JugglingMonkeys

A quick question re business class RTW fares with Star Alliance, booked with UAL:

Do you have to plan the entire trip with all stops in advance, OR can you just buy the ticket with the first segment stated, and then book each additional segment as you go?

thanks!

Kiwi Flyer

You need to have something that fits the RTW rules booked when you ticket. With e-tickets (from 1 June 2008) you know need a date for each leg, paper tickets allowed open dated segments. You can change dates for free keeping the routing unchanged - subject to availability, assuming no change from transit to stopover (as that must be rebooked for tax reasons) and airline schedules of course. You can also make changes to your routing, but most of these will require a change fee, possibly an admin fee, and taxes to be recalculated (and fare if you upgauge to a higher mileage limit or class of travel).

Bitterroot

Kiwi:

You make an interesting point about open segments. Reading the Fare Rules for the *A RTW fares, they still read (after the language requiring that the first intercontinental sector be booked and frozen ahead of departure) "Other sectors may be booked at any time." That implies that open sectors are still allowed. But the last time I had one with an open sector, I also got a paper ticket.

With the new e-ticket only routine, can you now specify the carrier and the route, but leave the coupon blank (that is, with no actual flight booking)? I guess that would be much the same as the application of the rules before: you had to specify each coupon, by carrier and O-D city, but you could omit a specific booking, and do that later.

If the machinery of the IATA e-ticket system requires an actual booking or each coupon, how come the rules don't say that?