An AONE4 ex-NRT for your comment and advice
Feb 11, 2007 | 5:21 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ PPS, LH SEN, Amex something, nothing everywhere else
Posts: 994
An AONE4 ex-NRT for your comment and advice
If all goes well, I should passing through Tokyo a week from today, and that seemed an ideal opportunity to start my next RTW trip. I'm planning the following itinerary for an AONE4:
NRT-HKG-FRA,AMS-LHR-MCT-LHR-AMS,FRA-SCL-IPC-SCL-GRU-JFK-DFW-ANC-DFW-SJO-LAX-JFK-HKG-SIN,HKG-NRT
This should create a nice balance between seeing new places (like IPC, ANC and SJO) with maximizing real F sectors, especially on CX. Other considerations are earning AA miles (so I can finally make it to EXP.) At around 30k EQP this year already and some more business trips coming up, this should not be a problem.
I'm assuming the HKG-FRA flight is crewed by HKG-based staff and does not suffer from the inferior service offered on the LHR flights.
Another objective was to avoid LHR as much as possible, with all the BA(A) nonsense regarding luggage, carry-on, taxes, etc ad nauseam. I can avoid the worst by doing AMS-LHR-MCT-LHR-AMS. This is a nice long weekend trip for me. The AMS-LHR-AMS sectors are a bit of a waste on an AONE4, but the savings in taxes makes up for it. And since it's all T4, I can minimize the pain and misery of LHR.
I'll also have a chance to try LA F on the FRA-SCL route. The big downside of this routing is the connection to IPC, as I was hoping I could do a long weekend here too. Sadly, the FRA flight arrives 30 minutes after the IPC flight departs, which means I'll have to spend a day in SCL. Then again, I haven't been there for far too long. It looks like FRA-SCL-IPC-SCL-GRU-JFK is going to take a week as the IPC-SCL-GRU connection is problematic as well. I'll get a separate ticket back out of JFK to AMS. Obligatory AA F question: coffins or suites on GRU-JFK?
I hope I can get the ANC run done this year, as I simply didn't have time to do it last year. I'm thinking of adding a surface sector after I arrive in LAX so I can do YVR-JFK on CX rather than LAX-JFK on AA. I'm still undecided on that.
The last part HKG-SIN, HKG-NRT makes for a nice ending to the trip. Getting from SIN to HKG is relatively easy and painless, and this way I can maximize my CX F flights.
I'm not sure whom to ticket this with yet: CX seems the obvious choice, but AA might be cheaper with fewer fuel fines. I'm just a bit leery of ending up with a hand-written 20-segment ticket given the sad state of Sabre. So I may just plump for CX at NRT. I am assuming I can pick my ticket up at NRT rather than having to go into town; I haven't contacted CX in Tokyo yet.
Any comments and advice would be greatly appreciated as always.
NRT-HKG-FRA,AMS-LHR-MCT-LHR-AMS,FRA-SCL-IPC-SCL-GRU-JFK-DFW-ANC-DFW-SJO-LAX-JFK-HKG-SIN,HKG-NRT
This should create a nice balance between seeing new places (like IPC, ANC and SJO) with maximizing real F sectors, especially on CX. Other considerations are earning AA miles (so I can finally make it to EXP.) At around 30k EQP this year already and some more business trips coming up, this should not be a problem.
I'm assuming the HKG-FRA flight is crewed by HKG-based staff and does not suffer from the inferior service offered on the LHR flights.
Another objective was to avoid LHR as much as possible, with all the BA(A) nonsense regarding luggage, carry-on, taxes, etc ad nauseam. I can avoid the worst by doing AMS-LHR-MCT-LHR-AMS. This is a nice long weekend trip for me. The AMS-LHR-AMS sectors are a bit of a waste on an AONE4, but the savings in taxes makes up for it. And since it's all T4, I can minimize the pain and misery of LHR.
I'll also have a chance to try LA F on the FRA-SCL route. The big downside of this routing is the connection to IPC, as I was hoping I could do a long weekend here too. Sadly, the FRA flight arrives 30 minutes after the IPC flight departs, which means I'll have to spend a day in SCL. Then again, I haven't been there for far too long. It looks like FRA-SCL-IPC-SCL-GRU-JFK is going to take a week as the IPC-SCL-GRU connection is problematic as well. I'll get a separate ticket back out of JFK to AMS. Obligatory AA F question: coffins or suites on GRU-JFK?
I hope I can get the ANC run done this year, as I simply didn't have time to do it last year. I'm thinking of adding a surface sector after I arrive in LAX so I can do YVR-JFK on CX rather than LAX-JFK on AA. I'm still undecided on that.
The last part HKG-SIN, HKG-NRT makes for a nice ending to the trip. Getting from SIN to HKG is relatively easy and painless, and this way I can maximize my CX F flights.
I'm not sure whom to ticket this with yet: CX seems the obvious choice, but AA might be cheaper with fewer fuel fines. I'm just a bit leery of ending up with a hand-written 20-segment ticket given the sad state of Sabre. So I may just plump for CX at NRT. I am assuming I can pick my ticket up at NRT rather than having to go into town; I haven't contacted CX in Tokyo yet.
Any comments and advice would be greatly appreciated as always.
Feb 11, 2007 | 6:23 pm
#2
Moderator, OneWorld
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: SEA
Programs: RAA RIP; AA ExEXP
Posts: 12,521
I'm phoning AA in Japan later today to arrange pickup of a DONE4 at NRT in 10 days' time. I hope they can send me a credit card authorization form that I can fax back (with appropriate pictures) so I don't have to wait until I'm at NRT to pay for the bloomin' thing.
I made the res with 16 segments (and will add more later) so as to allow e-ticketing (promised by the AA RTW desk) and have no LHR pass-throughs. Itinerary is NRT-LAX//YVR-JFK//SEA-DFW-ANC-DFW-SEA-ORD-FCO-MAD-JNB-MRU-JNB-HKG-SIN-xHKG-CTS. I'll add in TLV when I do a reissue, and may reconsider FCO-MAD while I'm at it; maybe I'll transit through LHR one way in order to see if NNCW makes it to the TLV planes.
Total taxes/surcharges came to USD476, or 7.8% of the base ticket. Better than BA and that's fer sure.
I made the res with 16 segments (and will add more later) so as to allow e-ticketing (promised by the AA RTW desk) and have no LHR pass-throughs. Itinerary is NRT-LAX//YVR-JFK//SEA-DFW-ANC-DFW-SEA-ORD-FCO-MAD-JNB-MRU-JNB-HKG-SIN-xHKG-CTS. I'll add in TLV when I do a reissue, and may reconsider FCO-MAD while I'm at it; maybe I'll transit through LHR one way in order to see if NNCW makes it to the TLV planes.
Total taxes/surcharges came to USD476, or 7.8% of the base ticket. Better than BA and that's fer sure.