Another RTW itinerary
 

Hello All, I have read many of the posts about traveling around the world here and I would love to get some tailored advice on my current plan. I have found this forum a lot more helpful than any of the airlines or travel agents I have talked to!

The stops are planned as follows:
BOS/SJD/SAO/LIM/NAN/SYD/PEK/BKK/DEL/NBO/JNB/TLS/BOS

Planning to leave Jan 2010 and end up in TLS by June 2010 (so 6 months of travel)

SJD is in there because we have a previously planned 1 week trip there

NAN is in there because we want to do a pacific island but we wouldn't mind going to another similar place that makes more sense as far as flight options

DEL is also adjustable as long as we end up somewhere in India

TLS is a family thing so can't change

The other variable we have talked about is switching the order of SYD and PEK (in order to travel in a hard place before relaxing in an easy place like SYD). Any input on the impact of this?

So there you have it, the idea is to hit those major cities and branch out from there on our own with other transportation.

I have tried planning with the online tools at oneworld, staralliance, and airtrek. None of these were able to give me exactly what I was looking for (although airtrek came the closest). I like the idea of being able to have flexible dates so airtrek might not quite fit either.

I would really appreciate any input that you might have on the locations, order of visiting, and booking options (either RTW tickets or Airtrek-style).

Thanks everyone, this is a great forum!

Welcome to Flyer Talk Glycerol :)

Do you have problems with security with a name like that? :p

NAN is not served by oneworld and would require either a separate ticket, or use of the global explorer RTW (instead of oneworld explorer).

But your itinerary is rather long and global explorer is mileage based, thus you'd need to drop some segments.

RTW tickets allow 16 flights. You will need to either drop some (or buy extra tickets for side trips) because you cannot fly your draft itinerary in only 16 flights. Most of your stopovers have no direct oneworld flights in between.

There is no intra-Africa flights on oneworld between NBO and JNB (NBO to JNB via LHR is not allowed because it is backtracking between continents). Thus this would need to be a surface sector (ie buy your own ticket) and surface sectors still count towards the maximum of 16 "flights".

As the post above you need to change your initineray. MM is a good starting point together with the Oneworld timetable

Thanks for the quick reply, you gave me a great tool to use! I will come back with a feasible itinerary!

Ok, after messing around a little (I love that interactive map!) I came up with a route that passes the verification:

BOS-DFW-GRU-LIM-SCL-SYD-PVG,HKG-BKK-DEL,JNB-BCN-BOS

We are planning to ride from PVG to HKG by train (for sightseeing) and from DEL to JNB by another carrier since apparently it's impossible to get from India to East Africa!

Unfortunately, when planning it on the oneworld site (with their flash app) I can't find a flight from SCL-SYD (even though it's in their route sheets).

What do you guys think about this new route?

Since the prices are based per continent is it worth trying to fill out my 16 segments? (I think I have 13 now).

Thanks again!

It's normally always worth using up your segments.

Qantas fly SCL-SYD as QF, LAN codeshare on this flight as LA. Note that this segment is very hard to get on an xONEx as L/D/A iavailability is generally minimal.

Have a look at this route for the dates in question using www.seatcounter.com - look for availability in the booking class you are after. (D for Business, A for First and L for economy).

Try SCL-AKL but as still hard to get as above post. A flight in the timetable and getting a flight are very different things. Also some flights are not every day. SCL then to EZE-SYD (on QF) may be easier from South America to Aust. Others have tried & failed to get from South America to Aust on a xONEx.

Try Cathay for HKG to JHB.

Link to your new initinerary here . Please be aware that flights in MM are not allways 100% correct as routes are inputted onto the program manually

Well that's just a kick in the pants then isn't it!?

Thanks for all of the input, I think it's back to the drawing board to find a way around south america...

With airtrek I have managed to put something together. Does anyone know off the top of their head what kind of restrictions they have on date flexibility?

Qantas fly EZE to SYD - use one of your three spare segments to get to EZE and try from there.

A couple of tweaks -

1. If you're traveling in economy class, SCL-SYD can be a hard ticket; however you have enough segments to go to Buenos Aires from either LIM or SCL, then take the nonstop Qantas flight to Sydney, which appears to have more "L" availability than the Lan flights from SCL to AKL or SYD.

