IIRC, airlines stopped paying commissions several years ago. Travel agents now charge professional fees for their services. Around here, $25 for a simple domestic RT ticket is not unusual. More for complex tix.

Canadian TA's can and do charge "like wounded bulls" for xONEx when compared to many other places in the world.

I often muse about cause/effect in relation to the "Canadian Exemption" and these high fees.

I've found that planning an interesting route is made easier with a map in front of me, so here's an updated version of the oneworld Explorer map - something that the airlines themselves haven't published in several years. Click through for a larger version. http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1102/...c3270d6b8b.jpg

RTW
 

I think i understand what you are saying, my problem is i am departing from Brisbane Australia going to Las Vegas then on to London (UK) and back to Brisbane. I am looking for the best Business class pricing any ideas? 8of9

Information from AA RTW Desk Conflicts Online Tool?
 

So I have a question about the interpretation of rule 4(e) exception 1:

I was trying to book a OWE, part of which looked like HKG-JFK-xLAX-SCL-IPC-LIM-xSFO-LHR. The AA RTW desk told me that I could not head to Europe by going back through North America. I thought that this was the reasoning of the above quoted rule? FWIW the OWE booking tool validates this.

Is the desk wrong?

Yes - the desk is wrong
The only way the allowed exception can come into play is if you are transiting Nth Am to/from Sth Am from/to another continent (Europe, Asia or SWP)

Thanks for the quick response! I called back and though at first was given the same line by a different rep:

I quoted the rule and after about 5 minutes of the rep reviewing the rules on her end, she agreed with me and changed my held itinerary to my preferred routing and resent it to the rate desk. ^

This routing gives me an extra 4500+ RDM as well as more time in BA F.

I was quite surprised to get this from the otherwise very knowledgeable AA RTW desk.

I had my AONE5 reservation held by the AA RTW desk a few days ago and am heading up to YVR this weekend to purchase it (thank goodness for the Canadian exception!). When I view the reservation on AA's website, it shows 18 segments because I booked two flights on the trip that have a connection but a single flight number, specifically QF32 from LHR-SYD which is listed twice as LHR-SIN and SIN-SYD and AA 7734 LAX-SCL listed as LAX-LIM and LIM-SCL.

Will I be issued a paper ticket?

Two-sector, single-segment flights (e.g. QF32) show up as two entries on AA's web record but as one segment on the e-ticket, so no, you shouldn't be given a paper ticket.

Couple of quick questions after toying with AA BA and CX codes on LHR-LAX and JFK-HKG flights respectively.

1. Does CX have lower fuel surcharges than AA? Was pricing out the DONE4 and using the AA code instead of BA (on BA metal) on LHR-LAX reduces the surcharges by 100$ or so while using the AA code instead of CX (on CX metal) on JFK-HKG works out to be 100$ or so dearer.

2. I know single flight numbers count as one segment (eg. SYD-SIN-LHR). Does that also apply if the two sections of that flight are flown on different days? (eg. SYD-SIN on one day and the same flight number SIN-LHR on the next day?)

As an aside, finally leaning towards crediting the DONE4 to AAdvantage as opposed to QFF due to AA's great rates on award tickets. An optimized DONE4 (with a Plat Challenge at the start) will net me close to 130k miles which is 1.5 RT Tickets (SYD-BOM) in Business (which is a route I fly fairly often!).

While I'll only make Plat (OWS) on AA as opposed to Plat (OWE) on QF, the redemption award rates win out for me when compared to the Partner Gold (which I could hit with a well optimized itin. + a N.America MR). Lack of lounge access in the US for AA OWS is not an issue.

What is the amount of YQ difference between the 2 carriers flight codes (i.e. using CX.... vs AA...... codeshare; the flight as we know is op by CX of course)

For my trip in September the YQ is $87.15 greater on the AA code, this is in F.

Hi,

I just tried to validate an AONE5 using the AA RTW desk. Despite citing rule 4e per the OWE rule sheet (and the fact that the online booking tool validates it) she told me I could not book a flight from LHR-MIA-EZE-MIA even though the initial trasfer through Miami was not a stopover and only a transit point. She insisted she was correct.

Am I missing something? If I am correct what should I do to try and get this ticketed? If I book online will I pay more taxes?

Many thanks,
PC

The AA RTW desk seems slightly more error-prone than in the past, so the first thing I'd do is phone back and try again.

As to your second question, it's hard to say without knowing your route and start point. If your first flight is LHR-MAD and you're using AA, then the online tool ought to be as cheap as the AA RTW desk would be given the itinerary parameters. If you're using BA on LHR-MIA, then you'll probably pay a lot more due to fuel surcharges levied by BA.

Do the quote online, then look at the taxes subtotal when you get to the "pay me" screen. If the "YQ" (fuel surcharges) figures are way high, then you might want to try AA again.