I HAVE read the sticky and as I understand it, I can change my RTW ticket for a change fee + a reissue fee. It is showing as booking class M not L though??

Anyway, the question really is simple. Current routing is LHR-HKG-SYD-CHC-ZQN-AKL-HNL-LAX-LHR.

We have booked a hotel in Hawaii, but on Maui and not on the island where Honolulu airport is. Originally, my wife assumed we'd be able to independently buy our own hawaiian airlines ticket over to Kahului airport and keep our original itinerary. However, she misread our itinerary, and we're on the 07:15AM departure from Honolulu -it seems to be impossible to get there in time on that morning from Kahului. My question is what is the best course of action -is it better to ask whether they can change the HNL-LAX sector to a 'surface' sector, making our own way over to Kahului and then on to LA, or is it best to see if we can get a surface Honolulu Kahului put in and ticket changed to go direct Kahului to LAX -the latter would be preferable as it would save us the money of purchasing a ticket from Kahului to LAX. Even better, is it possible to get added in Honolulu to Kahului and then Kahului to LAX as part of the ticket?? Any idea in the UK what the change conditions on this ticket would be, or if we're totally screwed.

My wife is going in to see the TA tomorrow (I'm on business in Tokyo ATM) -the TA is as clueless as me about this, and he is using a consolidator agent to book the rtw tickets so it's sort of me speaking to wife, wife speaking to TA, TA speaking to his TA and them speaking to OW.

Thanks in advance, I find it quite hard to get my head around!

Edit to add -departing on 19th if that helps, and having a stop in LAX for one night.

Are you sure this is a OneWorld ticket? What does the "Fare Basis" say? It really shouldn't be in M. If it's going through a consolidator then it almost certainly isn't a OneWorld ticket since those are fixed price and no reason for a consolidator to get involved.

That being so, the rules of the OneWorld tickets are irrelevant - you need to know what the rules are of whatever it is you have bought.

As far as I can see, only Air New Zealand flies AKL-HNL. If you're flying that route direct then this definitely isn't a OnWorld ticket since ANZ are Star Alliance!

Missed out SYD in the routing -sorry. So it is AKL-SYD-HNL (QF)

I paid the OW fare for this ticket so some how this should be a RTW fare -maybe it has been ticketed incorrectly, or...definitely showing up as 'M' on the sectors I can view through MMB.

Ticket no starts with 081 which is qantas afaik.

Obviously if it ISN'T a rtw ticket, then I'll have to wait for the story to unravel as it now seems it inevitably will do tomorrow when my wife goes in to see them.

So that would be GBP1549+taxes for LONE4s then?

081 is Qantas.

If it is an LONE4 then the change conditions are USD125 per head plus whatever service fee QF charges (perhaps 25 quid) for each reissue of the ticket, regardless of how much you change it during that reissue. You'd need availability on the flights you want to take of course.

But I suspect it won't be that easy - it could be that you've been sold something cheaper than an LONE4 by the consolidator and somebody's making a tidy profit somewhere - trying to get all your flights rebooked in L at this stage might be tricky.

That being so, the easiest course of action would be to book a hotel near HNL for you last night. Even if you have an uncancellable booking on the other island that is likely to be cheaper and less hassle tan two sets of change fees.

That sounds right -thanks^
I think that I shall have to have some serious words with the TA about this if it turns out that it is not a rtw ticket, or they don't honour those Ts&Cs.

Final question -do they convert the USD into pounds sterling at a set exchange rate, or is there a different system for ex-UK tickets?

Thanks very much for your help with this, I will certainly check this -I may phone BA tomorrow when they open and ask them just to see if they can see the ticket details -I haven't been given an e-ticket receipt with fare details on from the TA, instead simply a CMT print out showing the ticket numbers and itinerary, plus a seperate invoice on their letterhead -nowehere does it mention fare conditions. First lesson -ASK about the fare rules before booking!!!

