Moving an Entire Circle Pacific ticket earlier.
 

I have a ticketed DCIRC22 that i need to move 3 weeks earlier - including the initial departure. My reading of the fare rules seems to indicate that moving the initial departure date is going to require a cancel and rebook, with the associated 11% fee. :( (Around AUD$1670 for two of us - assuming they don't charge it on the taxes)

I don't suppose anyone wants to offer some hope before I call AA tomorrow and fork out the cash? :)

CHrisb.

My reading of the rules is the same: it's a cancellation subject to the 11% forfeit plus a service fee, if any.

Portions of the post that previously appeared in this space have been deleted. I would provide you with a reason why, but doing so would likely be against the TOS.

The rules for cancellation and refunds vary not only between fares but also depending on the origin (TC1/2/3), so it is not easy to give you an answer without quoting the full paragraphs. See the PDFs on oneworld.com for details.

Changing the initial flight of a ticket seems to always require a new ticket (on every airline and fare basis that I have ever seen). Often easy to work around this for a later date, but impossible for an earlier date, so you are stuck with the cancellation fees and rebooking process. Sometimes I buy tickets with an extra first leg, eg. CBR-SYD, which I fly just to activate the ticket, and then the subsequent segments are fully changable (often free, sometimes with a small fee) and good for a year. This works well when you don't know your initial travel date for certain and can afford an extra first segment.

It was discussed here only a few days ago and real life examples provided that demonstrate that it is perfectly possible - within the rules - to change the first flight without a reissue.

That's a great idea number_6! Does this also apply to a DONEx?

For example, in my case I am working all the details of a DONE5 originating in South Africa. Currently CPT-LHR is not available in D for the entire week I want, but could I issue DUR-CPT-LHR-... with DUR-CPT confirmed on a firm date, thus allowing me to change the date of CPT-LHR when BA decides to open inventory?

Thanks!

Hmm... the rules about changes affect, when applicable, not just the first flight but the first international and/or intercontinental flight and all preceding flights. I can't see how, in those cases, a DUR-CPT, or CBR-SYD, changes things.

Well the oneworld Explorer rules on changes are:I think (but I am not speaking from personal experience) that the issue is that the validity of the ticket is determined from the departure date of the first segment (which is a rule on all tickets, not just the oneworld Explorer/Circle Explorer, etc.) So if the first segment is changed, the entire ticket needs to be re-issued because the ticket validity changes. I don't see anything in the oneworld Explorer rules disallowing changes even to the first segment.

True, but as I said before we don't have to go on opinions, particularly mine, that lack experience in this area; we have real cases, from experienced OWErs, that the ticket does NOT need to be reissued after first segment date changes.

True, I think in practice they allow it, but every agent I've talked to says you can't do it "legally".

I wonder if those who have changed the first segment contacted the operating airline directly, not that it should make a difference.

I just called my favorite agent at the AA RTW desk, she checked with tariffs and confirmed what you just said: that the rules about changes affect not just the first flight, but the first international flight and all preceding flights. She said these rules are not specific to the oneworld Explorer, but to all tickets.

So for me, there's no point doing this, since chances are I'll be able to change that first flight anyway.

Point of origin affects the rules, and both DUR-CPT and CBR-SYD are origins which allow it (but Area 1, which might be where you do all your origination, does not!). So the rules do differ even for the same fare product.

As for the reissue/revalidation/cancellation argument, I've looked up the IATA rule on this and it changed in 2005. The current rule is "Reroutings and Refunds: for totally unused tickets, there is no longer a need to refund original ticket and issue a new ticket. The ticket may be reissued based on latest fares and latest international rate of exchange (IROE) at time of reissue." I'm not sure how that differs from refund/issue a new ticket, except for not involving the credit card, as the "reissued" ticket is repriced, so it is the same price as a new issue and not necessarily the same price as the original ticket. I guess this is the essence of the situation: you lose the original ticket price (and rules) if you do change the first flight on the ticket. The new price and rules may or may not be the same. Prior to 2005 it involved a refund/payment, now it is an add collect if the price has gone up. Most people expect a reissue to be for the old price/rules and not like a new ticket, and this is simply not the case (for any IATA airline).

Date change is allowed (for area 2/3 -- not for area 1) but routing change is not prior to the first international flight. So the agent is right about a routing change, but you wanted a date change -- which is allowed for your ticket, but not for most AA tickets (which are area 1 origin). So you got a mixture of the right and wrong rules (or implicit info that is explicitly wrong).

If you choose to do DUR-CPT-JNB and fly DUR-CPT, you lock in the fare and more importantly the exchange rate. No changes when you change the date for CPT-JNB. If you issue the ticket as CPT-JNB and change the date later, the ticket is reissued and repriced at the fare and exchance rate that is in effect at that time. This could be higher or lower than today (but 99% chance that it is higher by several percent, and maybe 10% chance of being more than 10% higher). So there is some financial risk involved, it is not a sure thing. But those are the rules and your options. If you ask AA for advice, they will tell you to do CPT-JNB and not DUR-CPT-JNB (more money for them, and a shot at a much higher fare later).

I do that too on tickets purchased in NZ. Baffled my TA (why waste a segment in economy on a first/business ticket?) until I explained why I do it. (I have other reasons for doing this as well - this is just one justification.)

Incidentally the same "trick" is possible on some other non-RTW/circle fares as long as stopovers are allowed in the country of origin.