I see you have OSL in your itinerary - I wonder if there is a reason for this;)
(FWIW it looks like I will be re-routing my current DONE5 to also have DOH-OSL-DOH in it:D)

Ha. If you're referring to the super sale run by AA/BA/IB/AY a couple of days ago, then sadly not. I'm in the very, very, very early stages of putting together my next round the world. I don't even have a start date (or month) yet. I chose OSL as I haven't been there and someone upthread (or maybe another) pointed out that DOH-OSL is a fairly long flight on the Qatar 787. Similarly I was also looking at DOH-CMN-DOH as well. But I'm just not sure I want to 'waste' two sectors by going to and from. I'm used to, for example, SSH-AMM-MAD-HEL-LHR and out.

This trip I'm going to want to maximise Qatar J (I'm giving serious consideration to DOH-LAX) and getting on at least two AA 773s so I can hopefully put my eVIPs to good use. I'd also like to try LAN (or is it LATAM) 787s. I see a number of the South American internal flights only have coach, too.

Anyway, as I say, very formulative stage. Hopefully I can make something of it. This'll be my sixth round the world, fourth oneworld Explorer.

Pandaperth, may I ask where you originated your DONE5?

was told about the across the board fare increase for ONE fare... is it true?

Not that I can tell...

Date change for 1st flight
 

I'm planning an ex-JPN DONE3, and I'm wondering about the rules regarding changing the date/time of the first flight.

The Wiki says that "For tickets originating [outside the Americas], changes to the first international flight and preceding flights are not permitted." But the OneWorld site's T&C's doesn't make any reference to the origination point and says: "Changes are permitted provided ticketed points remain the same. If the first flight coupon is being changed, and the fare level has increased since ticket issuance, the difference between the old and new fare will be charged."

Is it fair to assume that I can change the date/time of the first flight of an ex_JPN OWE (subject to any fare change in the ticket), and that the Wiki needs to be updated regarding this?

Here are the BA DONE3 change rules on TYO-TYO

Well, yes, that's word-for-word the same as I included in my post. My point is that the Wiki in this thread appears to say something that's quite different:

Flyertalk Wiki (this thread):
OW/BA Fare Rule:
Unless someone knows that there is, in fact, a difference in the 1st-flight-change rules between origin in the Americas and origin in rest-of-world, then I'll change the Wiki to reflect the current rule.

If you knew the answer to
Then why did you ask? :p :D

AA DONE3 on NYCNYC has the same change rules.

I would conclude that the information in the wiki is outdated

What an unnecessarily unpleasant response!

The tongue-in-cheek and grinning smileys there (which are omitted in your quote) are intended to soften the bluntness of the question. The response was not intended to be unpleasant, I hope no upset was caused. I intended to express my surprise at the unpleasant reply that I received for providing an authoritative answer to a question. :)

Wiki is updated.

OTOH, I'd be surprised if we didn't see one very soon, given the rate at which currency exchange is moving. AONE4 ex-JNB now <$7,200. I'm going to try to buy one or two tix in the morning, if I can get the itinerary planned out by then.

You only need to make reservations on the first international sector to buy a ticket under the xONEx fare. After departure historical fares would apply on changes

Yup, I know. It's just easier for life planning if I can get the itinerary nailed down as early as possible; so I try to get it done all in one shot for travel I know about in advance and for which I know that the dates aren't going to change.

Is this still possible in these non-paper ticket days?
I thought e-ticketing requires dates for all flight segments on the ticket

Anyone look at a graph of the ZAR v. USD recently? Looks like the ZAR has fallen off a cliff!!

That's what AA RTW desk told me. Each flight must have a date associated with.

Yes, this is totally correct. I regularly have AONE4s issued, starting in CPT, and book the first two sectors (CPT-JNB-LHR) on the date I require, then put in dummy dates for the rest of the tickets, subsequently changing them when I know my actual travel itinerary. As long as the airport codes remain unaltered, you can change the dates without an additional fee (but only after making your first journey). You are only limited by each airlines' timetables: AA & JL 331 days ahead, BA & CX 355 days ahead. So effectively you have another 11+ months travel after your first international sector.

Yes, but by putting in dummy dates you are in fact making reservations.
Calchas is implying you can still have open-dated segments, which is what you could do back in the days of paper tickets (and the Oneworld Explorer fare rules still allow)
but it is my understanding that electronic ticketing does not allow open-dated segments

It is allowed I think?? But anyway, at worse it is 125 USD change fee

Edit: I looked into this a bit more. It seems etickets do support open segments, but the validating airline might choose to turn off this feature.

http://www.amadeus.com/au/documents/aco/au/en/faq2.pdf

Since group, infant an unaccompanied minors can all be e-ticketed by major airlines nowadays, hopefully the open segment support was also fixed!

