Will this trip be possible on SkyTeam?
 

I have a fairly difficult trip to make in August, and I am wondering if anyone has experience - particularly on the Buenos Aires to Singapore run:

- Starts off easy: NY/NWK to Buenos Aires for all-day meeting on 21 Aug 08 and meeting close at 14:00 on 22 Aug 08
- Need to be in Singapore for a 09:00 start on 25 Aug 08
- Meeting in Singapore ends on 27 Aug 08 at 17:00
- Need to be Mumbai for 09:00 start on 29 Aug 08 (meeting ends 18:00)
- Fly back to NY/NWK preferred ASAP

Upgrades aren't a concern as I'll fly business class the whole way.

Thank you,
Steve

Welcome to FlyerTalk!!

EZE-SIN will be a bear, but I think you can do it in the time you have. The SkyTeam timetable spit this out:

It is back-to-back redeyes headed east. There is also a CO/NW option heading west via IAH/NRT but that doesn't arrive in SIN until 1am on the 25th, and that would probably leave you a bit of a mess for the 9am meeting.

SIN-BOM will not be on SkyTeam. From BOM-NYC you have DL or CO options that will leave late that night. Sadly you cannot do it as a RTW ticket in the order you have the stops.

sbm12,

Many thanks. That is a heck of a flight.

As I think about it, it might make sense to try to do this in a completely different alliance. I won't need the miles to maintain Platinum on Continental, and I might qualify for elite status in another alliance from this one, very long trip...

Thanks again,
Steve

You need to go on One World....And soon Continental will join OneWorld.

there's no need to go up to AMS. there is a CDG-SIN flight as well.

as for CO going ow, thats not sure yet, is it? ;)

I think you can also fly Malaysian to KUL/SIN more directly. You might want to check a RTW ticket, as it might save you some bucks, too.

RTW would be unlikely. The path NYC-EZE is east and SIN-BOM is west. Unless there is a RTW ticket that considers SIN and BOM in the same region so that it is not backtracking that would not work. Also, you'd have to go BOM-NYC westward at the end, which is not possible without putting another stop in the trip.

I was pretty sure that AF had a CDG-SIN flight but that didn't come up in the SkyTeam search and I didn't dig too hard. There is a 12 hour layover in Paris if you want that:
[KVS Availability Tool 3.1.0/Platinum - Amadeus: Timetable/NL-BCDF]
As for alternate routings from EZE-SIN, there aren't a ton that operate on Fridays, according to KVS, though the initial search I did on KVS didn't include the AF trip, so who knows. The shortest routing seems to be the MH flight EZE-KUL-SIN, but that is only offered once per week, according to KVS, and not on the day the OP needs it. The routing on MH via CPT is only offered 2x weekly, also on the wrong days for the OP. There is a daily flight on SA at 1800 from GRU-JNB, and SQ can connect you on from there, but I think it will not be possible to finist at 1400 in EZE and make the 1800 from GRU.

Let's give it a go.
Westbound RTW.
NYC (DL/AM) MEX
MEX (AM) NRT
NRT (NW) SIN
SIN (CZ) CAN
CAN (CZ) DEL
DEL - BOM "overland" (i.e. buy an oneway domestic ticket)
BOM (AF) CDG
CDG (AF) NYC

Just purchase a MEX-EZE roundtrip on top of it and you're set.
Anyone able to pull the exact timings to ensure connections are workable?

The above doesn't work with your dates, as AM only fly to NRT on Mondays and Thursdays. Therefore you have to go via LAX on the return.

So
NYC (DL/AM) MEX
MEX-EZE-MEX separate ticket
MEX (AM) LAX
LAX (KE) NRT
NRT (NW) SIN
SIN (CZ) CAN
CAN (CZ) DEL
DEL - BOM "overland" (i.e. buy an oneway domestic ticket)
BOM (AF) CDG
CDG (AF) NYC

Can anyone check whether this is possible on the dates the OP wants it?

It is possible on 1W:

08/20 AA955 JFK-EZE
08/22 LA470 EZE-SCL
08/22 QF322 SCL-AKL
08/24 QF322 AKL-SYD
08/24 QF319 SYD-SIN
08/27 9W11 SIN-BOM
08/29 AA5661/AA171 BOM-BRU-JFK

Or something like this:

NYC-ATL-EZE (DL)
EZE-IAH-NRT (CO)
NRT-SIN (NW)
SIN-BOM (9W11)
BOM-NYC (DL/CO)

Since when are 9W in oneworld?? Can you buy a xONEx that includes 9W? :eek:

That can't work as a RTW, however (i.e. it'll cost $$$$$$$$$$ more).

