RTW Help Needed
 

I need some wisdom from FTers about my RTW itinerary. Here is how it looks so far:

KIX ICN OZ
ICN SYD OZ
SYD SFO UA
SFO PHL US
PHL LGW US
LHR MUC LH
MUC DEL LH
DEL BKK TG
BKK PUS TG
PUS PVG OZ
PVG FUK OZ (via ICN)

Total mileage comes to 28,957. I am having problems with the *A Mileage Calculator, because it is not showing the direct OZ flight from PUS to PVG, but this appears to be a valid itinerary?

Am I using the right airlines?

How should I go about getting this ticketed? Do any of these airlines have ticketing offices in Japan? (I am based in Korea, so if I purchase it here, I will pay substantially more) Or should I contact TG, since the Thailand RTW price is not higher than Japan's? Or a travel agent?

Your help would be much appreciated!

I don't think OZ (or any other *A) carrier has a direct flight from PUS to PVG. OZ services PVG from Jeju, Daegu, and ICN. They have service connecting through ICN but the flight from PUS-ICN is a domestic flight number. Perhaps that is why it does not show in the *A RTW calculator.

I don't know if you already have an open jaw in the itin, but you could take the train from Busan to Taegu for the Monday or Thursday flight to PVG.

Hi.

First , have you downloaded the RTW mileage calculator on www.staralliance.com.
If yes and the 28.something miles are coorect you should be fine.
If not, do so and fill out all the necessary information in the provided form once your planning is finished. I t should then be transferred nearly automatically to a reservation office of one of the participating airlines.
I have planned a RTW for next year with this tool and within three days I had a confirmation from my local LH ticket office. Your flights will then be reserved until about two weeks prior your first flight. (this is how it went with my RTW)

Regards

Daniel

RTW Help Needed
 

Yes, I have used the *A Mileage Calculator, but I see on flyasiana.com that there is indeed a flight from PUS to PVG (OZ 311). However, this flight does not seem to exist on the mileage calculator.

How should I solve this problem?

I found OZ 311 PUS-PVG on Amadeus, but could not find any date it operates. It is not listed in OZ's PDF-Timetable and neither in any timetable on staralliance.com. I guess you are out of luck and OZ does currently not fly PUS-PVG and thus you can not include it in your RTW.

Daniel, as I have never tried that function within the *A RTW-Calculator could you please explain what you mean by "within three days I had a confirmation from my local LH ticket office"? Did they confirm that they received it? Did they confirm that your itinerary is valid?

Or did they infact booked your flights within three days and issued the ticket two weeks prior to departure?

If they only reserve/book your desired flights two weeks prior to departure how could you ever get a seat on SQ or NZ to Asia or transpacific, esp. in business?

I apologize for my earlier assertion that this flight does not exist. It does appear on the OZ web sites in the future and on the online star alliance timetable. It is not in the downloadable *A timetable or the RTW calculator. I assume that as soon as the downloadable databases are updated, that it will be possible in the calculator. It will fly PUS - PVG Mon Wed Fri Sat.

After your planning is complete and shown as a valid itinerary you can continue to the next page where all information about the travellers has to be filled out. This form is then transmitted to the StarAlliance webserver where it is redirected to a ticketing office.
The office then confirms the receipt and RESERVES your flights until about two weeks before the first leg. If you don not buy your ticket unthil then the reservation will be canceled. So alot of time to raise some money for the trip ;)

Hope that helps

(This is actually how it went with my Lufthansa RTW booking)

The flight OZ 311 PUS-PVG is starting daily ex Tu/Th (with some exceptions) somewhere in november.
The star alliance calculator has many bugs. As a solution I'd suggest to send your desired itinerary by e-mail or fax to the ticketing office. An alternative method to determine the mileage of a RTW is the Great Circle Mapper.

The *A web site lists the flight (PUS-PVG) as 499 miles/798 kilometres

It is now included in the *A RTW Calculator, update October 28th. ^

You do not write which class you will travel in. Either way the two above routings are IMO not the right choice. UA is consistently below average and sometime far below average in both business and economy - especially now when E+ is gone for *G. For the SYD - SFO leg I would go NZ (I know you have a milage problem - but NZ is the way to go in both C and Y - way beyond UA). PHL-LON is a bit more tricky - not a great airline choice - but alternatives are not straight forward (LH: PHL-FRA-LHR or SK: EWR/IAD-CPH-LHR or SQ: EWR-FRA LH: FRA-LHR).