Back to AA DUB for the final (open) segments of my DONE5 and they've produced a rule I've never heard about before: flights must be booked under the operating carrier's designator even if a OW codeshare service is involved.

As this is the difference between 100% bonus mileage and not for me, can anyone shed any light on this? Or are they talking bunk (again)?

I have never seen any such rule stated in OneWorld Explorer, Global Explorer or Circle Pacific rules. In fact, on my last DONE4 in July/August I had several QF codeshares on AA and BA operated flights. And on my DCIR22 ticketed yesterday for departure next week includes a QF codeshare on AA metal.

As far as I can tell, the OneWorld Explorer fare rules were last updated on 24th August, and the change at that time was that effective immediately AA ticketing restriction with regards to Lybia removed from para. 15 (sales restrictions); D RBD added for LP internation flights.

Ask the agent to read fare rules section 4 (Flight Application/Routings), subsection G, which states:

Thanks NM. I wish I could say it was the first time AA had either misinterpreted the rules or produced ones that don't exist.

Especially DUBLIN's fare desk where each agent interpret their own version of the rules their own way.

This is probably a silly question but when having AA reissue a ONE, do you have to deal with DUBLIN's fare desk? Is this automatic, done behind the scene, with you having no control over it? I mean, if the people at Dublin are that incompetent, isn't there a way to bypass them and get somebody else involved?

Yes there is, as I discovered the hard way. The folk at AA's RTW desk in Dallas do seem to know what they're talking about (though even there it's the luck of the draw as to which agent you get). Though it resulted in a large phone bill, I dealt with them for the changes then got them to message DUB with the info.

Unfortunately even then AA DUB would try to undo some of the good work, thinking they knew better.

I've never had to monitor a RTW so closely for renegade changes as I have done this time round with AA. Anyway, lesson learned, the next one will be with BA or CX (the former of which wasn't an option last time I booked ex-CAI).

Next time call your local AA office and ask them to put you through to the RTW desk in Dallas, and, if you really feel it's necessary, ask for an agent in particular. It works for me in MAD, at the cost of a local call (it was an AA's RTW desk supervisor who suggested I do it that way, I would never have been so bold to try that stunt on my own).

You may talk to the AA RTW desk about your routing but if you are issuing your ticket outside North America, all fare calculations are done in Dublin. AA in US will not work on your itinerary... at least not that they do it for ticket issue in say CAI.

If it's a reissue, the same applies as above. Depends on where you are reissuing. If it's within US/Canada, then the US RTW fare desk will take over.

That's the main bit that they're useful for and where DUB entirely falls down on knowing the rules. Provided they've got the rest of it right, the fares calc should be straightforward (though as both Guy Betsy and I observed earlier, with the AA DUB office that's not always the way)...

I've done bookings for a few people this way. I book on Sabre. Queue to Cairo. Email Cairo. Cairo queues to Dublin. Dublin queues fares back. The problem here is that Cairo will just take whatever Dublin says as fact and will issue on command. I have had to QC Dublin's fares more than a few times with major errors. On one occasion, Cairo issued a ticket that was more than US$2000 difference and it was only after I sent a message to Dublin to question their calculations was the error admitted and the ticket was voided in time! Another ticket was queued to Dublin for reissue when the client was in LHR. Basically client wanted to travel LHR-YVR-JFK-DFW-HOU-MIA-JFK-HKG. Dublin insisted that client cannot do 2 transcon. ??? YVR-JFK is one. The other is JFK-HKG. I ask ??? Client is not stopping in YVR. No - it doesn't matter they say, as flight is going JFK-HKG with a stop in YVR, they will count it as a stopover ... More ??? from me. AA Dublin insisted that passenger should either book JFK-NRT on AA then to HKG or JFK-DFW-NRT...

In the end, I just asked my client to reissue said ticket with BA which he did because I couldn't get AA in DUB to agree with me before my client was leaving LHR.

So if I'm having problems with direct computer access... I can see what you guys are going through!

Useful for you to post your experience Guy Betsy. From the very beginning of my dealings with AA DUB I detected that its fares desk was the major problem - I believe they got my fare / taxes right in the end but challenging them over repeated poor understanding of product rules was such a bore.

From the point at which AA DUB became involved in the re-issue of my DONE5 the following happened (posted for others in the same situation to be mindful of):

* Despite being told that seats had been requested for each segment, none of the non-AA carriers claimed to have received any kind of request
* Segments which were no longer being flown were left in the reservations system, almost leading to some carriers cancelling both reservations
* Re-issue fees were charged, even though the rules clearly showed none were applicable in this case
* Internal flights in Chile were booked in L class, even though the rules state Y is the applicable class (might not matter to some, but many OW FF programs give lower mileage for the discounted econ fare class). Even when the RTW desk intervened to clarify the rules and changed it to the correct booking class, DUB changed it back - twice!
* All of my segments on CX were 'automatically' cancelled, AA failed to pick this up and had I not been monitoring for renegade changes to my itin right up to the moment of travel, I would've turned up for flights finding i) I no longer had a reservation; ii) the flights were full
* When sending in the tix for re-issue (about 3 months ahead of travel) I stated that I need the new ones back a month before the first segment was due to be flown as a business trip would take me away from home during the intervening period. As the date drew nearer I kept on being told "next week", once it became truly urgent I discovered - much to my horror - that nobody has notified ticketing of the urgency of re-issue (or so they said) and the intention had been to send me the new tickets just a few days ahead of travel.

There was more, but I won't bore you with it. All I know is that I'll be mighty relieved when this itin is completed and I no longer have to cross-check AA.com with checkmytrip.com on a weekly or twice-weekly basis.

I wrote to AA's European VP to highlight these issues, if only to prompt some tightening up of procedures, and just got a flannel response back from customer service (two months later). The DUB office seems a law unto itself and nobody within AA seems inclined to do anything about it.

As I said before, lesson learned. But any of you considering an ex-CAI AA RTW which may result in the need for subsequent changes via DUB, be mindful of what I've said.

Folks,

Ther's a very simple answer to all of this...

Keep the ticketing and the reservations separate.

Book all your tickets open and deal with the individual airlines direct for the reservations. It's easy, and it works.

I guess this would be fine if you avoid AA all together on your RTW and have a paper ticket issued.

From what I heard, even with straight forward round-trip bookings with "OPEN" segments on AA, sometimes the AAgents have a hard time comprehending what it is. Some AA domestic check-in agents (especially the newer ones) will probalby even try to send you over to the "ticketing" counter if they see you have a paper ticket with an "OPEN" ticket as they haven't even seen one in their career (All they've seen are e-tickets with fixed dates).

Really? When I tried doing this with BA for the three remaining segs I've got on my ticket they refused to deal with me, stating that it was AA's problem.

BA shouldn't do this. Call them, tell them you have an open ticket, to be booked in D, A or L class and would they be so kind as to book these.

I think the reason for not 'helping' you is that there is no way they can collect the service fee for doing a phone booking as you already have your ticket!