Thanks anyway.

There are many types of "round the world" ticket. Clearly this is a rtw ticket in some sense since you are going round the world. The question is whether it is a OneWorld Explorer ticket (as you were apparently led to believe) or something different entirely (as I suspect).

I believe the change fee will get converted from USD at some not very good exchange rate, but I could be wrong about that.

I still reckon your best bet may be just to fly back to HNL the evening before. That way you don't have to open the whole can of worms with the ticket. But I would make very sure you have some solid documentation for what you've bought.

Trust me -I am DEFINITELY going to open the can of worms now! I don't like being taken for a fool, and I've had enough experience of airlines to know that it's better to know exactly what ticket I actually have before leaving the UK! Hopefully, there's some explanation as to why I've been charged for an explorer ticket but seemingly not got one!

Obviously, if it turns out that I don't have what I thought, I think the easiest thing would be to forego the non refundable rate I have and stay in Honolulu for the final night.

Theoretically though, I would much prefer to get the routing changed and TBH the price doesn't matter TOO much -obviously if it's going to be excessive then I'm not interested, but I could stomach say �75 change +�25 reissue + a few more airport taxes to get the itinerary I want -the flights between the two islands if i booked them independently, the lost deposit at the hotel and the night in honolulu would cost more. Have to wait and see!

Thanks again.

This sounds like a QF/AA RTW ticket and is not a Oneworld RTW ticket though. In that case, the booking class code would be different and M class would certainly play in your favour.

Your TA could have just thought that it would be cheaper to get you this RTW as it is cheaper cos you're not going many places. But that doesn't mean that you're being taken for a fool.. rather you did not voice your desired RTW ticket correctly. Your TA is just thinking of your best interest.

Besides, WHY on earth are you directing your instructions through your wife when you could very well just pick up the phone and speak to your TA directly?

Unless commencing travel from TC1 there is no USD125 per head for re-issue before travel has commenced; even if ticketed.

Of course, this may be moot as the fare does not appear to be a LONE4.

By the way, AA doesn't fly HNL-OGG, so you'd have to buy those flights separately anyway if it's an LONE4. But they do codeshare with Hawaiian, so you might be able to get them as part of a QF/AA RTW - you need to look at the rules in detail.

Oh yes, sorry - you are, of course, quite correct.

FWIW (not much!), oneworld economy RTW tickets used to book into M. That was changed to L some years ago - I can't exactly remember when but it's certainly a few years ago now.

You may have been sold a QF/BA "DREAMTIME" or "DREAMTIME PLUS" fare.

These are a good RTW products but should not have cost anywhere near the price of a OW Explorer. They are not OneWorld RTW products and if they were sold as such then you have reason to be compensated.

You can verify the cost of the Dreamtime product be asking another travel agent, make sure they give you the price of the M class version as there are multiple classes it can book into, each has a different price.

If you have access to the tickets then have a look at the far basis code, this will allow you to see what sort of fare it is (or ask the TA for the fare basis). For a Dreamtime Plus it could be MJBBGB.

This is a good point -my wife is like me in that she wants to handle this -I'm not exactly going to turn round to her and say 'I'll phone them' when she's already decided she's going to go in and see them, although I do take your point.

If it turns out to be a QF fare, which looking through the itinerary, looks likely, as the QF codeshares are used on most sectors, what would booking class M mean in terms of flexibility? Any help appreciated, thanks for your help and yes I of course take on board that I am likely to be at fault here, although it doesn't explain why I was charged for a OW explorer fare. Anyway, it's water under the bridge now, just interested in changing the ticket!

I haven't been given an e-ticket receipt, simply a print out from Checkmytrip, with no fare info available. ba.com is where I'm getting 'M' from when you click on the flight numbers it shows the ticket as being m class. I'm more familiar with BA ticket rules than QF, but would I be right in thinking that an M class ticket can actually be changed?
Thanks