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-   -   My first AONE4 (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld/397066-my-first-aone4.html)

AintSpike Feb 5, 2005 10:04 am
My first AONE4
 
I'm planning my first AONE4, and I think it's ready for vetting by the experts here. My primary goal is to visit Australia, New Zealand, Rome, and Prague, but I also have some secondary goals:

- Find out what F is like. AA J is the limit of my meager experience. :rolleyes:
- Sample some airlines other than AA (CX and BA in particular).
- Fly on a 747 for the first time.
- Accumulate AAdvantage miles.
- EXP (this trip combined with my normal business travel should do it).

I've been lurking here for a while now, and I've studied the FAQ and the various timetables. I think I have a pretty good grasp of the rules and have devised what I believe to be a valid itinerary (asterisks denote stopovers):

DFW-SFO*-HKG*-NRT*-HKG-SIN-HKG-SYD*-CHC*-BNE*-PER*-MEL*-LHR//MAD-FCO*-HEL-PRG*-LHR-YVR-JFK*-DFW

That surface segment between LHR and MAD is more of an intermission. I'm planning to return home from LHR on a separate ticket, and I'll be traveling to MAD for work soon after. Once my work is complete, I'll finish the remainder of my AONE4.

Now that I think about it, that trip from DFW to MAD will likely entail the return leg of my LHR-DFW ticket combined with an LHR-MAD-LHR round-trip. Might as well just resume the AONE4 from LHR.

A few questions:

- I added SIN as a mileage run; any compelling reason to stop there?

- QF or BA from MEL to LHR?

- Any suggestions for a twentieth segment? The only thing I've come up with is changing the first segment to DFW-ORD-SFO. Pretty much everything else I tried breaks a rule or would require me to buy a fifth segment in Asia, Europe, or SWP.

- What do I do once I'm ready to book this? Just call up AA and ask for the xONEx gurus?

Any other suggestions/improvements are certainly welcome.

Viajero Feb 5, 2005 10:53 am
Originally Posted by AintSpike
- I added SIN as a mileage run; any compelling reason to stop there?
SIN is, IMO, just 'nice to see', 'interesting', but not 'compelling'. Nowadays I do stop there, but only because I hate turnarounds; must be getting too old for this. :)


- QF or BA from MEL to LHR?
For me, BA, but it is really a toss-up. Lots of great threads on this subject, right here in the archive.


- Any suggestions for a twentieth segment?
Maybe JFK-SJO-DFW?, or JFK-SJU-DFW? just MRs, of course, so not very exciting.

jerry a. laska Feb 5, 2005 1:15 pm
Originally Posted by AintSpike
DFW-SFO*-HKG*-NRT*-HKG-SIN-HKG-SYD*-CHC*-BNE*-PER*-MEL*-LHR//MAD-FCO*-HEL-PRG*-LHR-YVR-JFK*-DFW

That surface segment between LHR and MAD is more of an intermission. I'm planning to return home from LHR on a separate ticket, and I'll be traveling to MAD for work soon after. Once my work is complete, I'll finish the remainder of my AONE4.

Now that I think about it, that trip from DFW to MAD will likely entail the return leg of my LHR-DFW ticket combined with an LHR-MAD-LHR round-trip. Might as well just resume the AONE4 from LHR.
- QF or BA from MEL to LHR?

- Any suggestions for a twentieth segment? The only thing I've come up with is changing the first segment to DFW-ORD-SFO. Pretty much everything else I tried breaks a rule or would require me to buy a fifth segment in Asia, Europe, or SWP.

- What do I do once I'm ready to book this? Just call up AA and ask for the xONEx gurus?

Any other suggestions/improvements are certainly welcome.
If I was doing this I would just buy a separate ticket for one of your EUR routes and save the EUR segments to fly BA F to DXB. Using your AONE segments to fly in Club Europe seems like such a waste especially when you could fly to Prague or Rome for a reasonable price.

For QF or BA MEL-LHR I would also pick BA but search this forum and you will find others that liked QF.

For Booking call the RTW desk. Here's a thread with phone numbers.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390790
Instead of reading the entire route off to them over the phone, I usually call, tell them what I'm doing then fly the itinerary to the attention of the agent I was talking to then call back later.

You are probably aware of this but it is substantially cheaper to start in any number of other countries. If there is any way for you to rearrange your schedule so that you start from CAI, WAW, or some spots in Asia I would do it.

