Wanderer

Help! I'm down to the "wire" again and trying to set up a RTW so desperately need your help.

We're using the RTW to do a little traveling before and after a trip to the US - and to get segments in the US for "free". I'll be in school in the US near IND during the majority of the US time. Parameters are we want to go to HKG and to HNL, in D class minimum. We have a window of time from departing BAH on 5 July till 10 July for travel and then at end of trip from 14-17 Aug. Though we live Saudi, can depart BAH or cheaper alternate locations. On its face anyway, BAH is too expensive to use for RTW. Adding in the costs of getting to the other airports may drive the costs up to being the same thing, however.

My problems: I want to originate the RTW external to Saudi or BAH due to cost, and I have limited travel time available due to personal commitments in the US. I know the issues re HNL and will have to add on segments (maybe) or do it via GLOBxx instead of DOWEx. I don't think we have time in our travel schedule for the QF flight HNL-SYD to come back through Asia that way. I also want to be able to buy extra segments HNL-DFW-HNL (in D as part of the RTW) for a trip I have to take during the middle of this.

I’m currently looking at CAI, because it is the closest and the cheapest to get to. But it offers very limited options: CAI (so far as I can tell) only flies OW to LHR. If that's true, and I originate the RTW ex-CAI, wouldn't it be logical then that I could fly CAI-LHR-HKG on the outbound flight, and something like LAX-LHR-CAI on the inbound flight?

My ideas so far:
CAI-LHR-HKG-LAX-HNL-LAX-JFK-MAD-LHR-CAI
Great Circle Mapper shows this as 29599 mi.

My questions are:
- is the ex-CAI to LHR then Asia, and US to LHR-CAI routing permissible during such a trip.
- is such a trip ok under the GLOBxx as I've never done one of those and how much would an idea of what this might cost (USD)
- are there are other alternatives (ex-CAI)

Thanks in advance!

number_6

Hope your schoolwork is more accurate than your RTW research ... you say you know the rules regarding HNL and then say that you want to buy 2 extra segments DFW-HNL-DFW as part of the RTW ... isn't a rule that says only 1 segment to/from HNL is allowed sufficiently clear????? If you don't know the rules, say so, but don't change the rule to what suits you and then say that you urgently need help (to find a gullible travel agent who will break the rules and then get a huge chargeback from the airline).

Wanderer

It sounds as if you are angry with me and I don't even know you. Hope your day gets better than it must have been when you wrote the reply to my posting.

I was under the impression that I'd receive helpful (and even perhaps friendly) advice here. That's been the case in the past. I know there are lots of people here with a great deal more knowledge than I have. I will continue to believe that is true.

I may have been unclear, but didn't think I was. Nothing in my post nor what I intended to say suggested (as far as I can tell) that I intended to change rules to suit myself or trick anyone. I meant that I am aware of the fact you can't get from Asia to Honolulu unless you come from Australia because the only flight(s) that go there are NRT-HNL flights which bear AA flight numbers but are JAL metal. And they aren't allowed. For the rest of the rules, I asked for advice. If it wasn't clear, maybe now it is.

I was trying to lay out all of my concerns so I could get advice. So, I thank you for your comments about the DFW-HNL-DFW part of my posting.

alect

Whoa number_6 - take it easy on the poor guy. Did we get out of bed on the wrong side this morning . Yes he has made mistakes, but that's why he is asking here - experts like you. The rules are not as simple for newbies as they appear to experts.

So..... wanderer. as number_6 points out your itin (LAX-HNL-LAX) is not possible as a xONEx due to the rule against backtracking between mainland US and HI. But on my reading of the xGLOBx rules, there is no similar restriction - so may be possible.

xGLOBx are approximately in the same ballpark as xONExs - see http://www.hardlink.com/~markdu/OWFi...orerFares.html for details (not sure whether this was updated at the same time as the recent update to xONEx fares).

And yes you can do CAI-LHR-HKG.....LHR-CAI. I think you can even substitute the last segment and end in BAH (ie ....LHR-BAH) - but stand to be corrected.

Good luck

Darren

yes, that is correct. he can end it anywhere in the middle east if he starts from cairo.

