Hello all,

I plan to get back flying in 07 after some "quiet time".

BKK is where I want to go from DFW. I was looking at the $$$ for a DOne4 - maybe 5. The $2,000 spread to a reasonable place seems to be hard to justify. $8,300 N. Amr vs $6,200 Sweeden. Going to Maurituis seems a little out of the way from DFW.

There doesn't seem to be the spread there used to be. Am I missing something?

Any ideas on the best way to get from DFW to BKK, and enjoy the fruits of my labor while flying?

If I do start out in North America, then if I recall going through LGA to PEK and then down is a great way to go.

The other part of the trip through Europe will be mostly to aquire the most miles possible. Although taking a couple of days here and there won't be bad.

Thanks to WearyBiz for the excellent spreadsheet.

Cheers.

No, prices are up in local currencies, the value of the US $ vs most currencies has declined such that the great deals of the past are no more. Non-US based FT'ers have not been affected as badly.

I still think the 75K Europe-Africa J award is one of the great deals in Aadvantage, even if it inevitably means two overnights on IB to JNB, or (worse) a layover in HRE.

That said, while MRU is a pain to get to, S Africa is not that hard, and DONEx prices are pretty reasonable there. Of course the question "are they 75K miles reasonable" needs answering on an individual basis.

There are no long-haul intra-Africa segments available (JNB-MRU being the longest at 1908) but on most xONE4/5 itineraries some regions get "shorted" anyway to fit under the 20, so if starting in Africa means you don't use the intra-Africa segments fully, the loss (in mileage terms) isn't that great. Meanwhile you can use all the segments/stopovers available in the other continents without worrying about rationing them.

Just some idle thoughts.