ideas for sticky - rules etc
 

i included have asked many questions about rtw and the forum seems to full of the same q's
so those who know should put all the info somewhere- here? and then stick it at the top with the title - things to look at before asking

ie-Q> can i go to HNL? A > only if travelling from the US to Australia (and no other way)
-Q> can i go to vietnam or cambodia A> no even though its on the One world schedules

Q> can i go to the mid east twice and be clever for a status run A> no you can't you can only use 2 seg's between LHR and the Mid East



etc etc.


if someone could find the very latest star files and post the link, i would be happy to go through them and pull out the important parts such as the answers and questions to often asked q's

or are usermarks as up to date as poss?

I have been thinking about the sticky thread thing for a while. We have been lucky that out of the goodness of a couple of FTer's hearts, a lot of oneworld info is stored on web pages they personally manage. Getting to these pages is easy IF you find a message that references the relevant link. Clearly it would be good to have one sticky to contain these links at the very least. Looking beyond that, a sticky specifically for the various ow ticket rules and answers to the common questions that come up would benefit a large number of visitors. It could also be useful to have a sticky that summarizes benefits and eligibility criteria for all of the FF programs (way back when ow started a bunch of us put this info together and Fewmiles put it up on his web site).

I have a couple of concerns though. First, I would hate to see too many sticky threads as ultimately this would distract from the day to day flow of the forum. Second, would going in this direction imply the need to appoint a moderator? (For sticky thread management and arbitration on contributions). I will be completely upfront and state that in principle I am firmly against the moderator concept. However, I will conceed that they are sometimes a necessary evil on very active boards and those where controversy can easily erupt. As far as the oneworld forum goes, I think it is a lot more easy going, friendly and in many ways more helpful than some of the other FT fora. Over the past 5 years (has it really been that long?!?!? :)) it has flourished quite well without moderation. So, I'd prefer it if this forum remained moderator free.

Edited to add: I replied to ajinlondon's original post thinking more about the broader implications by what he proposed and neglected to to offer my support and help to him if this get's pushed forward - 'cause basically it's worth doing.

Sticky...my vote is a big YES
 

Excellent idea... ^

I am considering a RTW in 2005 and although I have read many messages on this board...and looked at many of the useful references...there are still a lot of questions lurking in the back of my mind which I am sure such a post could address.

Better here in one place than asking questions spread across a number of threads...the titles of which may...or may not...entice those with the knowledge to read and respond to.

YES (please)!
 

As a complete ***newbie*** I am uncomfortable asking the most basic dumb questions. So I search and try to learn and hope for the best. My new employer is not against my using a RTW to go to a couple of clients and conference in Q1 2005.

A sticky would help me, and others, in a really big way!

Huge fan of a resources/links to threads/common answers/advice to newbies type sticky. And while I agree with mgm on not really needing a moderator for this forum, perhaps a cabal of the more knowledgeable and frequent posters here could co-operate (offline?) to agree on the content of the sticky, and we could get it stuck and locked. I like the idea of comprehensive stickies, but no-one needs to read 410,976 "great post" posts that almost inevitably follow. As for updating/correcting, that IMV is what the edit function is for - when OW changes the rules or a new flight is introduced that makes old information incorrect, you can PM the poster and he/she can update the locked sticky. Maybe that is heading down the moderator route, but I for one would prefer not having to trawl through 8 pages of drivel just to check which are the current affiliate airlines for the Global Explorer ticket.

There's something to be said about 'sticky rules'. Airline reps don't like passengers to wave sets of rules in front of them especially since they DO have access to the same set of rules in their CRS. It all depends on how each person interprets the rules. One airline can interpret differently from another and it all depends on who is issuing or reissuing your ticket.

Although each airline has their own sets of rules on any RTW. They are not worded the same.. thus, what you have ie AA's set of rules might be worded slightly different from CX's. You would then have to see what CX's set of rules is.. and interpret from THAT set of rules.

I don't think that's what's being discussed-- it's more of a FAQ type thread that would address the most commonly asked questions from new folk-- not what you're referring to (although a link to generic rules/fares would obviously be a part of it.) At least that's my interpretation of what's being proposed.

And it would be good to have the different interpretations or potential areas of discrepency identified so we all know when we need to be careful and ask the airlines directly for the interpretation.

