Hi there,

This is my first xONEx. I've been trawling this amazing forum for info for a couple of weeks and I think I'm almost there , but I could do with a little help.

Here is my DONE3 itin (// indicates stopover):

BLQ-LGW,LHR-NRT //
NRT-HKG-DPS //
DPS-HKG //
PEK-HKG-SFO //
LAX-LAS //
LAS-DFW-CUN //
CUN-BOS //
BOS-JFK //
JFK-BGI //
BGI-LGW //
LHR-RAK //
RAK-LHR,LGW-BLQ //

Planning to go ex-BLQ as we'll be there anyway.

I put this through the (awesome) Oneworld validator as follows:
BLQ-LGW,LHR-NRT-HKG-DPS-HKG,PEK-HKG-SFO,LAX-LAS-DFW-CUN-BOS-JFK-BGI-LGW,LHR-RAK-LHR,LGW-BLQ

But it gave me this error:
Rule violated!!!! [RAK-LHR] Max 1 segment(s): Ghana/Nigeria transit

Do we have to go back to LHR via Ghana/Nigeria?

Also, the carrier for LHR-RAK is GB Airways - I assume this is OK (it's on the list of valid OWE carriers)?

Finally - flight AA2312 (CUN-BOS): we plan to take this flight in late October 2005. However the OW timetable only shows it running until end April - then it disappears. Is this likely to be just the timetable needing an update, or does anyone know if its actually being discontinued?

Thanks for your help!

It shows it recommencing in early December, so probably it's just seasonal - unfortunately not your season.

I'm sure the RAK business is a glitch in the validator.

And welcome to FT!

If the CUN-BOS is indeed seasonal, then just cut out the BOS-JFK segment and do CUN-MIA-BOS or CUN-DFW-BOS. You can get from Boston to New York on the train for a lot less hassle than flying and probably shorter in time. And it will drop you at Penn Station, which is more or less in the middle of the city as opposed to dealing with Kennedy which I find is usually/always a nightmare. The Acela Express in biz is nice. The standard coach is fine if the train isn't crowded. Never been in or seen the Acela first class.

Oops... LHR-RAK-LHR is certainly OK.. I had Morocco in the list under both Europe and Africa. Fixed now in the validator.

Fantastic! Thanks for your help everyone.

Anton

Watch out for the number of London stops that you make and see you at LGW when you are doing it.

Spottie

All booked, paid and ticketed now. ^ ^ ^

Took Darren's advice (thanks) and booked CUN-MIA-BOS then will do surface down to NYC. Other than that, two slight changes (no LAX-LAS, and going home via NAS instead of BGI).

Interesting news
(maybe you all knew this already but I was pleasantly surprised):

We had no problem at all booking, paying and ticketing with the delightful people at the BA Travel Shop in Manchester, even though it was ex-BLQ (Italy) with a Euro-zone fare. Also, they charged Mrs AntonH's Amex (she needs the points) in Sterling, having converting from Euros at the mid-point rate. So we avoided the credit card exchange spread - i.e. this would have cost us about 2 - 3% more if we had paid locally in Italy with Euros.

I don't know if this would work for other fares (e.g. ex-IST/CAI/WAW), but may be worth a try one day for anyone based in the UK who wants the fare but not the ticketing-/payment-related stress of a non-UK origin.

Does your ticket say SITO or SITI or SOTO (top line towards the middle)? This may become important for you later. I am just a dumb passenger who happens to fly a lot, but I think they broke a few rules in issuing your ticket and this may shed some light on the matter for the rest of us. Perhaps the rules have changed in a favourable way (maybe an EU rule forcing sales throughout the EU, thanks to your BLQ origination -- which doesn't help with those from IST or CAI).

I couldn't find any such code on the ticket. Perhaps this link explains why. It appears that IATA have mandated that the International Sales Indicator codes will no longer apply from January this year.

I haven't been able to decode the rest of the contents of this document - can anyone shed any light on this?