AintSpike Feb 5, 2005 3:38 pm
Originally Posted by jerry a. laska
If I was doing this I would just buy a separate ticket for one of your EUR routes and save the EUR segments to fly BA F to DXB. Using your AONE segments to fly in Club Europe seems like such a waste especially when you could fly to Prague or Rome for a reasonable price.
Good point. I keep forgetting that EUR is so generously defined for xONEx. I had included HEL for miles and for the chance to try AY, but this might be a better choice.

For QF or BA MEL-LHR I would also pick BA but search this forum and you will find others that liked QF.
I'm kinda leaning toward BA after reading some of those search results (and a terrific trip report by the legendary Seat2A over on the Trip Reports forum). Perhaps I can get a taste of QF F on that HKG-SYD segment.

You are probably aware of this but it is substantially cheaper to start in any number of other countries. If there is any way for you to rearrange your schedule so that you start from CAI, WAW, or some spots in Asia I would do it.
I have considered this, but the logistics are tough. My hands are tied by work right now; I have my boss's blessing to take a 5-week sabbatical this spring, but I have to make it fit in a window of opportunity on my current project which has an as-yet-undefined start date. Once I get the green light, I might have as little as a week to finalize plans, book this ticket, find hotel rooms, tie up loose ends at the office, etc., before I have to start. In my mind, it's worth the extra cash just to take one less scheduling headache off the table up-front.

Imperial Special Feb 6, 2005 10:51 pm
Originally Posted by AintSpike
Once I get the green light, I might have as little as a week to finalize plans, book this ticket, find hotel rooms, tie up loose ends at the office, etc., before I have to start. In my mind, it's worth the extra cash just to take one less scheduling headache off the table up-front.
Isn't there an advance purchase requirement for an AONE/RTW? Is a week enough?

jerry a. laska Feb 7, 2005 10:26 am
Originally Posted by Imperial Special
Isn't there an advance purchase requirement for an AONE/RTW? Is a week enough?
Reservations and ticketing must be completed at least 7 days prior to departure for area 1(includes US).
74N RESERVATIONS/TICKETING
75N -----------------------
76N .
77N . * RESERVATIONS FOR THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT
78N . AND ALL PRECEDING FLIGHTS ARE REQUIRED AS
79N . OUTLINED IN THE CHARTS BELOW.
80N . * ALL OTHER SEGMENTS MAY BE OPEN.
81N . * TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED AS OUTLINED IN THE
82N . CHARTS BELOW.
83N ORIGIN IN AREA 1
84N .
85N X INDICATES NUMBER OF DAYS
86N .
87N ------------------------------------------------------
88N I FARE BASIS I RESERVATIONS I TICKET MUST BE I
89N I I ARE MADE X I ISSUED: I
90N I I DAYS PRIOR TO I I
91N I I DEPARTURE OF I I
92N I I FIRST FLIGHT I I
93N ------------------------------------------------------
94N I AONE I 7 DAYS I 7 DAYS PRIOR TO I
95N I I I DEPARTURE I
96N ------------------------------------------------------
97N I DONE I 7 DAYS I 7 DAYS PRIOR TO I
98N I I I DEPARTURE I
99N ------------------------------------------------------
100N I L-ONE I 22 OR MORE I 21 DAYS PRIOR TO I
101N I I DAYS I DEPARTURE I
102N ------------------------------------------------------
103N I - I 21 TO 8 DAYS I 7 DAYS PRIOR TO I
104N I I I DEPARTURE I
105N ------------------------------------------------------

Gardyloo Feb 7, 2005 11:23 am
Originally Posted by AintSpike
I have considered this, but the logistics are tough. My hands are tied by work right now; I have my boss's blessing to take a 5-week sabbatical this spring, but I have to make it fit in a window of opportunity on my current project which has an as-yet-undefined start date. Once I get the green light, I might have as little as a week to finalize plans, book this ticket, find hotel rooms, tie up loose ends at the office, etc., before I have to start. In my mind, it's worth the extra cash just to take one less scheduling headache off the table up-front.
This is quite understandable, however I'd point out that given your itinerary, if you could get to Hong Kong on your own, (a) it'd save around $1000 in RTW fare, (b) you'd still have all the layovers and segments in Asia that you'd need, (c) you wouldn't need to book 7 days ahead since you wouldn't be ticketing in Area 1, and (d) if you dropped one or two short intra-Europe legs (to make room within the 20-flight limit) you'd be able to use the rest of your North America segments with additional stopovers when you get back to the US (i.e., only two stopovers allowed in continent of origin.) Just a thought.


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