I suggested something similar with respect specifically to links to fare tables and star files, but got a response that this board didn't want that sort of sticky as we don't want too many people finding out too much about RTWs and fares ex different countries as that may jeapordise the continuing existence of these fares..... :confused:

What about a 'plain English' translation of each set of rules? It would deal with a fair few questions that crop up on this board.

regarding posting the prices etc.. it wasn;t my intention to put these into a sticky, that sort of information should be for the ft community and for those part of it they know where to look / ask, not really for lurkers..
it was just for the - very freq Q's - like above -
why can't i go to hawaii - but i'm allowed - no you;re not- yes i am, i read the rules like this -
type of discussions

i will start this anyway-
Q) what airlines can i fly with a ONE ticket
A) Any current oneworld partner airline, Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Lan, Qantas you may also fly affiliate airlines,
• American ConnectionSM *
• American Eagle® **

• British Mediterranean §+
• BA CitiExpress §
• Comair §+
• GB Airways §+
• Loganair §+
• Sun-Air §+
• Zambian Airways §+
• Regional Air §+

• Lan Express
• LanPeru

•QantasLink ‡
• Jetconnect

Aer Lingus, Cathay Pacific Airways and Finnair do not have any affiliates.

* AmericanConnection service is operated by one of the following independent carriers: Trans State Airlines Inc., Chantauqua Airlines Inc., and Corporate Airlines Inc..
** American Eagle service includes flights operated by Executive Air, TWA, and American Connection.
§ Independently operated franchise carriers using the British Airways name, livery and flight code and offering British Airways products and services.
† LAN flights operated by LanEcuador and LanDominicana are not included.
‡ QantasLink includes flights operated by National Jet Systems, Eastern Australia, Southern Australia, and Sunstate Airlines.

the ticket must fly on one of the above airlines, codeshares with other partner/ affiliate airlines are not permitted on this ticket
Any destinations in Vietnam and Cambodia are not allowed on a ONE ticket (Government Restrictions)

If a ticket includes travel to / from / via Cuba it may not also include flight segments for travel on American Airlines / American Eagle / American Connection due to US Government restrictions


if people can start posting Q) and A)'s to often asked stuff then when we think there is enough create a new thread then maybe ask a mod to stick it..
or at the very least we will be able to link newbies to the new thread

Q) what restrictions do i have per area/ continent
A) Europe - Not more than two Europe/Middle East flights may be used for journeys between the U.K. and the following: Algeria; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bulgaria; Cyprus; Georgia; Greece; Israel; Malta; Morocco; Funchal, Portugal; Romania; Russia; Tunisia; Ukraine; Yugoslavia; and the Middle East.

Americas - Within North America, only one transcontinental flight is allowed between selected cities on the East and West Coasts.
only 1 segment is permitted between the US and HNL - (thus you must go to/from Australia)

Australia/ Pacific - Within Australia only one flight is permitted between Perth and Brisbane, Cairns or Sydney or between Darwin and Melbourne or Sydney (this restriction does not apply for passengers traveling to/from Africa on the Sydney-Perth direct flights).

Asia- No tickets to Vietnam or Cambodia permitted

South America -?

Africa - ?

Q) if i buy a first class rtw and there is no F class on my flight what happens?
A) you will travel in the next avail class J or Y and you will only receive Frequent Flyer points for the class you fly

maybe for the above Q we can put together what routes actually have a proper F class service.?

Q) how are the ONE zones defined
A) http://www.tarom.net/ba/explorer.pdf if you look here you will see a map, that will give you a brief outline of what each zone is defined by.

Q) how many flights am i allowed on a ONE ticket
A) up to a max of 20
you are permitted 4 Segments (segment is a flight with 1 continuous flight number) per continent/Zone - you are allowed 6 in the US - you are only allowed 2 stops in the continent/zone of origin (but you may still use the 4/6 segments)
trans pac/ atl flights do not count towrds your zone allowance

Q) can i end my itininary in a differnet city than i purchased it in,
A) yes you can for example start in CAI and end in DXB
4. ORIGIN-DESTINATION SURFACE PERMITTED:
112N . -WITHIN COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.-BETWEEN U.S.A-CANADA
113N . -WITHIN AFRICA
114N . -WITHIN THE MIDDLE EAST
115N . -BETWEEN HKG-CHINA
116N . -BETWEEN BANGLADESH-BKK/SIN
117N . -WITHIN SOUTH AMERICA
118N . -BETWEEN MAYLAYSIA-SIN

Q) What constitutes a segment for the purposes of the fare rules?
A) A segment is a flight with a single flight number between two cities - whether or not it stops between origin and destination, and whether or not there is a change of a/c along the way

E.g. SYD-JFK is one segment (and does not count towards one transcon in NA) even though it stops in LAX

BUT

NRT-BKK is two segments - CX NRT-HKG and CX HKG-BKK as no single flight number on OW airline can get you between NRT and BKK