Mmm, interesting; thanks for posting

The above document is from 2008. Prior to that, as you know, RTW tickets could have 15 open segments, and even longer ago an unlimited number of segments. I have booked c. 30 AONEs in the last seven years and have never been able to have an e-ticket issued without specifying dates. The last example was issued directly by BA who insisted on them.

If anyone has recently been able to obtain one without providing dummy dates, I would love to hear from you.

I just noticed the RWT Explorer ticket tool on the AA site, seems interesting, is this tool new on aa.com?

I can't see a link to it on aa.com, but I'm guessing it's the same as the one on qantas.com - just the same tool as on the oneworld website with QF branding.

And still not working for QF flights operated by Jetconnect :(

Yes it's just the Oneworld on-line tool
On aa.com you get to it by:
- Plan Travel
-- Flights
--- Multi-City
And the link to the tool is just above the columns for specifying Dates

It carries no AA branding, unlike the QF branding when accessing the tool through Qantas.com

I set up a 16 segment DONE4 with CX. The first two dates were "real" (including first international segment) and all subsequent dates were "dummy." They could not issue the e-ticket with any open dates.

A few days after the ticket was issues I changed the last 14 dates to "open".
I have yet to fly the first segment.

I spoke to my reliable contact at the BA/IB/QR ticket desk in AMS [you probably know who he is] about open sectors. He seemed to think there would be no problems in issuing an SO sector but is looking into it. ^

I have to say the BA contact desks often tell me things that are simply nonsense. And I mean, really, one of them didn't even know BA can issue prime AA flights on their stock when I was trying to modify an itinerary that included AA flights already. One of them in NYC tried to tell me my 125- ticket had been issued by AA. I don't really trust what any of them say any more. I think if they don't know how to do something they just make stuff up.

The Newcastle Gold line has been pretty reliable and to be honest it is worth renewing gold for me just to have access to a competent help line, even if it isn't 24 hours (which is why I had to talk to other desks instead).

According to the T & C on the AA site (same as the oneworld site), open-dated tickets are possible, just not online:

From AA T & C:

Aug 1, 2015

Reservations
Your reservations and ticketing can be handled by any oneworld member airline.
Following your first international flight, all subsequent flights can be left open-dated, allowing you to schedule your trip as you go.

All remaining flights may be left open (i.e. without confirmed flight numbers and dates), as long as each flight is reserved prior to departure. Tickets can be booked or issued up to one hour before departure in some countries. Local service fees may apply. (Open-dated tickets are not available for online booking.)

Just completed a rtw trip:

CHS
PHL
AMS
MUC
HEL
NRT
SYD
AKL
SYD
LAX

All went without a hitch except for the SYD-LAX bit which only earned 50% mileage in L which I'm kinda pissed about. The whole process is ridiculously convoluted, but for the most part it worked out pretty well. Happy to answer any questions...

Was this the QF flight number? If you had changed to the AA codeshare flight number would have earned 100% to AA. This is normally a no cost change if done via AA.

So, for all of you guys, what are the cheapest but also feasible and convenient bookings for a RWT award these days?

ex-CAI with BA? (but surcharges?)
ex-S.Africa with ?
ex-TYO w American?

What is the best combination of affordability and convenience in booking and with whom from the above three? I don't mind originating in any of the three, but convenience would include not having to be physically present in location to book.

How many AA EQMs and EQPs could a reasonably well designed 16-segment DONE4/5 RWT (in business) produce? I assume these could be spread into two calendar years (say you start in the summer) and count towards two different years' elite qualification periods, right?

Sadly, I just assumed they would all credit to AA at 100%. Didn't know that an L fare was considered deep discount/discount economy considering the outrageous price I paid for it :eek: Oops.

But often there are seats in the right fare bucket available on the operating carrier but not for the AA codeshare number.


The answer is it depends. Let's start with L, D or A? Any cities required or is this strictly a MR?

In D, goal to maximize EQPs and see new places (so no strictly an MR, a combo of vacation-MR), including SWP, Asia, probably S.Africa, probably will include all 16 segments and all continents. Ideally, maximize EQPs and re-qualify for AA EXP for two consecutive years (or as close to that) in one RTW trip with about 6-8k USD total in airfare.