It would have been a lot easier of you started off in EZE. Then you could have done this on a Wings RTW:

EZE-IAH-NRT-SIN-KUL-BOM-KUL-JNB-EZE

You would buy a separate 9W11 ticket, duh!

In that case, together with the detour around Oceania, it sounds harder than doing it on ST and only buying the domestic one...
And that's assuming that it's allowed as an overland segment (I obviously don't know OW RTW rules).

I guess the easiest way would be to buy one way business class fares for every citypair:

NYC-PTY-EZE, CM803/CM279, $1800
EZE-AKL-CHC-SIN, AR1182/NZ501/SQ298, $4500
SIN-BOM, AI443, $725
BOM-NYC, AI141, $2460

TOTAL: ~ $10K

Note that ANY EZE--SIN flight will take approx. 30 hours. Left or right around the earth.

Detour??? Fying EZE - SIN over the South Pacific is shorter than flying from EZE to MEX, LAX, NRT and then to SIN!
Flying via JNB is the shortest option. Next best, via Europe.

I found a RTW Skyteam intinerary that might work:

8/19 JFK-ATL-EZE, DL243/DL101
8/22 EZE-CDG-AMS-SIN, AF415/KL1234/KL837
8/27 SIN-BOM, "overland"
8/30 BOM-ICN-JFK, KE656/KE85

You can skip the CDG-AMS segment and just spend the 12 hours in CDG, as noted previously in the posts. But will the rules actually let you ticket into SIN and out of BOM on an east-bound RTW? It seems like that would be considered back-tracking. Plus, the BOM-ICN-JFK ticket would add about 15 hours travel time versus the non-stop on CO or DL.

Who said it would be easy? SkyTeam is notoriously bad for RTW including South America and S-E Asia...

Agreed on S. America. Even AR would be a lot better than the current total lack of options. SE Asia coverage is actually quite good nowadays. SW Asia is more problematic!

I guess you refer to KE and CZ? But considering how close S.Korea (KE) and China (CZ) are to Japan (NW), a carrier with a hub in S.E. Asia (MH anyone?) would be more usefull.

CZ's main hub isn't in Mongolia or something. If HKG is considered SE Asia, CAN must be too.
That said, I would also welcome MH. However, the gaps are far more obvious in the India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and MLE region, as well as its connections with the MIddle East.

Yes it can because Skyteam count north and south america as one continent for the rtw, and since backtraking is allowed with in the same area this is a valid trip.Here is what i come up with:

NYC-EZE with either DL/CO or CM
EZE-IAH-DFW-ICN-SIN with CO/KE that would get you in SIN on 24/8 at 9.20 pm
For the SIN-BOM i cant get any connection within the given timeframe so i would just buy a seperate ticket.
And for the last part you could just get the nonstop from BOM-NYC with either CO or DL.

Bringing my own thread back from the dead...

Many, many thanks for all the replies. This was very helpful. I just completed the following journey:

EWR-ATL DL847
ATL-EZE DL101
EZE-CDG AF415
CDG-SIN AF256
SIN-BOM SQ422
BOM-JFK DL17
$13K total, all-in (all J fares, except Y on first/shortest leg)

All ST, except the SQ hop (and with CO joining *A, the miles will be useful, eventually).

I enjoyed my 12 hours in Paris.

Some random thoughts on the various flights:

- On DL101, requested only main course, and that it should be delivered as soon as possible (I wanted to sleep). It came at the same time as everyone else's. Not the first time this has happened on Delta. With CO, this request doesn't seem to be a problem.
- First time on AF. Business class was fine. Slept and ate well, although the wine was mediocre. Also, the pilot frequently switched the seatbelt light on/off and, each time, an FA would make a bilingual announcement. I am used to only emergency PA announcements on overnight flights.
- First time on SQ and service was outstanding (not surprised). Awesome hot towels.
- BOM-JFK on DL was excellent. Lie-flat seats were a blessing (10+ hours sleep in total). Food was decent. Flight crew seemed upset to be there, for some reason (stark contrast with SQ). However, I am not a needy passenger, so it wasn't a big deal for me.

They are both considered Asia, and backtracking within a Continent is allowed on a PAID RTW. Backtracking is not allowed on an AWARD RTW.