2. If Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania is your desired landfall in East Africa, you can utilize the "free" LHR transit from DEL, and still go back to Europe from South Africa, with the surface segment being NBO (or DAR or EBB) to JNB instead of DEL-JNB. Read the Oneworld Explorer rules carefully for this wrinkle.

3. You still have 2 segments left, which could be spent in virtually any continent, including N. America.

For example, BOS-DFW-GRU-LIM-SCL-EZE-SYD-PVG,HKG-BKK-DEL-xLHR-NBO,JNB-BCN-MIA-BOS

There actually is lots of availability from South America to Australia in Business. L class is an issue but if you waitlist this soon there might still be a chance to get this done.

Regarding airtrek: I personally would just go through the AA RTW desk for this itinerary. They are very competent so there is no need for a Travel Agent.

Thanks Gardyloo, I will definitely check out the transfer thing. Does that mean that I would fly to NBO via LHR then? It might be nice to hang out in europe for a night or two after India...

If I use this transfer, can I stay in London for a while or would it have to be just part of the trip to NBO?

I'm still working on South America -> AU, I tried out EZE last night too and I could seem to find a flight (through the online tool). I will try and contact a live person at AA now that I have a more solid itinerary.

I will keep you posted on what I end up with!

You guys are awesome!

Read the rules again. You have to transit (not stop over) at London if you want to fly to Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania (or Nigeria or Ghana) otherwise you'd be entering Europe twice, which is otherwise prohibited. The transfer via London (either going to those countries or coming from) has to be in a direct connection to/from another continent (in your case, Asia.) This rule is due to those countries being connected to the rest of the Oneworld network ONLY through London.

Ok, I'm starting to get my head around this!

I read the rules... a couple of times. I obviously have a lot to learn about the airline industry!

Just a few lingering questions and I think I will be ready to book!

1) I get the LHR transfer thing, no problem. My question is: can I change my itinerary after I have started? Assuming that I stay within the rules, can I shift around my destinations? (I didn't know if "inventory" was the same as itinerary)

2) If I am staying in the same continent, can I backtrack to previous stops? For example, if I fly into SYD, then go up to CNS, but have to go back through SYD to get out to PVG is that ok?

3) Finally, I get that I have to book all of the flights before I fly international for the first time, but after that, if I leave them "open" when do I need to book them? Can I just walk in day-of and take a flight (as long as space is available)? Who will I be booking with? Specific airlines in the airport, a central desk to call, or somewhere on the internet? For example, this EZE-SYD, how often does that run and how soon would I need to book that?

You guys have been extremely helpful in figuring out this (seemingly) unneccisarily complicated product! Thank you so much! I don't know how I would have gotten this information from the official websites...

1.

After completing the first international segment you can change routing. As long as you don't change the continents this will cost USD125 + any service fee that may be applied.

Inventory does not equal itinerary. Inventory in this context represents the availability in the booking class of the type of xONEx you purchase. In the case of xONEx's it's basically A, D and L. This is important, see 3 below.

2.

Absolutely valid. Only limitation is 4 segments in each continent except for Nth America where the limit is 6.

3. You can book open segments with no issue. However you do need to actually book a flight before you travel. The inventory class relating to your booking needs to to be available at the time of doing so. The closer to the time of travel you do this the less chance of it happening. Space available does not come into it!

Here is another question. With this transfer thing, I think I can do one through north america too right? so could I get to SYD from LIM through LAX?

Yes, same idea - less than 24h in N. America. Also, not stated in the rules but applicable, only one connection is allowed in N.A., thus LIM-xLAX-SYD is okay, but LIM-xLAX-xSFO-SYD isn't, even if it's less than 24h from arrival at LAX to departure at SFO.

This is the itinerary I have come up with:

BOS-DFW-EZE-UIO-LIM-xLAX-SYD-HKG-BKK-DEL-xLHR-NBO,JNB-BCN-BOS

I would like to go directly to SYD from south america but I haven't been able to find any flights. I know there are a couple but they never seem to have any seats. What are my chances of getting on one of those flights? Or what are my options if I choose SCL-SYD for example but can't get a flight?

