The wording is

Although the fare rules do not explicitly say so, I am not persuaded that you can have two points in the US and qualify under that rule.

it seems i have 2 transfers without a stopover...

may worth a try but i will have back up routing..

I have done similar before without it being a problem. However this was a few years ago.

More AONE4 questions (see post #1902)
 

Hi.

It's been a couple of years since my last RTW so I'm a little out of practice. Below is my proposed AONE4 starting this August. I'm a Qantas FF (Platinum).

HND-HKG-LHR-DXB-LHR-MCT-LHR-oSFO-ORD-oLAS-ORD-oLAX-MIA-oJFK-oHKG-GCK-NRT

I'm doing this trip to maximise the miles on an AONE4...

My actual destinations are SFO, LAX, JFK, HKG.

At the end of the journey I'll be breaking the trip for a couple of months in HKG to return back to Oz. CX are starting 1x daily 77W flights HKG-CGK with F in late October. I realise that JL are withdrawing F from GCK to NRT soon, so that'll have to be in J but this is the best that I can do for the intra-asia part.

My other question is in regard to the intra-US segments. I need to have as many of them as possible >1500 miles and obviously one trans-con as well. (Although the trans-con will only earn 75 SC from 1st May this year :confused:) I picked the LAX-MIA segment as it has a 3-class service once a day (AA68) so I assumed that I'd get the First SCs. But then I read this in the QFF T&C

"# Effective for travel on or from 11 January 2017, American Airlines will only allow flight bookings in A, F and P classes within the US for flights between New York and San Francisco and between New York and Los Angeles when these routes are operated by a three-cabin aircraft to earn at First Frequent Flyer Earn Category."

Would I be better of just flying LAX-JFK? If so where would the 'spare' segment be most beneficial? Would I be better flying from LAX to JFK via DFW and scrapping the whole trans-con, given that its only going to get me 75 SC anyway?

Thoughts?

Thx in advance,

Medicus

PS: Mods please feel free to move to a more appropriate thread/forum if you like.

I can't offer much advice, medicus, except on two minor points.

First, the change to QF earning on AA flights is due to the US DOT not being happy about the AA/QF joint venture. If the DOT changes its mind I would expect the earn rates to go back to where they are today.

Second, with respect to the LAX-MIA, as you noted, a handful of flights are operated by a three class aircraft in which case you should earn at the First rate. The change to earnings on 11 January reflects 99% of AA domestic flights where only two cabins - First and Economy - are offered. This is the reason for the lower earning. The Qantas website contains a myriad of caveats and exclusions and you've encountered one. However, I'm confident that this is simply an oversight on QF who simply hasn't been able to keep up with all their footnotes. It's a three class flight so you should earn at the F rate. Nonetheless, I would still get it in writing from QF by emailing them. Be sure to explain it's a three class flight in the event you get someone in Manila (apparently QF's call centre is being outsourced so who knows who might receive your email).

Assuming that your schedule permits, of course, SFO-ORD-SJU-DFW-SEA-LAX-JFK for your internal U.S. flights should add around 1,100 miles. That's from just a quick look; there may still be a better way.

I think the reason for the reduced earning to QF's FFP might be because of AA's changes to the coding of two-class First Class to be business class fares codes - see this thread - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...12-2016-a.html

I do not think it is due to any DOT issues (in that regard AA and QF have reduced the number of codeshare flights each has on the other's metal, but AFAIK it has not affected FF earning)

Yes. My mistake. I've confused two separate issues.

Actually, medicus refers to the earn rate changing on 1 May. Those are the changes resulting from the JV going sour. I think maybe I was correct. The QF calculator does show a paltry 75 SCs for transcon F from 1 May when on the AA code. This is the flight that medicus refers to and is three class.

Thanks to all.

I think that I'll stick to the original routing. Changing the intra-US segments doesn't really help with the mileage because of the crazy QFF earning scheme. (I fail to see how flying from ORD-LAS should generate less SC than flying trans-con, but there you go!) I'll try to email Qantas with the query about what I will earn on 3 class LAX-MIA and see what (if anything) they say.

Hopefully it will all work out in the end. I plan on booking this weekend via the AA RTW desk. Reading the forums it seems the safest bet.

correction
 

I've been looking and can't find discussion on which airlines will ticket what. Can anyone give me any pointers for where to look?

My situation: I have an AA issued DONE4 which I want to reticket with none of my intercontinental flights on AA metal (my preferred route has HEL-LHR-JFK on AY/BA which I want AY marketed, and JAL metal for the flight out to asia). Only long haul AA flight is JFK-LAX. Will the AA rtw desk be happy to (re)ticket that? Anyone have any experience or pointers on getting AY or JAL to ticket?

If I understand correctly, your ticket was originally issued by AA and is, presumably, on 001 ticket stock. In this case AA should reticket with no problem.

tnx - fingers crossed. Next issue is adjust my (ex JNB) routing as I thought the backtrack through Europe which was a transfer without stopover could be SIN-HELx-LHRx-NBO. I guess I go SIN-LHR-NBO and suck up the BA YQ.

