On the first go-round the SFO-MAD flight was on IB, no stops. After PandaPerth's suggestion and a revision, I ended up with SFO-xDFW-MAD. And yes, the tool is seeing SYD-SFO (QF73).

Good to know. :) Any thoughts on going through BA's JNB office as some were trying in this thread: Recent Mindpearl contact, anyone?

Will do. Was likely going to have to have at least one re-issue anyway, as the Europe/Middle East dates aren't final.

It's been quite an education getting to this point! RTW fares are a great option, once you figure out how it all works. Thanks to everyone who has replied. I'll follow up when my DONE* is actually done.

A route change is a re issue with the $125 fee.
A date change only is not normally a re issue. Some airlines may charge a service fee for this and other airlines will not.
A change of carrier (to a codeshare) on the same route is not normally a re issue. Some airlines may charge a service fee for this and other airlines will not. This is useful for maximising earning to your ffp

A date change will be a reissue if it changes a transit (under 24 hours) to a stopover (over 24 hours).

So if you have a transit through LHR and then make a date change to make it a stopover, it WILL be a reissue to take the UK APD?

Yes.

If there is a change in the fare/tax/surcharge/penalty calculation, this cannot be accomplished with a revalidation.

But if there is no change to the price and no penalty to collect, a change from a stopover to a transit or vice versa can be accomplished provided "O" (optional stopover) was entered into the X/O column instead of X

How to get RTW ticketed?
 

More than two weeks ago I posted about a RTW ex-JNB, and FT folks have been very helpful. I've managed to create an itinerary that meets the rules and book it online using the OW tool.

I wish I could say it's all ended well, but not so. Since Dec 13, I have rebooked the itinerary twice, including completing the process online and paying by card. Trouble seems to be not with booking, but with getting the ticket issued, which seems to be an impossible task.

Twice my booking was cancelled: once due to expiration (booking wasn't ticketed within 72 hours, so automatic cancellation) and once because flights kept dropping out of the booking. According to one QF agent I spoke with as she was recreating my booking, AA gives them 20 minutes to ticket a flight or they yank the booking. (?!) Unfortunately, the QF booking/ticketing process takes so incredibly long, that you get stuck in a cycle of fighting to keep the AA flights in the itinerary before they disappear. After spending 2 hours and 45 minutes on the phone with a booking agent for my third attempt, still no ticketed booking.

Most of my flights are on QF and AA, so I initially contacted QF to issue the ticket as they're the first carrier on my itinerary. Suffice to say, no one there knows how to issue a RTW ticket. Sure, they can book flights, and put me on hold for 45 minutes to "get a price" -- even thought I've already had a price and paid for the ticket online. Once they get a price, I have to confirm, then they have to find a ticket agent to actually issue the ticket. And here's where everything falls down. It's like a black hole. According to QF FF, there's no "rtw desk," so you're sent back to reservations.

One of the booking agents told me the ticket was in the queue, but some issues needed to be resolved by the "Sydney office." I asked for the number to call directly, and it turns out that the number she gave me was for QF FFs (which I am not), and unless I was using points to book the ticket, they couldn't help me. But they could send me back to reservations who could help me. Ugh! That was another five-day delay.

At this stage I just want to get the d*mn ticket issued. So, wise and experience FT folks: what do you recommend? :)

AA's SA desk seems to be a no-go, based on other threads I've read. (Mindperl no longer accepting non-SA credit cards.) QF is beyond useless. Any suggestions as to who might actually be able to ticket this thing?? I've seen that some FT-ers have had luck with BA's desk in SA, but I don't have any BA flights on the RTW ticket, nor do I have status with BA. I've been planning this trip for a big birthday coming up next year, but the process has really taken some of the joy out of things, and I'm no closer to an actual ticket than I was a month ago, when I started this project.

Maybe try CX SA? http://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_A...etails.ZA.html

This is exactly why the fare rules require OSI YY OW RTW to be inserted into the PNR to prevent expiry ... does the online tool really not arrange this OSI message??

I regularly hold AA flights for one or two days usually on BA PNRs so I don't know what QF is doing there?? Maybe it is the lack of a fare quote.

BA, CX or JL might do it anyway.
Other option is Amex Travel, if you have an Amex-issued Amex card. Their travel agents are actually pretty good at what they do.

