JAL. Can these codeshares be used if they are not immediately followed/preceded by a trans-pacific flight. I'm not sure if they are available independantly or if the agreement between AA and JAL is to allow more destinations to/from US and hence carry additional constraints on usage.
So far I've found AA codeshares with JAL/Cathay for BKK, SIN, CGK, ICN, SGN and DPS but nothing in Australia or NZ