SIN-xDOH-NBO is also an option

I'm considering whether the Explorer ticket is the right solution for the following routing. I need to go TYO-SCL. I'd like to tag on SCL-IPC-SCL "for free" (work ticket, so if I can twist it a bit...). I'd like to fly the outbound on something like NRT-DFW-SCL because of time constraints, but I don't care for the rest. Would there be a Explorer fare that fits this? I don't know if I have time to stop in North America, but if it's required to fulfil a continent rule then I'd find a way.

I was wondering if something like NRT-DFW-SCL, SCL-IPC-SCL (overnight so maybe less than 24 hours), SCL-AKL-SYD-NRT would work?

You are missing Europe/Africa so I don't think a xONEx would be useful. What you seem to have outlined is a Circle Pacific(SA) 29K ticket, though I don't remember whether IPC can be included in one of those.

Happy wandering

Fred

Gotcha, I wasn't sure whether there was a thread for this or not. Does the circle pacific have minimum stopover requirements and can it be priced online? I wasn't able to get rtw.oneworld.com to do it but i'm on my phone to be fair.

What if the OP reticketed with NO flights on AA anymore? (let's say he could fly QF on JFK-LAX, just for argument's sake). So there'd be no flights on AA, would AA still reticket this?

If in A class on AA marketed flights between LAX and MIA you will earn 75 SC's from May 1st (before then it would be 150 SC's).

As a WP, you will earn 6,250 QFF points (3,750 base +2,500 status bonus) irrespective of the date.

Qantas Frequent Flyer - Partner Airline Earning Table

As wandering_fred posted, your itinerary is a Circle Trip Explorer, not a Oneworld Explorer.

You didn't say what fare class you'd be in, so I'm going to assume Business Class

Circle Trip ExplorerOneWorld Explorer

Awesome. Thank you for an excellent, concise answer. Surprising but I guess DONE4 is a better deal in this case! I'll check into it, thank you!

Just a minor correction, it's not a Circle Trip Explorer, it's a Circle Pacific trip. Oneworld's Circle Trip Explorer product doesn't allow crossing either the Atlantic or the Pacific.

You may also want to look into other ways to purchase this itinerary, oneworld circle tickets are often more expensive than alternative options.

I stand corrected - sort of;)

On the Oneworld web site, it is called a Circle Pacific
But in the fare rules (on ExpertFlyer) it is called a Circle Trip Explorer
and I only checked ExpertFlyer - in order to check the fare rules

Since your hypothetical rerouting is not possible on this specific ticket, any response is purely speculation. Any OW airline can ticket or reticket any RTW itinerary in theory. Some may choose not to if there is not specific inducement, ie sufficient flights on their metal. In this case I would speculate that the initial ticketing on 001 stock would by itself be sufficient for AA to reticket since they control the record.

The reason I asked it that way is because I had no other suggestions for JFK-LAX, but consider a more possible option, something like a RTW beginning in KUL with the only flight being on MH being KUL LHR, ticketed on MH stock, and then you call in and change to BA on that segment. Would MH refuse to reticket?

Doesn't BA have a policy preventing 125 stock from being used on itineraries that don't include at least one of AA/AY/BA/IB/EI/JL?

Or is that just for TAs using BA stock?

RTW flight expertise
 

Hi all, you guys seem to have a real grasp on which flights are best so a quick question please. Any opinion on which RTW ticket would be best to get for these destinations below which I intend taking my family on next year?

I was thinking the One world explorer 3 continent one but every time I look at it online the flights aren't available for next year it seems and if I pick random dates this year it seems to be a nightmare tool and tells me route isn't possible and I lose all the data I put in without telling me what was wrong so I give up!

I guess if there are advantages in buying some of these flights separately I could do too..

Thanks

London 14/01/2018
Dubai 14/01/2018
Auckland 18/01/2018
overland to
Christchurch 06/03/2018
Melbourne 06/03/2018
overland to
Cairns 29/04/2018 need to do this flight to fly to Tahiti
Auckland 29/04/2018
Tahiti 30/04/2018
Los Angeles 05/05/2018
Los Angeles 21/06/2018
Jackson Hole 25/06/2018
overland to
Vancouver 10/08/2018
London 11/08/2018

I responded to your companion thread on Fodor's, here: http://www.fodors.com/community/air-...m#last-comment

Estimating Refund from Cancelled Oneworld Explorer Ticket
 

I purchased an LONE4 on QR stock from A TA in October CAI-DOH-ORD...., and flew CAI-ORD via DOH. I have since found that for various reasons I will be unable to use the LONE4 within 12 months for the travel I intended.

My preferred option is to cancel this LONE4 and purchase another ticket which would start later.

So I can cancel and request a refund of the amount paid less the fare for the transportation used and a cancellation fee (10% of fare). How can I estimate the "fare for the transportation used" which will apply?

It seems to me the CAI-ORD via DOH fare in L on the date I actually flew it would be the fair way to calculate it.

Or would it be CAI-DOH in L and then DOH-ORD in L?

This decision would seriously affect the amount refunded. Neither the TA nor QR have responded to my request to clarify how the calculation might be done.