HI - I've been having similar issues with getting a AONE4 RTW issued ex JNB ..
QF there said they could do a Business Class ticket as no First class from JNB to SYD .... and despite my telling them that this was not the case they were adamant...
CX have told me that as the first flight is not with them but QF I have to get QF to issue the ticket .... and I have emailed them to tell them that this is not the case and am waiting to hear back from them.
As others have said it's looking like the only option is to use the bug-ridden online booking tool and then call and make changes once ticketed but there is a significant differences in surcharges ie much higher - if ticket by QF online compared to CX and also the tool no longer comes up with any QF flights between OZ and NZ which is infuriating!
I did try to email AMEX in SA to see if they could help with ticketing but have had no response .
Does anyone have a contact for them there ?
Many thanks and a Happy New Year and safe travels to all

Has anyone tried the BA office in Jo'burg?

I once did the online option, years ago. The first segment was on Jordanian, and the ticket was issued as AA. It worked and I had used the ticket partially, but when I wanted to make changes with the AA rtw desk in the US the rate desk wouldn't make any changes without collecting a difference due to my credit card address outside Jordan (which they must have seen on their system). I know others have had better experiences in this regard, but it did happen to me.

Let's see if I have this right. You buy a OWE ticket online originating outside of the U.S. AA is the ticketing agent and accepts payment on your US credit card.

You later contact AA to make a change and they ask for the difference between the US fare and the ex-US fare.

I find this really scary!

Yes, but the correct way to put it is: "You later contact AA to make a change and they ask for the difference between the ex-US fare and the ex-JORDAN fare".

You should bear in mind that in the vast of majority of cases reported here, people have had no problem in a similar situation. I happened to be in Jordan at the moment of ticketing but AA said they had no record of this. I bought the ticket on-line because Royal Jordanian would have nothing to do with it. The problem was never resolved -- I simply flew the ticket as issued. At this point, I don't even remember clearly, but I think they did allow me to change dates. I did not have any problems with a similar ticket physically issued in Qatar by an AA agent at around the same time. I always use US credit cards, although I do not have residence there and the US is actually irrelevant to my travels except as an intermediate point. AA didn't want to know.

Tip: Amex does not verify the billing country ...

No Show Fee
 

The rules suggest that a no show fee is 125USD for rebooking. If I do not show up for a flight and then call to make changes to my itinerary, will I be charged this amount once or twice?

Hi,

Forgive me if this has been covered - but I've run in to some issues booking a RTW fare with oneworld and I'm really starting to worry as the flight dates are fast approaching - perhaps somebody out there has some advice?!

The booking was made via the oneworld RTW booking tool. It was made on 30th December, and an email was issued saying my reservations were confirmed and that I would receive e-tickets from TAM.

It has now been over a week, and there hasn't been any word from TAM, and after checking my statement today, it also seems that the payment that was 'confirmed' on the oneworld site has not actually left my account.

My main worry is that I've read it can take time to sort all of this out, and our fist flight is 'reserved' (but currently not ticketed) for the 4th Feb.

Every time I speak to TAM the advisors tell me that my that they can see my reservations (for all of our RTW segments), but that there are no tickets attached to it at all, and that they cannot attach them?

So ... I've read before about people having issues with the online system actually getting the ticketing done, and issues with payments made online not actually being made, but from what I can see thats been with other issuing airlines like BA or AA - does anybody have any experience of TAM sorting out RTW fares?

I've no idea why the tickets are issued by TAM to be honest. Our first 5 flights are all with LAN, not TAM, and although I know they are the same parent company the booking systems are apparently completely unrelated. The guys at LAN have been able to confirm, for example, that we have seats reserved on a flight from Santiago to Easter Island, but that we don't have any tickets that match the reservation, which has puzzled me and the staff at the airline. The guys at TAM keep going round in circles and passing me between departments without much at all happening. Its been 3/4 days of calls now, and I've (again) been told that somebody will be in touch within 24 hours to sort it out, though I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway. Can anybody advise what I could / should do? Anybody hear of similar issues or know how such a problem can be sorted? Can I simply ask for this whole reservation to be cancelled and try another booking via the oneworld website in the hope that it works this time?