In general, is it significantly cheaper trying to squeeze as many segments in one RTW, or is it about the same if you do 2-3 separate RTWs? Because doing 2 separate smaller ones would seem more convenient in terms of scheduling and avoiding backtracking restrictions.

Also, what is a good cpp (cents per EQP) that someone can get out of these, has anyone calculated it?

Everyone has their own metrics for the "worth it" questions.

Yes, you can split up one RTW over two calendar years; AA will credit the flights and EQP to the year flown, not booked.

It's critical that one adds positioning costs into the formula. If it takes too much money or too many FF points to get to the origin point (e.g. South Africa in order to capture "cheap" ex-SA fares) - and to get home after - then the savings can be less spectacular, even moot.

The same goes for the taxes and fees totals added to the base price. A DONE4 ex-South Africa may have a base price US$1000 less than a DONE3 ex-Egypt or ex-Japan, but things like BA or Qantas fuel surcharges on the ex-SA ticket might reduce, or even neutralize the savings compared to an ex-Japan ticket issued by American Airlines.

There are several threads on this board about "maximizing" 16-segment RTWs. For 4- or 5-continent RTWs under the current rules, it's become increasingly difficult - not impossible, to be sure - to craft an itinerary that exceeds 60-62,000 butt-in-seat miles, hence something around 90-95,000 AA EQP. However, when one adds in positioning flights (if paid) then reaching 100,000 EQP is not especially taxing.

So if such a ticket cost US$6000 ex-SA (after taxes and fees) then it would work out to around 6 cent per EQP.

If you're keen to embark on this tack, don't forget some other opportunities lurking in the woods, mostly the result of currency fluctuations. For example, Circle Pacific tickets in business class ex-HKG start around US$5000. Or, given the weak Loonie, around US$6000 ex-Canada. And, of course, one can very often pick up cheap business/first class fares within North America, e.g. LAX-MIA-PTY round trip for $723, also around 6-7c per EQP, and easily done over a weekend.

Thanks, it looks like that with the current cheap J fares around the world, one can do an average of 6-8 ccp with separate tickets, so I was hoping that a RTW could produce more like 4-5 cpp. If cpp value is about the same, then I guess the remaining benefit is the 16 segments and some additional level of control of travel planning, vs. the disadvantage of the complexity of doing so (as opposed to separate tickets).

So, taxes and fees are based on the initial issuing carrier, not on whom are the individual segments each time?

I am hoping that AA will continue offering the .5 bonus EQP in the next couple of years, because this will decrease the cpp cost by 25%.

Taxes should be the same regardless of carrier; they have to do with routing (higher airport/departure/etc. taxes from one jurisdiction to the other.)

As for fees, this is a the big variable. The carrier that issues the ticket (usually the first airline flown) applies a fee schedule that it controls. Depending on that airline's policies, fees may be added which might not be if another airline were the issuer/first carrier. This can result in otherwise very similar tickets having a "bottom line" hundreds or even thousands of dollars different, despite having the same base price. The process is extremely opaque.

Unfortunately, there's no definitive way to know how much the combined fees/surcharges will be on a given ticket, but the sense among many of us is that any RTW ticket issued by BA will carry a higher combined fee total - principally what used to be called "fuel" surcharges (but aren't any more since BA got sued in US federal court over it) compared with comparable tickets issued by other carriers, notably CX and AA. Qantas also seems to be happy to add YQ or similar fees to their tickets, but I can't say (maybe others can) how this compares to BA's fees. The data/anecdote base regarding fees from other Oneworld airline-issued tickets is too thin to say anything remotely definitive.

The best (albeit time-consuming and potentially frustrating) way to see the impact of fees on an itinerary is to load it into the online booking tool and get to the final pricing screen, where you can pull up an itemized list of the taxes and fees. Even then, you won't know what flights/carriers the fees are attached to, but you can at least get a sense of variations by issuing carrier.

For example, I just ran two simple DONE4s ex-Johannesburg, one starting with JNB-HKG (and therefore issued by CX) vs. one starting with JNB-LHR (BA) with JNB-HKG-NRT-LAX-JFK-LHR-JNB as the CX-issued route and JNB-LHR-JFK-LAX-NRT-HKG-JNB as the westbound BA-issued route. The taxes and fees total on the CX route amount to 9,313 ZAR (around US$667) while the BA route total is 15,980 ZAR ($1145.) And that's on only six flights, only one of which (JNB-LHR or v.v.) is actually on BA metal (used AA for both oceanic crossings.) Airport and arrival/departure taxes are the same, so the only variable has to do with carrier-imposed (i.e. fuel) surcharges.