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Did the AA RTW agent say why you couldn't use AT to fly CMN-YUL? That's obviously the only OneWorld non-stop/direct flight. Is it because they don't like YUL-MIA-GUA being the only AA segments?

You could certainly put the itinerary on hold using the tool, if you can, and then call AA to see if they can take it over. If they won't (due to not having AA over an ocean), you could try contacting UL to see if they will change the segment to surface and then issue.

She said AT wasn't being used for RTW tickets of which she had booked the previous segment on them. The tool isn't allowing any CAI opportunity (surface or flight MAD-CMN-CAI) with the error message of no travel to the Middle East from Europe allowed.

We didn't get to the DFW-HKG segment which I was going to use AA but no mention by her with a transoceanic requirement. I'll call back tomorrow.

So, what's the best way to book an Ex-OSL DONE4/5 right now ? Does it need a travel agent ? Or could i set up the itinerary in the Oneworld booking tool and book it via BA ?

First flights would be OSL-DOH-MCT. So maybe better to book via QR, given QR will be the first flight in the itinerary ?

I haven't done one for a while, but it used to be that almost no travel agents were capable of doing anything useful re any xONEx bookings, and we just used them to get around point-of-sale pricing rules. It also used to be true that only a few airlines had dedicated RTW agents with enough experience and knowledge to correctly interpret the rules in making a booking. AA was the best, and even they melted down as AA morphed into USdbaAA. Afaik, the good folk here at FT are your best resource.

I agree that it would be best to use AA by phone.

Last time I checked, the online xONEx booking tool will not allow an itinerary that begins with a QR flight.

Doesn't that just mean the booking tool is flawed - surely there is no such rule - and the would-be traveler needs to understand the rules, plan a valid trip, and give it to an airline to book and ticket?

IMO and FWIW I did 12 annual xONEx trips with my family, poked at the tool once or twice, but always found it to be crappy corporate software and thus a bad crutch, and depended on reading the rules and the FT OneWorld forum to plan a trip.

Unfortunately the AA ATW Desk seemed to have become worse than mediocre a couple of years after the Age of Sara. I see it still gets recommended here - is that someone's ancient memory, or have they built some new talent in a dedicated agent pool?

I booked my last xONEx with the AA correspondent in Capetown and except for the awkward time difference they were brilliant - when the Rate Desk (in Dublin?) wanted days to price it, the simply did it themselves in half an hour and called me back with the price. (It was a moment when ex-JNB was a bargain and rumors of a price increase were flying, so I was anxious to get it done.)

AA RTW desk is still the best option. Regardless of the issues with the online booking tool, since its introduction it has never been able to issue a ticket with QR as the first carrier. Booking with Mindpearl in SA hasn't been an option for several years now.

It's personal preference. If you use a travel agent, you will have much greater flexibility, e.g., being able to choose which carrier to ticket on, and being able to book many flights as codeshares, but you will have to pay the agent's fee. As an example, I've used my corporate TA for personal RTWs because he can book domestic AA flights as codeshares so I earn in AAdvantage using the distance method rather than the fare method. Other people I know have had a TA ticket an RTW on UL because the fuel surcharges were much less than way.

AA is a convenient option for many of us in the U.S., since we can just call them and do things. A number of people in the OW forum use BA, which has dedicated RTW teams, but I think they are reachable via email, not phone, but I'm told any of their phone agents can book RTWs.

Correct, it is a flaw in the online booking tool.

Some of the long-time RTW agents are still there, and you might be lucky and get one. And every now and then, someone gets very lucky when trying to do something prohibited, by getting an agent who doesn't understand the rules, and performs the request (where an experienced RTW agent would refuse to even try).

Interesting. So if you use a Travel Agent, is it possible to choose which carrier to ticket on regardless of who the first flight is with ? I booked a DONE4 starting in CMB in February on which the first flight is UL and ticketed via UL because I thought you had to ticket via whoever your first flight was on. I would have far preferred to ticket on BA because then I could manage it via the BA Executive club website. Also, dealing with UL is extremely painful. BA is tortuous enough, even as a executive club gold member, but I imagine making changes via a TA would be a lot simpler.

I guess one way around the bug in the online tool would be to set up the itinerary using somewhere close to OSL - Helskinki or Stockholm for example - and then just ask the agent to modify the first flight when you call up to make the booking.

Yes, although some TAs are reluctant to ticket on a carrier other than that of the first flight. Any TA that is authorized to issue tickets on a OneWorld carrier than issue a RTW ticket on that carrier. For subsequent changes, you'd normally go through the original TA, although the ticketing carrier may be willing to make changes for you, and sometimes (less so these days) a subsequent carrier is willing to take over the ticket and make changes.

You could have had that issued by BA, either through a TA or by contacting BA. Normally, if you contact an airline to ticket through them, they will want to have at least one inter-continental flight marketed by them.

That's a trick people have used before. Use the online tool to set up an RTW where the first flight is marketed by the carrier of your choice (but not QR since that doesn't work with the tool), by either picking a codeshare on that carrier, or a different starting point (doesn't have to be anywhere close, can be anywhere), then contacting the carrier with the PNR, have them change the first flight and re-price.

To clarify, at least in Sabre, when an RTW is autopriced, the validating carrier (ticketing stock) defaults to the first airline that takes you across Traffic Conference areas (TCs), i. e., the first flight between the Americas, EMEA, and Asia/Oceania. This is not necessarily the first segment of an RTW. The agent can enter an extra commend to force a different validating carrier to be used, and as long as the carrier is present in the itinerary (even if just a domestic flight or a code-share flight), it can be validated and subsequently ticketed. The issue is whether the ticketing carrier will be unhappy with the agency and whether the agency would risk that.

Searched this thread without results.

I have a 7 hour schedule change with same routing on a yet started DONE4. Will this qualify for a full refund? AA RTW desk issue.

Thanks

From the wiki: The information in this wiki is out of date - please see the information in the wiki in this new thread ---> The Oneworld Explorer User GuideW

Cancellation will depend on the policy of the airline that issued the ticket. Not OW.