Welcome to FlyerTalk RTWrun

The first point is that flight reservations and flight tickets are completely separate systems. It's very easy to create a flight reservation but ticketing it is a different matter.

In this context a "confirmed reservation" means it is not a "waitlisted reservation". Space has been reserved for you on this flight. It is not the payment or the ticket that is confirmed, which is a separate process.

RTW tickets are priced by hand, so the procedures are different for a ticket that will be priced and issued automatically by a computer process. I have no idea what the Christmas season is like in Brazil but it may be a few days before the ticketing team are back to working on this.

Did you try asking for the round the world desk or the ticketing desk?

Thanks Calchas, I'd pretty much figured that the reservation system and the ticketing system are separate - but I had assumed that booking via the oneworld website, and putting in all of my card details at the time of booking, would result in reservations and etickets being issued. Clearly I was wrong.

I guess the good thing in all of this is that our actual seats on the planes are reserved, so even if it does day a few more days to sort out the actual e-tickets, we wont end up in a situation where we lose out on those.

Also, you mention that the RTW fares will be priced by hand - does this mean that the price I was quoted online, and had assumed to already pay by putting in my card details, could change?

Also, to answer your question, when I've called TAM to check whether it was just a delay because of Christmas & New Year (as I had figured initially), they have repeatedly just said that they don't know what the problem is and told me that they do not have a RTW team whenever I have asked. The last guy I spoke to said a special department will be in touch within 24 hours to fix the error, so here's hoping that happens - if not I'm starting to worry there is nobody in the company who can actually sort it!

Cheers again & looking forward to more answers and insights :)

Airline insurance surcharge
 

Just after some help with fees/taxes for a DONE 4 from Johannesburg. I get the following from the online booking tool. First segment is with BA to London.

Please could someone tell me what the ZAR 8,690 Airline Insurance Surcharge relates to. Is this because BA is the first segment, any ways around this. In 2009 I booked through AA Mindpearl but I understand that is no longer an option?

Many thanks

621.00 ZAR Australia Passenger Movement Charge:
486.00 ZAR BEEB:
568.00 ZAR Embarkation Fee -BRAZIL:
85.00 ZAR Finland - Security Charge - Domestic and International:
232.00 ZAR Peru International Arrival Tourism Tax:
18.72 ZAR South Africa Passenger Safety Charge:
148.00 ZAR Finland - Passenger Fee - International:
289.00 ZAR ISAE:
381.00 ZAR Airport Services Charge for Spain:
10.00 ZAR OGCO:
155.00 ZAR Argentina Customs and Immigration Services Tax:
197.00 ZAR Domestic Head Tax - Australia:
197.00 ZAR Domestic Head Tax - Australia:
63.00 ZAR Security Tax for Spain:
155.00 ZAR Argentina Security Tax:
513.00 ZAR UK Passenger Service Charge:
24.00 ZAR UMSE:
190.00 ZAR Air Passenger Tax for South Africa:
124.00 ZAR Australia Baggage Screening Tax - Departure:
655.00 ZAR Australian Passenger Service Charge:
882.00 ZAR Argentina Airport Tax:
20.00 ZAR XUAV:
8,690.00 ZAR Airline Insurance Surcharge:
3,577.00 ZAR Multiple Carrier Surcharges/Fees:
346.00 ZAR Passenger Service Charge for South Africa:
464.00 ZAR International Departure Tax for Chile:
111.00 ZARZUDP:
19,201.72 x 1 = 19,201.72 ZAR

I suspect that it is shorthand for "Airline Fuel and Insurance Surcharge" also known as YQ. And many other unpublishable names in the minds of frequent flyers.

Happy wandering

Fred

Yes it sounds like a combined YQ and YR line

Hi All,

Have OneWorld closed the Australia - Europe stopover issue?

Previously if one flew Australia - (Asia) - Europe that was considered a stop over even though the stop in Asia/Middle East was considered transit to say it is two continents as opposed to three?

It isn't a stopover issue, but rather xONEx has a minimum continent count of 4 if the itinerary includes any flight directly between Europe or Middle East and Australia. Originally there was only QF & BA between SYD/MEL and LHR, but now of course there is also QF between SYD/MEL and DXB, and QR flies to Australia too from AUH DOH.