Thanks again!

If you're looking to maximise miles (maybe not since you want S.Am to SWP direct despite having spare segments) then obviously HKG-DEL-BKK-xLHR is over 3000 miles more than HKG-BKK-DEL-xLHR.

And LIM-xJFK-SYD is nearly 2000 miles more than LIM-xLAX-SYD.

MM does not like the intineray, but that may be an error in the programme.

As posts above you will have more chance EZE-SYD on QF if you want to to South America - Australia

If you choose SCL-SYD for example but can't get a flight you stay in SCL (for ever). See SERFTY's post 15 above: Inventory does not equal itinerary.

Have a look again. I just checked some dates for you in Feb 2010 and many of them show L9 at the moment where there was nothing just a couple of days ago. Same applies to March as well.

Interesting, I will have to check that out. I don't care much for maximizing miles since I really don't use a frequent flyer card (although I plan to get one for this trip).

I know that the itinerary doesn't pass MM but it's because MM doesn't count the transfers correctly (I think!)

:eek: This is FT and you say you don't care about Frequent Flyer Cards???? ;)

Seriously, for such a long trip a Frequent Flyer card will be able to provide you with enough miles for a free flight here or there. In addition, you might want to think about a Qantas Club membership to give you lounge access for some of the flights. It is a few hundred $$ but might be worthwhile for such a tour.

Oh I care! I just don't care yet...

That's my next line of research. I was thinking about getting an Amex Platinum which gives several travel related perks including access to many lounges at airports.

Any advice on where to get started with that would be much appreciated!

Where do you normally live ?
After this trip what airlines are you most likely to fly with ?
What credit cards can you get / have that can earn freq flyer miles ?
If you from USA doing the AA Plat challenge may be worth while (see the AA forum)
Freg flyer programmes are for the long term: not just 1 trip.

I live in Boston, MA

I have a general question about the AA miles, do they expire? If so, then these miles will be expired by the time I would use them again (unless I use them during the trip, which is quite possible).

In fact, I just came up with another idea, let me know if this makes sense: It turns out that we were already planning to be in Mexico around the time that we wanted to start this, and the flight there was $500, then I found a flight from Mexico to Lima for $300. That got me thinking, what if we started this ticket in South America, it's much cheaper!

So, I can pay $800 to get to South America, and get the 6 continent ticket from there for $4,400 (instead of $6,000 from the US). But, even better, I can make it a 5 continent ticket ($3,900) and use the miles I have accumulated to fly back to Boston from South America!

Does that make sense?

The Amex Platinum gives you lounge access with AA, CO, DL and NW. The only airline you will be flying from this list will be AA. So this limits your lounge access.
This is why I was recommending to maybe join the Qantas Club (discounted rates available through Australia Frequent Flyer) because it gives you access for QF, BA and AA flights which will be a significant part of your travel. The alternative would be to join Priority Pass which also gives you lounge access at many airports accross the world.

In terms of credit card, I would actually recommend the SPG Amex card. I don't know whether you have any hotel preferences but the Starwood Amex card is giving you quite some benefits and will cut down you hotel costs quite a bit.

This makes a lot of sense. In fact, now you are really in the FT spirit. Many of us fly to other continents just to start their trips there. Moa999 has complied a list of cheap places to start a business class trip (DONE4) and you can see that it is almost as cheap to fly business from some locations than it is to fly economy from the US.
Also, make sure your trip is ticketed by AA. The ticketing airline will apply their fuel surcharges to each segment (even when the flight is operated by another carrier). So if the ticket is issued by BA for example those charges can easily add another $1000.

Yes! Getting the rules straight is the hard part, figuring out how to get around them is the fun part!

The goal for frequenty flyer miles would be to use the points to either stay in nice hotels every once in a while or grab a free plane ride while exploring a country. It seems like I might have a hard time getting reward travel in countries other than the US with AAdvantage though, is that true?

Can I transfer the AA points to another program that I could use locally?

How about hotels? Are there any that share with Qantas or AA?

I plan to have enough miles for the flight back from south america to Boston before the trip, so anything I earn on the trip will be slush fund.

