New routes?
 

Take a look at this thread. Several interesting new(?) flights there for us OWE addicts. Edit: don't just read post #1, there are more flights listed a few posts after.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=699372

Edit 2: Great new for me, at long last I can say goodby to that dreadful stiop in LIM on the way to/from LAX/JFK.

ANC-HNL in December is fascinating. I assume the eastbounds will be empty save for the cabin crew.

More like northbounds, and would that SEA/ANC-Hawaii were possible on a OWE. We ex-Alaskans used to rely on Western Airlines' triangle routes all the time. Guess it's time for another of my semi-annual letters to Santa about AS being lured into OW...

ANC-HNL is actually a very popular flight from what I've heard -- NW did this a few years ago. Apparently the residents in Alaska like to take a mid-winter break and go to Hawaii.

Here's another new route, LAN Peru starts LIM-MAD 3 times a week (Sun, Tue, Thu) on August 7 using a 767-300ER. This is in addition to Iberia's daily A340 flight.

I didn't think we could use AS metal even if they had a AA flight number in the OWE.

You're absolutely correct. The original post about new routes wasn't aimed in that direction.

I had been assuming that the same reasoning applied to Mexicana and assumed that the LA flight YVR-MEX was not possible. However, a couple of months ago one of the contributers here mentioned in a private message about having it on their itinerary and I note that the MileageMonkey validator shows it. Is it allowed?

Yes....but no. Yes, it's allowed, no it's not on LA's codeshare. It's on JAL.

I'm confused. Mexicana metal allowed in the OWE?, JAL? (OW timetable says LA5095)

No - JL11/12 Operates two days per week.

But unless I'm reading it wrong ReelChief is talking about a LA codeshare on Mexicana metal so I'm trying to get that issue clarified. The fact that there exists a JL flight, coded and operated by JL seems to me immaterial, because it's just another OW flight, right?.

It's not immaterial because that's why the flight is allowed on the validator. At least my understanding of Reelchief's confusion was why the validator allowed the flights and whether the routing was valid. The Mexicana flights are not allowed, but the validator okay's the routing due to the JAL flight. Reelchief doesn't say whether the person in the PM was on MX or JL, since a couple of months ago would have been after JAL joined. If the flights were on MX, a ticketing agent goofed.

Bottom line is that you cannot take the MX flights, codeshare or otherwise, but you can validly get to Mexico City from Vancouver due to the JAL flight. Though, as christep said, it's not very frequent.

Thanks for these clarifications about YVR-MEX on LA or JL. Darren is right that I was inferring that the validator's response of "valid" applied to the LA code share because I had in mind the information received in a PM from a FT contributor about the LA flights. In checking now what he/she wrote to me in early May, when I expressed doubts about the validity of YVR-MEX, the relevant part of their message stated "YVR-MEX is LAN (not ticketed as yet but MRU BA said ok)". Presumably, it did not get ticketed but if that FTer is currently out there, perhaps they can chime in.