And yes, it still applies.

BA still flies LHR-SIN-SYD. I don't see them changing the AU-EU counts as transiting Asia rule while BA keeps that flight. Even if BA did drop the flight, I don't see QF or QR agreeing to change the rule. They'd earn more per sector from a xONE4 then an xONE3.

This is intentional, I don't think it will be going away.

BA 15/16 has been around for years and years (and QR flies from DOH, not AUH ;) )

The actual wording of the rule isSo flying BA's LHR-SYD flight (which stops in SIN on the way) or flying any of the non-stop Middle East-Australia flights means Asia is included.

IMHO this is a rip-off (except for the BA flight which does actually 'touch' Asia - and there has been a long-standing paradigm of "if you touch it you pay for it" for example when JL flew NRT-GRU via JFK). It's especially a rip-off of you were taking a surface segment between Europe/Middle East and SQP - fly NO flights but pay for an extra continent!

Things might change when JJ starts its GRU-JNB flights sometime this year. That will make possible all-southern hemisphere itineraries, for example GRU-JNB-SYD-SCL-GRU. This might result in 3-continent fares being made available for itineraries originating in the southern hemisphere and that in turn might result in a re-think of this rule.
However I won't be holding my breath.

That is what was expected to happen when MH joined with their JNB-EZE flight. Only for MH to can their route to South Africa and South America shortly before the oneworld join date.

Yes of course. I've even flown BA between SYD & LHR a few times.

Thanks for correcting QR hub, which I've also flown. :o Hope my memory isn't going! :eek:

I am not sure if this has been answered before... but when I hold DONEx ticket and one of the flight is sold-out in "D" class with "E (Premium Economy)" available? For example, I am looking at NRT-DEL and on most of Sundays, which I need to fly is sold out in D so I cannot book that flight unless I downgrade myself to lower class. The next class of service is premium economy. Would they allow me to travel in PY on a DONx ticket or will they make me fly in Y?

Per xONEx rules

If premium economy is not listed as a lower class then it will book into economy.

For JL premium economy booking class E is listed, so if available it will book into that.

However, both Y and B classes are "full fare" categories and in some airlines booking into these buckets makes upgrades very easy, if not complementary. I would certainly think that at an airline's discretion you could be put into a PE seat if one's available. I've had gate agents and counter people waive formalities when confronted with a DONEx ticket - even bumped to first class when J was overbooked - so I wouldn't put your chances at zero, far from it. They're not robots after all.

Yes, on JL, "E" class will be preferred over "L", if "D" is unavailable.
(The computer reads the table from top to bottom and stops as soon as it finds a rule that applies. If no rule is found, it will take the default option specified at the top instead.)

Thanks! This is great information!

Have a quick question about baggage allowance on a DONE :

HKG-xFRA(CX)-xLHR-NCL(BA) / NCL-LHR (BA) / LHR-GIB (BA) // LHR-ORD (AA) / ORD-xBOS-HKG (CX)

I am only concerned about the first leg. CX J limit is 30kg.

Wiki says 2 pieces, with weight limits per piece with different airlines.

Which applies? If its the piece rule, what is the limit per piece? Would the dominant carrier rule apply and if so, how?

Thanks in advance.

Ballpark fares on DONE3 ex US West Coast
 

Hi,

I'm seeing about $11-12K for DONE3 fares ex SFO based on the oneworld booking tool (for 6 sectors). Is this typically what people are paying or are better deals available through specialized travel agents? Feel free to PM me if you are the latter.

Thanks!

Cost, with taxes & carrier surcharges, depends a lot on the route & carriers. Do you have a LHR or other UK departure ($$ APD).
With only 6 segments you may do better point to point.
You can do 16 segments for same base DONE3 fare

Yes, I did have LHR in the routing. It's perhaps optional, I'll take a look at dropping it or hitting DUB instead. Thanks.

APD is only 140 GBP and doesn't always apply

More likely the BA YQ+YR is at fault

Prices of the various Oneworld products vary greatly depending on the country of origin. Base price for a DONE3 issued in the USA is currently around $10,200 plus taxes/fees.

Substitute Vancouver for the origin point (you'd have to pay to get from SFO to YVR) and see what you get.