Does anyone know how such a refund might/would be calculated?

Good luck. I think you are going to have a lot of trouble with this. Your TA hasn't responded because this is not going to be easy for them to do.

I would think, find the cheapest possible CAI-DOH-ORD route in L (or higher) class, validated against your actual flown itinerary, priced on the date your ticket was issued. By validate, I mean the fare (or combination of fares) needs to be valid for the actual flown itinerary, such that you could have ticketed that fare/those fares on the original purchase date for the flown itinerary. The difference between that and 90% of your paid fare is the refund, I believe, due to you. The 90% factor arises from the 10% cancellation penalty specified in the LONEx fare rules. By "paid fare", I think you should include the YQ and YR but no other taxes or fees [this sentence may be contentious but I think it is fair]. The "real" taxes and fees should be calculated separately; the 10% penalty doesn't apply to these. Also you need to backdate all taxes, fees and currency conversions to those in effect on the day on which the ticket was issued.

That is in my understanding how this refund should be calculated. (As always, I seek corrections from experienced hands.) Whether you find anyone willing to do it, please let us know.

Estimating Refund from Cancelled Partially Used Oneworld Explorer Ticket
 

Thanks for this Calchas. That seems logical to me, but once I cancel I am at QR's mercy, so I wanted to get some idea of what to expect.

Expertflyer quotes an L fare CAI-DOH-ORD on QR on the day I purchased the ticket for the day I flew. I would hope that this should be a close approximation of the "fare for the transportation used", rather than two one-way segments.


As do I....

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are now on our second RTW trip and having an amazing time. Unfortunately, our itinerary somehow got approved even though it doesn't follow Oneworld rules and now, we are their mercy because they refuse to make any routing changes for us. They've told us that even though THEY booked us into an invalid ticket, they now will not allow us to make any changes.

Here's what our itinerary has been so far:
1. NRT
2. LHR
3. JTR
4. LHR (surface sector)
5. JNB
6. DOH arrived in October 2016

We're now picking up our regularly scheduled trip again in DOH (March 2017). I'm sure you regular RTW flyers are immediately saying that this isn't possible because it breaks the rules about stops in the middle east. But somehow this ticket got approved and we are on it, which is now causing all kinds of problems.

We're now supposed to fly to GRU but this visa is proving to be a time-consuming process and so we want to reroute the flight out to a different location in South America (EZE, to be specific).

After this, we had other flights in South America but LAN cancelled all those flights so now we have a bunch of extra segments that we need to rebook!

The problem we're having is that the RTW desk won't change our routing because they're saying that our ticket is null and void because it broke the rules... We are at our wits end - we cannot go to Brazil, a bunch of our other segments have been cancelled and we can't seem to change our routing.

Does anyone here any thoughts about what we can do or who we can reach out to? We booked through AA and are still trying to get resolved with them but are really worried about what's going to happen with our trip...

Thanks,
mina.

Help! Oneworld RTW booked us on a rule-breaking ticket and we now can't make changes
 

Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1
Hi everyone,

My husband and I are now on our second RTW trip and having an amazing time. Unfortunately, our itinerary somehow got approved even though it doesn't follow Oneworld rules and now, we are their mercy because they refuse to make any routing changes for us. They've told us that even though THEY booked us into an invalid ticket, they now will not allow us to make any changes.

Here's what our itinerary has been so far:
1. NRT
2. LHR
3. JTR
4. LHR (surface sector)
5. JNB
6. DOH arrived in October 2016

We're now picking up our regularly scheduled trip again in DOH (March 2017). I'm sure you regular RTW flyers are immediately saying that this isn't possible because it breaks the rules about stops in the middle east. But somehow this ticket got approved and we are on it, which is now causing all kinds of problems.

We're now supposed to fly to GRU but this visa is proving to be a time-consuming process and so we want to reroute the flight out to a different location in South America (EZE, to be specific).

After this, we had other flights in South America but LAN cancelled all those flights so now we have a bunch of extra segments that we need to rebook!

The problem we're having is that the RTW desk won't change our routing because they're saying that our ticket is null and void because it broke the rules... We are at our wits end - we cannot go to Brazil, a bunch of our other segments have been cancelled and we can't seem to change our routing.

Does anyone here any thoughts about what we can do or who we can reach out to? We booked through AA and are still trying to get resolved with them but are really worried about what's going to happen with our trip...

Thanks,
mina.

I should mention that we are on an AONE6 ticket, and this is our second RTW so we both do have OW Emerald (AA EP).

^

Which airline was this who issued the ticket?

What was your complete itinerary?

How hard have you pushed them to fix the ticket?

How many unflown sectors are left?

Have you considered asking another airline to take ownership of the ticket and make the changes?

I believe that that is the way it's normally handled. If they issued a ticket which does not conform to the rules, they'll honor it, but impose a very strict no changes policy. IIRC there are FT reports of identical situations going back a number of years.

Edited to add: Actually, I just remembered that it happened to me, once. Ticket honored, but absolutely no changes permitted, not even to time, flight, carrier. Nothing.