My experience is limited, but I have redeemed several hundred thousand AA miles on the LHR-HKG route on BA with very little difficulty so I don't think it's that simple.

Yes - an to get status, Also that when you travel you have free airline/hotels lounge access, be first in line for upgrades and other various status based perks.

AA miles can be used on AA flights as well as BA, LA, QF, RJ etc. etc. Look at their website but you the majority of flights will not be in the US but somewhere else. And no you can't transfer them to another program but that wouldn't be necessary anyway.

In terms of hotels, it usually is a waste of miles to use them for hotels. You can, but it is not good value. Some hotels will give you miles for staying there. Again, the better thing to do might be to sign up to a hotel credit card like the SPG one.

Here is a question, can I pay for a RTW ticket with miles? If so, how do I find out how much it will cost (in miles)?

It seems like I can generate a pretty substantial amount of miles through CC "churning" if I don't care too much about my credit.

You can. but it's a distance based OneWorld award ticket, not the same RTW ticket as the paid one. And each FF scheme has its own version. Assuming you mean for AA miles then details here: http://www.aa.com/aa/pubcontent/en_U...orld.jsp#using
(And further discussion on the AA board since it is specific to AA)

Interesting...

It looks like I can get a 35k-50k ticket for 160k miles...

Think I can rack up 160k miles in 4 months?!

Sure! Just spend enough money on your credit card.

Thanks for all the advice!
 

Hello All,

Just following up on this post. I did end up getting this ticket and taking the trip of a lifetime with my wife! We are coming to the end of it now, hanging out in France for the summer until we get back to Boston next month.

We ended up getting an explorer ticket:
BOS-MIA-xLAX-NRT-DEL-BOM-BKK-HKG-CNS-AYQ-SYD-JNB-LHR-TLS-LHR-BOS

We did South America on our own (just flew round trip MIA to Peru) since an extra continent was expensive!

Our next trick was taking a 22 hour layover in LAX on our way to NRT so it didn't count as a stop in North America! Plenty of time to see our friends there and be on our way.

We also explored China by train from HKG which was a stopover/money saver!

By backtracking across Asia we were able to catch the seasons in the right order which was nice.

All in all, an amazing trip and I couldn't have done it without you guys!

Here is our blog if anyone is interested: http://rachelandwayne.wordpress.com

P.S. The RTW ticket was a great money saver and we used the rescheduling privileges several times (including rescheduling our flights to Europe when that stupid volcano erupted!)

P.P.S. The miles thing was a bust. Most of our flights were on non-AA flights so we had to manually declare them and we still haven't gotten the points!

Not quite sure what you mean by this. Provided you had signed up for an AA FF account before you left, and that number was added to your RTW booking, the miles should post automatically to your AA account.
With a few caveats:
1) Miles earned on other other OW airlines sometimes take a few days to post.
2) Occasionally, even though your FF number is in the reservation, it gets left off an individual flight; each time you get a boarding pass, check that your FF number is printed on it. If not, ask the TA agent to add it and print a new BP.
Most importantly:
3) I had a quick look back through this thread, but I could not find out if you were flying in Economy, Business or First. If in Economy, these tickets book into L inventory which does not earn any miles on some airlines, and reduced mileage on others. (Notably CX is zero which you probably flew BKK-HKG, and JL/QF/BA vary from 25% to 70%, I think.)

Glad you enjoyed the trip though. I have done 3 RTWs in the past 3 years, to many of the places you visited, and agree that they are very good value - especially in premium classes.

happy Travels.

RTW mileage calculator?
 

Is there a good tool to help planning a round-the-world using mileage?
It seems the AA tool plans itineraries but does not reveal mileages.

The tool maintained by SLF that you can link to from this thread allows you to do this.

Right you are - fun and very useful tool. I found the OWE planner part essential for figuring out segments that worked (who knew how hard it is to get to Cairo or New Zealand on OW?).

I also found links at the top do not work:
The original site [ http://jph.bytestacker.com/award.htm ] should be checked periodically to see if the tool has been reloaded there. For other versions of the tool, please see here. [ http://slfft.allhyper.com/ ]