First Time Circle Pacific Questions...
 

Hi,
I'm about to book a LAX-SYD-CBR (stopover)-SYD-MNL (stopover)-HKG-DLC (stopover) -NRT-JFK-DCA Circle Pacific, for 21,630 miles.

This is the first time i book something more complicated than the open jaw, so please be gentle...

A couple of questions:
i (the easy one): Does it matter whether I take the QF or the AA codeshare? [likewise for JL]. My inclination is to take the QF/JL, because life is always potentially more complicated with codeshares, but I wonder if there could be any difference in the fuel surcharges, etc?

It seems AA wants me to take the AA-codeshares, b/c they propose that first, but then conceded that there was no rule.


ii) I have very little flexibility on dates. Flight KA920 on 26 june (HKG-DLC) shows on expert flyer as having D2 L0, but the AA round the world desk says that it is D0-L0, and can only put me on a flight on saturday, the 28th, which is too late for me.

The agent said she could waitlist me for the flight.

As a back-up, I'd like to buy a full-fare coach ticket HGK-DLC ($400).

But, if I end up doing that, I would need to get the whole trip re-routed ($100 change fee, less maybe $10 in PFC charges back)...can I trust the JAL agent in DLC (Dialan, China) to be able to take care of that?

Also, if I am already holding a Y reservation on the flight, under the same name (though I wouldn't give my AA number), would that screw up the computer process that waitlists me for the D/L.

Finally, they said there is no standby allowed, which I imagine is because the ticket is so complex...would it be better to leave that segment open, and then ask at the gate in HKG (or the club) just before boarding if they can force me into an available coach / business seat?

Any thoughts much appreciated,
Shawn

This is a question for which I would also be interested in the answer. FWIW if you had not figured it out already, AA gets a larger piece of the pie by booking the AA codeshares.

As best I can tell, as of right now HKG-DLC on June 26 shows up as D0 in EF. Perhaps you did a typo or wrong date.

Welcome to the wonderful world of yield management ....

KA 920 HKG-DLC on June 26 is D0 ....

KA 920 HKG06/26/08 10:25 AM DLC06/26/08 2:00 PM 320
J0 C0 D0 I0 Y9 B9 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0

but

CX904 / KA 920 MNL-HKG-DLC on June 26 is D1 ....

CX 904 MNL 06/26/08 6:30 AM HKG06/26/08 8:25 AM 773
J1 C1 D1 I0 Y9 B9 H0 K9 M0 L0 V0 S9 N0 Q0 O0
KA 920 HKG 6/26/08 10:25 AM DLC06/26/08 2:00 PM 320
J1 C1 D1 I0 Y9 B9 H0 K9 M0 L0 V0 S9 N0 Q0 O0

I've been noticing some discrepancies between ExpertFlyer and what CX says they have... EF shows D9 on most HKG-TPE flights one day, while CX only shows one with D availability. It has to be some kind of point-of-sale or other issue. It sure is frustrating sometimes...

It is not always a PoS issue; it is, for the most part, a problem of EF, and it has been like that for a long time, with several posts on the subject. Specify airline X and get one result; run the same query without specifying any airline and get a different result for the same airline X. It does not happen all the time, but enough for it to be a real problem. Why EF has not fixed this after so long is something I don't understand.

What (web-site) are you looking at to see CX availability when you say "while CX only shows..."? Does the CX website show seat availability by class? If so, can you point me to it?

Have you emailed EF about this? What did they say? This is a problem that I don't think I've ever encountered on EF. Is it polling different GDS' based on the query being run and those GDS' are returning different results?

Thanks for the feedback
 

Great, I'll call the RTW desk tomorrow morning when they open.

Does anyone know for certain that Circle Pacific lets you play the revenue management game? E.g., their computer doesn't force one to book it segment by segment, and therefore fall afoul of the limited availability?

Not if you have a paper ticket. Just throw the waitlisted coupon away. And if you buy an extra revenue ticket make sure it is fully refundable, then try to use the waitlisted coupon first - you may well get on on standby.

There is not a whole lot of benefit to booking AA codeshare over QF if you are in a premium class, however, the benefit to booking AA codeshare over JL is that you do not receive the elite status bonus on JAL if you collect miles in AAdvantage and have status.

CX reservations, actually. I'll call to make changes to an itinerary, only to have them tell me there is no availability (when EF says there is).

Viajero, I will have to try the same query without specifying CX to see if it comes up different.

alls well that ends well...
 

Darren, Thanks for the info--I'm planning on doing the platinum challenge (just the LAX-SYD flight will get me 10k points) so should be platinum by then, so it means 8,000 more miles.

Alls well that ends well on the reservation, I was waitlisted for the DLC sector yesterday but am now confirmed...

Two people i soke w/on the RTW desk assured me that there were no fuel-charge-implications for booking the codeshare or not...

best,

Shawn

final update
 

So the ticket was $5830, which means only $330 in taxes / fees, which somehow seems reasonable to me. (I had expected 10% or $550).
I don't have the breakdown though, and don't know how it might have been different w/other code-sharing options.
I took the AA codeshare both to CBR, and on the way back on from NRT to JFK (wasn't available DCN to NRT).
best,
Shawn