AA OneWorld awards though have nothing to do with OneWorld in respect that no OneWorld carrier imposes any conditions on the awards - it is AA that manages both the bookings as well as the booking conditions. Therefore I would still stand by my original statement that AA OneWorld awards are largely irrelevant to this forum. I would however retract that statement if there were stickies that pertained to OW awards issued by other OW carriers.

Perhaps you should suggest to the AA mods that a sticky be set up on the AA forum that covers AA issues OW awards?

Then perhaps you should write one. I'm not aware of anything that would prevent you (or anyone else) from writing a "oneworld awards using [name your oneworld carrier] miles" sticky.

Bump

Even though their own website disagrees, AA claims that same cities (LHR,LGW) count as an extra segment.

I talked to 3 AAgents and everyone concurred.

I didn't see anything in the rules that said that a surface sector from LHR-LGW was not a sector, just that it does not count as your single permitted open jaw

Dave

Likewise, I did not see anything that said it was a sector. I am done with my ticket...does not affect me anymore.

It seems that if you are going through the trouble of listing same cities that it would imply that it 'is the same cities' and thus would count just like being at the same city.

It really should. From my talks with the AAgents I think this was a technical issue with their system rather than an actual rule.

Something about 'ARANCO' sp? Does anyone know what that means?

I assume that it referred to ARUNK ( arrival unknown ) for your surface sector between the 2 airports of the same city.

Dave

Yes, the last agent said she was going to try to delete the 'ARUNK' and re-submit for re-ticketing.

She said the ARUNK added the extra segment.

A few hours later she called back [I very impressed with this]. She said the ticketing was not accepted.

Again, it does not affect me anymore, but from what I can see if AA is going through the trouble of defining a 'same city' it really should be like a 'same city'

Well, same city doesn't imply same airport . It only lists the cities for which (a) the airports do not count as an open jaw and (b) the airports which count the same as for max visits to a city.

Dave

And three AAgents agreed with you so you are indeed right...still does not make sense to me...does not seem to cost (real or perceived) any more to them. From my conversation with them they agreed...it seemed to be some sort of system issue.

Haven't figured out how QF gets around printing the 20+ line items needed to print a OW RTW ticket. I do know that AA in BKK couldn't do it and handwrote the ticket rewrite (note not reissue). Kudos to the AA general sales agent and staff in an case. I won't even mention the fiasco almost created by adding two VIPs to the LONE4......

back on topic.

I suspect that the AA computer ticket processing is limited to 16 line items and when you change airports you end up with a (allowed) surface segment but handling that on the ticket forces you into an additional line item in the ticket. or 4 of the old style four-coupon tickets.

I suspect I didn't explain that too well and the only confirmation of that would have to be from someone behind the IT wall at AA.


Happy wandering

Fred

Because Qantas doesn't use Sabre

Dave

On the OW paid tickets, one can easily have the routing listed as LON. That allows one to go either XXX-LHR or XXX-LGW. Not sure if it works on the OW award ticket though.

Yes, and yes (there is no such thing as a oneworld "oneworld" award, the sticky in question discusses "AA oneworld awards"). Having one sticky per airline's FFP here in the OW forum is just silly - they all belong in the airline forum.

^ ^ Indeed, there is likely to be ample discussion of the new entrants.

To me, it's quite simple. As the AA-"oneworld" sticky contains information only of interest to AAdvantage members, it does not belong here. Keeping it here dilutes the purpose of the OW board; posts here should be related to oneworld issues, not people who are confused about one particular type of AA award. Redeeming AA miles on OW partners isn't the point of this board - if that were used as a proposal for a new board, I trust it would be rejected. Yet we have a sticky endorsing that position :confused: :confused: We shouldn't be changing the purpose of this forum to fit the assumption (by confused members of another forum) of what it's for.

