FlyerTalk Forums - Please check these itineraries:

FlyerTalk Forums (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/index.php)

- oneworld (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld-411/)

- - Please check these itineraries: (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld/779730-please-check-these-itineraries.html)

Please check these itineraries:

HKG-NRT-DEL-NRT-SIN-SYD-AKL-SYD-JFK-LAX-SJO-LAX-SAL-LAX-LHR-MCT-LHR-CPT-JNB-HKG

67756 miles

HKG-NRT-DEL-NRT-SIN-SYD-AKL-SYD-JFK-LAX-DFW-ANC-DFW-PHX-LHR-MCT-LHR-CPT-JNB-HKG

65677 miles

Would like suggestions on maximising the mileage. Trips will be in F.

Thanks! :)

Some Ideas:
Instead of LHR-CPT-JNB-HKG you could do LHR-HKG and in addition DFW-EZE-DFW or JFK-EZE-JFK.
Would result in 2500 additional miles, same amount of continents (no stop at one US entry, so you need to change segments around). Same number of continents, but you have tu suffer AA F vs. BA/CX F.

Also keep in mind that some of the US flights are on single aisle flights on AA - F is torture on long (esp. night) flights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hairpeace (Post 9078172)

Here's a variant with 20 segments and 69,586 mi per GCM -

HKG-NRT-DEL-NRT-SIN-SYD-AKL-SYD-JFK-YVR-DFW-ANC-DFW-MIA-PHX-LHR-MCT-LHR-MRU-JNB-HKG

If you need to get to CPT or LAX those flights are cheap from JNB and PHX respectively. Uses the CX JFK-YVR flight and LHR-MRU. Note YVR-DFW doesn't have F.

Is there F on NRT-DEL?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardyloo (Post 9079762)

No, the route is serviced by JL's J lie-flats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hairpeace (Post 9082518)

No, the route is serviced by JL's J lie-flats.

Then you will only get J mileage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cxfan1960 (Post 9082624)

Then you will only get J mileage.

Clearly! :o

I did not go through in details, but there are two items I would like to bring to your attention:
* What is the limit - 16 or 20 segments?
* For SYD-JFK, there is a stop in LAX. Is this flight considered a 1-segment or 2-segment flight? If it is a 2-segment flight, that should be factored in for the 20-segment calculation.

One more item, if SYD-JFK is considered SYD-LAX-JFK, then the JFK-YVR will be back-tracking. I hope I am wrong.

Backtracking is no problem on the AONEx.
There is a restriction of only 1 transcon in the US - there is a list of the end points for transcons in the rules.
Also as long as it is one flight number it counts as one segment - even if the flight stops somewhere.

20 segments may soon disappear...

I'd consider booking this sooner rather than later. This was posted online via Business Traveller Magazine:

The arrival of e-ticketing means that possible flight sectors offered by the Explorer round-the-world ticket will be cut from 20 to 16. This will make this particular deal less attractive because the ticket will still be charged at the same price.

Right now one of the multi-continent Explorer ticket’s big selling points is that it provides passengers with more flights than any other RTW offer (a maximum of 20 compared with the 15 of its rivals). The ticket features major carriers like British Airways, Qantas, JAL and Cathay Pacific and is a popular option for travellers heading for the US, Asia and Australasia.

The reason is all down to technology. Travel agents now issue a paper ticket to passengers booking more than 16 sectors as that is the greatest number of flights which can be e-ticketed. But the imminent phasing out of paper tickets will spell an end to the practice.

A Oneworld spokesperson says: “Oneworld is having to reduce the number of sectors available in its multi-continent [Explorer] fares to 16 because this is the maximum number of sectors which can be supported under the IATA standard for electronic tickets.

“The industry, led by IATA [the industry trade body], moves fully into electronic ticketing from the end of May this year. The reasons for the 16-sector limit are mainly technological. Systems can handle only a specific amount of data per ticket and trips involving more than 16 sectors would exceed that limit. Over time, as technology advances, this restriction will hopefully be eased.”

According to Oneworld, only “a very, very few people booked itineraries in excess of 16 sectors so the impact of this restriction will be limited”. Passengers planning a 20-sector ticket from June onwards should book as soon as possible before paper tickets are consigned to the scrapheap.

SYD-JFK is one coupon (just as SYD-LHR etc.) and does not count against the transcon rule.

The 16-segment change has been known for some time; current betting is that June is the drop-dead date. 20-segment RTWs are still being booked all the time. But of course rule changes (and fare increases) can happen any time, so snooze = lose.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyFlyer (Post 9085170)

Right now one of the multi-continent Explorer ticket’s big selling points is that it provides passengers with more flights than any other RTW offer (a maximum of 20 compared with the 15 of its rivals).

*A RTW has 24 segments. Unlike OW, *A has not been saying they need to reduce it to 16 (although that doesn't rule it out either).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer (Post 9087659)

*A RTW has 24 segments. Unlike OW, *A has not been saying they need to reduce it to 16 (although that doesn't rule it out either).

Are those (>16 segment) tickets currently issued electronically? My understanding was that Sabre couldn't handle more than 16 segments electronically (which kills it for AA and, by extension, OW). If *A can currently issue >16 segment tickets electronically, then there would presumably be no reason for them to change. Whether or not they can currently issue such tickets is presumably a "known" fact?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gardyloo (Post 9086567)

Please look at this post:

Quote:

Originally Posted by number_6 (Post 8934731)

IATA is mandating a very simple solution for the >16 segment problem: all IATA airlines must support linked PNRs by mid-2008. Many do now already; even AA has had this capability for years (but most Aagents are unfamiliar with it). The ticket can be arbitrarily long, split into 16 segment PNRs. This also allows for unlimited open jaws, if desired, as well as handling most other restrictions. And the ticket pieces can clear independently, so none of the back-end processes have to change, making this a fairly bullet-proof solution. So now you know why the airlines have mainly ignored this "problem", as it is a non-issue (or rather, already solved). Does make for good fodder for FT threads, I suppose.

(my Bolding)

Here's the thread:

Paper -> eticket, + max 16 segments after June 1st

It seems oneworld Airlines are trying to pull the wool over our eyes, possibly justifying it with one(?) month lag between the "end of May" and "mid 2008".

Quote:

Originally Posted by tt7 (Post 9088833)

Not all (in fact far from it) airlines use Sabre ;)

Admittedly my last *A RTW was paper ticket, but I know I had some non-eticketable destinations included so I am unsure whether they can handle 24 segments electronically.