I used CX in JNB..They would be my very last choice......
I will neve use them again.

If you'd provide us with some more details (for example to which places you have to go and whether a specific order is required) we might be able to assist you a bit more.

People here have deal with AA and this was a good experience with a very low booking fee ($30) IIRC.

Thanks for the suggestions. Here is version 2 with the business preferences :

AFRICA - All business Commencing July 2008
JNB-DUR 1/4 Conair J
DUR-CPT 2/4 Conair J

CPT-LHR INTERCON BA First

I looked at starting in Capetown & adding MRU. However there is no MRU-LHR on the date that I need (4 July). Secondly, I need to be in JNB, DUR & CPT in that order for meetings.

EUROPE - Business + SC Run

LHR-MCT 1/4 SC Run BA First to MCT (thanks for the tip DownUnderFlyer)
MCT-LHR 2/4 SC Run BA First

I need to be in Milan for business by late Sun 6 July (no problem)LHR-MXP 3/4 BA CE

Then I need to go to Frankfurt - problem : no oneworld services MXP-FRA and only 1 Euro sector remaining. Should I just buy an extra segment and go :
MXP-HEL 4/4 J Finnair
HEL-FRA 5/4 J Finnair
??

Or - use the last Euro Sector back to LHR and go BA/CX First to HKG
& in turn - pay for the LHR-FRA-LHR side trip ?


FRA-HKG INTERCON CX First
or
LHR-HGK INTERCON BA/CX First

ASIA - Business + SC Run (Business in HKG only) Nice thinking on the Asian sectors PandaPerth. Is the multiple use of NRT legal ? HKG is the only stopover - the rest can be transit

HKG-NRT 1/4 SC Run JAL First
NRT-SIN 2/4 SC Run JAL First
SIN-NRT 3/4 SC Run JAL First
NRT-BKK 4/4 SC Run JAL First

BKK-SYD INTERCON BA/QF First

SW PACIFIC - All Business - but can be woven into my normal travel over some months
SYD-AKL 1/4 LA First

Then how do I use the SWP sectors AND get back to JNB ?

SYD-JNB At some point before July 09 QF

Many Thanks
GCD123

How many SCs do you need? Maybe it doesn't need to be super optimized.

Regarding Europe. If you want to optimize (and you will not be using all 20 total segments) then you should go to HEL (>1200 Miles) and take a cheap trip to FRA. If you can't afford to loose a segment, then go to LHR and do a quick sidetrip.

Your itinerary has 18 flight segments (assuming four in Europe). So you still have two to go
You are using only two flight segments in Africa
If your initial 'positioning award flight' allows it then use it to arrive in JNB and to fly on to DUR
Start your AONEWC4 in DUR (anyone know a TA there?)
First segments will be DUR-CPT(stopover)-LHR
i.e just one segment in Africa
Use the remaining three allowed at the end of the journey, e.g. SYD-JNB-CPT-JNB-DUR (but only one of them can be a stopover)

Some options I can think of:

• MXP-MAD - purchased extra European segment, at the cost of an unused African segment - can be purchased in J or Y, followed by MAD-FRA in F on LA (as pointed out yesterday by Viajero)
  Note: IIRC there was some talk in this forum that TAs want to make the final continental flight the purchased one?"
• If you have the time to spare between business meetings in MXP and FRA, then do a surface segment: two ideas are
• MXP-BUD on MA followed by BUD to FRA on a choo-choo train (or even a riverboat if you have lots and lots of time:)), then FRA-HKG
• MXP-FRA by train thru the Alps followed by FRA-LHR-HKG

Also, iIf you finally fly LHR-HKG then if on the right day you can fly QF (according to some recent posts, QF in first with LHR-based cabin crew is the best of both worlds:)
Nothing in the rules to prevent it. And after all, you are travelling CPT-LHR-MCT-LHR which visits London twice; so what's the difference?

Don't quite see you problem here gcd123
You have three segments, you're in AKL and at the end you need to be in SYD to catch the SYD-JNB flight.
The trans-continentals give the most SCs (80)
The *ONEWC* has no restriction on the number of trans-continental flights (unlike the *ONE*)
Depending on what you end up doing with the unused African segments, you can have either surface segments or purchased extra flight segments in SWP
All in all you have a deal of flexibility in SWP