Hi Guys.

Looking at burning the rest of my AAdvantage miles on a 1 month trip in April 2008. So far, I have the following routing

JFK-NRT (6745) AA/JL
HND-ITM (251) JL
ITM-FUK (297) JL
FUK-PVG (533) JL
*** Fly to and from Beijing ***
PVG-HKG (779) CX??
HKG-SIN (1588) CX
SIN-PER (2420) QF (BA?)
PER-AYQ (1023) QF
AYQ-MEL (1185) QF
MEL-SYD (439) QF
SYD-AKL (1345) QF
AKL-SCL (6011) LAN
SCL-EZE (709) LAN
EZE-GRU (1070) LAN
*** Open Jaw ***
GIG-LHR (5734) BA
LHR-JFK (3451) AA

33579 miles / 16 Segments = 190,000 FF Miles for C

Which routes will be most difficult to find availablity for? I'll book the award around dates available on those routes.

I have ~1400 mile leeway before i hit the next award level. What cities would you skip on my itinerary??

I read reports that the LAN AKL-SCL route may be difficult to secure.

Nice trip! ^

This is one of the stranger OW itineraries I have seen... a fully-populated, sixteen-segment award where every "connection" is a stopover.

Nothing wrong with this, but I'm compelled to ask: Is this truly what you intended?

(As a side note: you're also aware that an open-jaw counts as a segment? So I see seventeen segments here.)

Are you sure? Nothing on the AA website under the open-jaw rules (just says 1 is allowed)

And yes, this is what i wanted. An Asia / Australiasia / South America itinerary. And since it fits, what the hell, let's go to London.

Have you read Section 3 of Austinrunner's excellent sticky in the oneworld forum?

Reading now... ^

Surely, you could route something like NRT-PEK-PVG and use the savings on intra-Japan rail segments?

(Where's Dragonair when you need them?)

What oneworld airline flies PEK-PVG?

It depends... when are you booking this? (Hence my comment on Dragonair.)

Dragonair would require me to make a connection (via HKG). As you see, I don't want any connections so as to maximize destinations.

I'll be booking over the next few weeks.

This thread will now fly over to the oneworld Forum, in only one, nonstop segment.

Gotcha. But, you could do NRT-PVG, purchase PVG-PEK-PVG as you have already planned, and spend the saved segments on something a little more "meaty" than ITM-FUK.

When does Dragonair join oneworld?

Don't know, but doesn't JAL do NRT-PVG?

No recent news on oneworld's website - this is the most complete news item, but it merely says "in 2007," and there is no further specificity as to date I can find. It DOES say, in another bit:

"March 1, 2007

oneworld® today confirmed the dates when LAN Argentina and LAN Ecuador will join the global alliance as affiliate members.

Both airlines will board on 1 April, when Japan Airlines (JAL), Malév Hungarian Airlines and Royal Jordanian Airlines will also start offering the alliances services and benefits as full members. Five other members of the JAL Group will also join oneworld on the same day, as affiliates -JALways, Japan Asia Airways, JAL Express, J-AIR and Japan Transocean Air.

Dragonair, which has also been elected on board the grouping as an affiliate member, will follow later this year, after all necessary joining technicalities and processes have been completed.

As affiliate members, LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador and Dragonair will offer the full range of oneworld services and benefits."