And the global explorer (34k) are the same prices as the four continent oneworld explorers. You only have three continents so the oneworld explorer would actually be cheaper without sacrificing much given the routing you have proposed. I would personally either drop Hawaii or just buy a seperate ticket there. Unfortunately, You can't visit Hawaii without also going through/visiting Sydney becasue 1) you can't back track to the US (which is what you have done) and 2) becasue you can't do an open jaw across the pacific ocean by buying a ticket from somewhere. If you go to Sydney then obviously you blow your mileage limit on the global explorer so that's out. Then youre left with having to buy a 4-continent ticket. Given the circumstances, it makes more sense to me to either just buy a ticket from Los Angeles, which routinely run $300-500 in coach, or to use miles to get an award ticket. The last option is just to drop it. If you want to go to a nice island then go to one of the Thai islands, Bali, one of the Malay islands, or a whole host of others. Canaries are another option as well as all the other Spanish and portuguese islands. For that matter, youre close enough to Zanzibar to probably make the trip for a reasonable price though obviously not on this ticket.

Wanderer

alect and Darren,

Thank you very much. I'd appreciate it if either of you would be good enough (to further my "education") to point me to a current copy of the xOWEx and xGLOBx rules.

I don't have a copy of them here nor do I know where they are. My knowledge of this process comes from doing 3 OWE RTWs in the past. But that doesn't make me anything more than confused, etc. about what can be done.

Appreciate comments about Hawaii - but can't drop it. Family there and must go. I'm learning though, and thx.

Thanks again.

christep

As posted here at least once every week...

http://www.hardlink.com/~markdu/OWFiles/

for the current rules.

Wanderer

Thanks very much!!

I noticed that OW Visit North America isn't there.

Since this includes the ability for non-US residents (since I live in Saudi I presume that would include me) to travel to various locations in US - I bet that I could tack on that HNL-DFW-HNL leg using a Visit North America addition to the ticket. According to what I see on the OW link above, this might work.

...assuming that I legitimately get to (via the RTW) or a separate ticket, HNL.

Or am I missing something?

benoit

You have the same problem with Global Explorer tickets -- they let you use Air Pacific, so you could go Honolulu to Fiji, but then the Fiji-Tokyo flight is unusable since it is codeshare operated by Japan Airlines.

Also note it is forbidden to go between any continent areas as a "surface sector", so you cannot just fly to HNL one way on your RTW and then buy seperately a one way from HNL to asia.

AA is likely to do HNL-NRT eventually but not in time for your flights. There's a new Qantas HNL-MEL flight I think, but not very helpful either. I guess you have to use miles from the mainland USA to Honolulu, or perhaps buy a coach ticket from California. You said coach was unacceptable though, so perhaps a YUP fare is what you need. YUP fares let you fly business class for a cheaper price.

Or maybe the best solution is to just pay for another continent on your OWE and do australia. I've done HNL-SYD on both of my OWE tickets. Maybe your concern is limited time. I don't think mainlandUSA-HNL-mainlandUSA-ASIA is that much more time efficient than mainlandUSA-HNL-SYD-ASIA. Also you could fly Australia-HKG on Cathay in business class, that would be really nice.

Wanderer

Benoit,
I think you're right about the time issue. And of course I'm trying to avoid the extra $ for the flights by doing the RTW. Thx.

benoit

sorry I edited my comments above to expand on the idea of just buying another continent on your RTW to include australia, so reread above.

number_6

The main HNL rule restriction has nothing to do with AA codeshares on JL or getting to Asia, it is that only one flight to/from HNL is allowed. So you cannot do a roundtrip US-HNL or even an open-jaw (surface segment back to the mainland). AA has gone to a lot of trouble to prevent using RTW tickets for travel to HNL. Hence my reaction to your comment that you knew the rules, and then asking not for just one roundtrip but a 2nd roundtrip to HNL -- when the rules prohibit the first one! There is no way around this, and it has been discussed extensively in the past. AA is rumored to be starting HNL-NRT service (on AA metal) in December, so if your trip is late enough you may be able to use that. AA has started LAX-NRT service which gives this rumor greater credibility (it has been rumored for decades and hasn't happened). FWIW AA does have route authority HNL-NRT and could operate it on a day's notice.

Wanderer

Gotcha. Thanks.