(Now I've discovered the "recent discussion" mentioned in this thread, obviously referring to the thread I'm posting in now. Seems like lots some opposition to the sticky remaining, and some neutral-ish acceptance but not much endorsement - on balance it seems the "average" opinion is that the sticky belongs in the AA forum).

In case it's not obvious, I dislike excessive stickies (even on-topic ones). They just clutter the place up :p ;)

Ah, but that is the beauty of Oneworld -- the alliance that isn't. Every single aspect of the Oneworld alliance benefits (check-in, lounge access, priority, etc.) is different for each airline; with your logic, the OW forum should cease to exist, as there is nothing that can be discussed here (except maybe why OW HQ is located in YVR). Even the fare products have key airline specific differences. And having them centralized, allowing comparison between the different airlines, is very valuable. Yet by your logic, the fact that AA issued OWE is cheaper than the identical BA issued ticket belongs in the AA forum, after all only AA customers will get that lower price.

Let's leave well enough alone. This forum has worked well for the past 5 years. Why change now?

I agree entirely.

That's taking my view to the extreme :(. Clearly the OWE ticket is a specific OW product available from all OW carriers and subject to the same rules (although interpretation of those rules seems to vary ;)). AA partner awards are just that - AA, and have no underlying OW product.

My point about that sticky is that the author has clearly stated that it is AAdvantage-specific information and therefore of no relevance to people of other OW programs. OK, I accept that because that's his choice - but it then means the sticky should be on the AA board not here. :cool:

Maybe, but consider this: I frequent the AA forum and the OW forum, and can say that, IMO, the depth of knowledge here (yes, I'm talking about the AA OW award, not just the OWE) is greater here than over there and, perhaps of more valuable to a newbie, the questions here are answered with real expertise, civility and patience, traits that are often missing at the AA forum. It is the regular contribution of real experts here, behaving in a courteous manner, that makes this place a better home for the sticky

So, maybe the sticky doesn't belong here, but from the POV of a newbie, or someone who enjoys civility, I am glad it's here and vote for keeping it here.

That is not a good reason imo. Using that logic, then it should be ok to post anything unrelated to OW. Should this forum cover all AA queries on that logic?

Individual airlines have their own benefits ( and in case of AA , their own limitations ) but there are a set of standard OW benefits


Dave

I don't recall authorizing you to speak for me. What I have said is that the sticky applies only to oneworld awards using American Airlines miles. I have also said that I have no problem with anyone creating another sticky for oneworld awards using other oneworld airline miles. That is the beginning and the end of what I have said on this particular subject.

And just for the record, the sticky I authored was not the first post on the subject covered by that sticky. Far from it. This forum has been talking about oneworld awards for as long as I've been a member of FlyerTalk. New posts on that subject continue to flow in, quite apart from the sticky. The sticky is simply a synthesis of those discussions.

Carry on.

Well, not quite the "beginning and end" (I used quote marks just then to show that I was using your exact words). Below is what you actually said:
I believe I captured the gist of the above quote in my post below (note that I didn't use quote marks, so clearly I wasn't quoting you exactly), so I'm not sure what the comment about you not authorizing me to speak for you is about :confused: :confused:

As for your suggestion of having lots of stickies here for all other programs, well you might not have a problem with it, but just because we have one off-topic sticky doesn't mean we should have an off-topic sticky for each and every OW FFP. I don't think any stickies about OW awards for a given FFP are relevant here.

Ahhh, I finally understand (I think). I believe that what you're saying is that because we have off-topic posts, that we should have an off-topic sticky as well. Have I got that right, or perhaps I have misunderstood?

The OneWorld forum exists.

I think questions / stickies / etc. regarding OneWorld awards / purchases --even if related to a specific airline -- should be in the OneWorld forum.

The other forums are too busy -- more importantly as stated in my first line that is the purpose of the OneWorld forum: to discuss OneWorld 'stuff'

I could be convinced otherwise, but I think FT in general benefits the most here.