Process to Change AONE3 in US
 

I am in the US in the middle of an AONE3 which ends in Europe. I have used two of my 6 NA segments (LAX-JFL on QF, and JFK-BOS on AA). My remaining legs are currently ticketed "open" on AA: (i) BOS-SJU, (ii) SJU-SXM, (iii) SXM-SJU, and (iv) SJU-BOS.

I want to replace those four segments with:

BOS-DFW-BOS and BOS-MIA-BOS

How do I physically do this? Do I take this to the airport and wait a bunch of hours and pay $100?

The ticket was issued by a travel agent on CX stock. It is a paper ticket (computer written).

Unless you are near a city ticket office for one of the ow carriers (doubtful) then the airport is pretty much the only way to do it. If you don't want to wait for hours call the AA RTW desk first to set up the changes (1-800-247-3247). That way all the agent has to do at the airport is check the original ticket, print off the new one and collect the money (which should still be $75 - not $100).

I would go to the airport...just wondering how long the reticketing would take, as I would likely do it day of departure.

Seems I've heard about some horrow stories where people have waited for hours...

Definitely go to the airport. But to make it easier change your reservation to the new desired routing before going to the airport. And bring your PNR with you.

I have had QF ticket desk at LAX do this for me in 30-45 mins (although they clearly didn't know what they were doing). Alas you won't be in LAX. NOt sure about ticket offices at other airports - apparently you should avoid BA as they charge an extra fee over the $75 as per the fare rules.

Yep, and I've experienced my fair share of them (QF at LAX being the worst). I strongly advise getting the new routing and reservation sorted out before heading to the airport.

I've had it take 6 hours at LGA once. What a nightmare.

Are you in Boston now? If so, your best/only choice will be American. They will need to input the entire ticket into the system, which will be complicated. If you are in NYC or can get to NYC, I would strongly reccomend taking this to the CX office on 5th Avenue and have them handle it.

I am in Boston and will be leaving from Boston and won't be in NYC. I will have to go to AA. There aren't many segments left: 4 US, one trans-Atlantic, and 3 intra-Europe. Do they have to re-input the original segments?

Do they still charge $75 on a European originated ticket/fare?

Pretty sure they do, so they can do the complete tarriff computation.

$75 charge applies regardless of origin.

As soon as you can, call the AA RTW desk and provide them with your new flight details. Advise them that you will need to have the ticket re-issued at BOS and confirm that a "PQRS" exists in the record. This will allow the ticket agent at BOS to re-issue your ticket with the least amount of hassle.

I just went through a rather lengthy process with AA trying to re-issue a DONE4 and the ticket agent repeatedly said, "I don't see a PQRS". Finally, after intervention by both the AA RTW desk and the Tariff Dept., the ticket agent was able to complete the re-issue after the "PQRS" was inserted into the record.

I haven't a clue as to what the heck is a "PQRS".

Ticket agents cannot handle international bookings so they will rebook whatever you have, and then queue the message to their international ticketing desk for pricing. PQRS is the code for the ticketing mask. The ticketing agents will create this mask, which the ticket agent just prints off of.

If you're in Boston, try and see if there is a BA representative in your area, and go there to get your ticket reissued.

AA ticket offices
 

For some reason, AA still has city ticket offices in Brazil. There is even one directly across the street from my front door in the Copacabana Palace Hotel and another in a commercial building in Ipanema I often go to for diverse reasons. There may be other offices as well, but I never had to research the issue.

Here's the downside: no 800 number for reservations. You have to use a 300 number, charged just slightly less than full long distance rates. But, you can always use the US 800 number over an internet phone service.

I recently had this done as well. BY ALL MEANS call the AA RTW desk before you go to the airport. Also, if you have more than 16 segments to reissue the airport CANNOT do this. But I gather that on a ONE3 this will be no problem

Actually, AA has CTOs in most of their international locations, and many of them are staffed with outstanding folk. Since AA took the bizarre and wrong-headed step of closing virtually all their domestic CTOs (even those in hub cities like DFW and ORD!), I have tried to have int'l ticket reissues done at these offshore CTOs, since taking them to the airpot for reissue frequently causes the ticket agents to freak-out. At smaller airports, I have inadvertantly been responsible for people missing flights as the lone agent spent 1+ hours trying to figure out how to reissue my ticket.

Good tip on the "PQRS" stuff. I didn't know this, and even after having the RTW desk set up my reissue, it took multiple attempts and multiple hours at different locations to get the ticket issued (sometimes, I would take mercy on the baffled agents and just take my problem to someone else at a different airport).

So what happens when you arrive at the airport needing a ticket reissue and the AA rtw desk is closed? I believe ANC, for example, doesn't ever cross paths with the desk, since all their traffic is very late evening.

We ended up there needing a change from ANC-DFW-LAX to ANC-ORD-LAX. I'd talked to the rtw desk the day before and set it up, but apparently they couldn't simply put a note in the record saying "rtw desk sez it's okay to issue tix, just remember to get $75 for the chore".

[BTW, while there are one or more really great agents on the AA rtw desk, there are also some that make me wish they'd outsource to India. At least then I'd always be able to talk to someone who was polite and listened to what the passenger was saying. Flame off.]

So the check-in agent at ANC has no idea what she's supposed to do. I explained, and showed her an MCO from a previous change, but she elected to resolve the matter in a way that was very, very friendly. But I think an agent with a different attitude could have firmly said "if you want on my plane, you're gonna have to buy a ticket I can understand" and no amount of whimpering would have made it happen the way we know it should.

BTW, my next segment is LAX-LHR on AA, but the coupon (on BA stock) presently has a BA flight number. By show of hands, how many think I should have that ticket reissued before showing up at the AA check-in counter?

The reissue shouldn't be necessary. I've done similar between BA and CX on HKG-LHR. Your ticket should already be endorsed Valid on OW Carriers" (or list them explicitly).

My experience of AA in the US is that they are reasonably happy to accept coupons for slightly different routings in the event of last minute routing changes, particularly if AA delays (or over-booking) have contributed to them being necessary.