Well you're showing (I assume) "x" transits when none are needed except in the continent of origin due to the two-stopover rule. Certainly you're not obligated to stop over in Dallas all the time (yuk) but you don't need to show them as connections if you don't want to.

DONE3 CMB - 518500 AONE3 CMB - 884900
DONE4 CMB - 591200 AONE4 CMB - 980000

So A is around 65% - 70% more. Not a great deal IMO.

All in LKR, current exchange = 0.009311 USD

I don't think the circle fares are anywhere nearly as attractive as the OWE fares, especially considering the greatly reduced mile-earning prospects they entail. YMMV.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! No rest here in Korea, back to work today- oh how I miss Boxing Day- had a great Chrsitmas lunch at Cornerstone in the Park Hyatt in Seoul, which was excellent as it always is. My new top choice hotel restaurant in Seoul BTW. Up in the morning on KE, back in evening on OZ, both excellent.

Thanks for all of your help! I agree. The A fare is not as good value.

I think this will be our DONE4 routing, with some added tickets of our own:

(NON-DONE tickets bold)

icn-hkg//hkg-bkk-cmb -//CMB-HKG-LHR-MCT-LHR-IST-LHR-YVR-DFW-ANC-DFW-YUL-LAX/(lax-?lax)/ -JFK-SYD//(syd-bne-mel-syd)-PER-ADL( adl-mel-adl)-SYD-BOM-HKG-//(hkg-lhr)//CMB // cmb-bkk-hkg //-hkg-mel

The ICN-HKG-MEL sectors are from a oneway ticket leaving Korea- we are going to be relocating back to Australia after 6 years here.

It seems cheaper to get seperate tickets HKG-BKK-CMB, than just HKG-CMB, though that may change as we get closer to the booking date.

We will be leaving ICN on July 3, and have to be in SYD by August 4 to collect our dog from Quarratine, so all of the pre-SYD sectors have to be finished by then. The nested OZ tickets are to visit family and friends.

We want to head down to SFO from LAX, so will just buy a cheap return on AA.com, so as to not use a sector.

The onworld.com validator ok'd this routing, and as a bonus, the DONE sectors will earn 142939 AAPLAT miles, as far as I can calculate. The mileage is 63349miles, so at 1.5Qpoints per mile, this trip would earn us both EXPLAT status right? (With the extra ICN-HKG-MEL tickets on CX, J).

BTW, I had to get a new username for the time being, my computer won't let me login wil johnkennett. I'll try over the next few days an see if I can fix it.

No direct flights YUL-LAX that I can think of so this will be two segments.

I could change that to YYZ then, and there are direct flights to LAX from there.

What do you think is better- JFK to SYD via HKG, using CX, or using QF107 into SYD? I have to think CX has a better product, but is it worth going that far out of the way for? If so, I will have to cut a sector somewhere, to keep it at 20 sectors.

Keep the ideas coming! I have learnt a lot form flyertalk, and have passed on many tips to friends and family, who are grateful for many of the mileage/elite earning ideas I've picked up here!

In J QF is better as they have the newer seat (this will change next year as CX installs their new J seats). In F CX is better. For JFK-SYD going via HKG adds a day (basically same elapsed time to get to HKG as to SYD, and then another 9 hour flight for HKG-SYD).

It is the same issue from SIN or BKK (CMB to either of these cities) to LHR- should I take BA or QF. If BA are operating the new CW, then it would be a better flight than QF.

I'll also have to head over to the AA forum to find out which flight are the best to choose for the internal US flights when the cities are booked.

Maybe, but then you would have two transcons in North America. (YYZ-LAX, LAX-JFK).

I think I'll change the routing of the US sectors, so as to use CX.

YVR-JFK-MIA-DFW-ANC-DFW-JFK(EWR). That gives 6 sectors, all of them fairly long, with only one transcon. It also means I can use CX over AA, a much better use of the coupon I think.

number_6 will probably tell you that segment, in that direction, is not one of CX's finest.

but probably still better than taking an AA transcon, from what I read here.

In your case, given your itinerary, yes, without much of a doubt, but in general there are a few fine AA 763 transcons in A, like MIA-LAX, just to give one example, that personally I'd be quite happy to take over CX's YVR-JFK in D.

I sent the following routing to CX in SEL to price for me:

ICN-HKG-LHR-DXB-LHR-IST-LHR-YVR-JFK-DFW-ANC-DFW-SJU-JFK-HKG-MEL-PER-SYD-BOM-HKG-ICN

The expatriate services manager just called me, and told me that the routing is illegal, because

1. I have to go to Australia first from HKG, not LHR.
2. I can't use the JFKxHKG-MEL service, as this routing is not allowed, but must use the JFK-SYD-MEL routing on either QF or the AA code share!

Is she right? I emailed her and said I think that she might be mistaken. Any help you can give me please!!!

I am checking the price ex-ICN as the fuel surcharges on ex ICN itins are capped at about US$15 per sector, due to Korean government regulations.

When adding the cost of getting to CMB from ICN, to the tax savings, it may be cheaper to leave from here.

1. Yes she is right. You can do HKG-OZ, then OZ through to Europe. But you cannot do NA-x/HKG-Oz. Otherwise you'd have tyo do NA-OZ-HKG. Or you may do the opposite - HKG-NA, then EU, straight then to OZ, then back to Asia.

2. Yes she's right.

Again, CX will interpret OW rules and regulations as how they see fit. BUt the way WE interpret it may not be how your issuing carrier sees it.

Thanks for your help. If I can't do the DONE4 with the routing I thought, I'm really going to have to rethink the way I put the trip together. I think that we may have to go to Australia first- though that will help with the fact I need to get a new passport anyway.....

I really want to keep the same cities in the intin, I'm now not sure how to route it with OZ first, and still maximise the mileage....

Any help will be much appreciated!

I don't think a routing asia-europe-na-oz is illegal?? You just have to make sure that you fly from na to oz directly, and not through asia.

MEL-PER-SYD is an illegal routing, only 1 flight allowed between PER and SYD/MEL.