Hey guys,

My wife, daughter (3yrs old) and myself are planning on travelling from Calgary to Bangkok next year using points.

The only problem is that one of us will have to travel using BA points, one with Aeroplan points and one with cash ticket purchase. Obviously one of the parents will travel with our daughter but here's the tricky part. Aeroplan and BA reward tickets have different routes to the same destination and we are a bit worried about different arrival times, stopovers, etc.

What I am wondering is ... are there any surefire ways of getting in communications with each other that is available regardless of which airport we arrive at and transfer from? My guess is that each airport will have wifi but some of the transfers are tight and we would like to be able to check in if at all possible.

Any suggestions?

Also ... has anyone done this sort of multi-faceted ticket purchase before and what were your experiences?

Errr.. mobile/cell phone?

Might be expensive for international calls but if you want a surefire way of getting intouch and the call is short then it seems the most logical way. Remember, not all airports offer free WiFi so a quick phone call may be cheaper.

Yes but cell phones in N America work on different frequencies than Europe and Asia. Plus, the company that we use here does not have agreements to roam with cell phone providers outside of the USA

Do you have an iPhone?

If you have wifi use google voice with talkatone app.

Sorry - I forgot about that. Cell phones in Europe have been mulitiband and roaming capable for over 10 years. I just take for granted than my phone will automatically work in US, Canada and Asia that's it's easy to forget that the reverse isn't always true.

Your best bet is to just give everybody a calling card and have them call into home or whatever and leave a message.

It would be better if you had cell phones that could roam in the places you were visiting, but given that is not an option, the message drop may be the best choice.

If you have devices you can skype on or whatever, and you have wifi you can set up something that way, but it depends on the timing and where you are and what you are carrying.

Out of curiosity, what is your provider, and what kind of phone do you use?

This might be worth the investment in an unlocked GSM phone and a global roaming sim like Telestial. For $20, you can get yourself a phone and global sim. Even if you keep the calls under a minute, costs will stay nice and low.

It depends on the phone and your Canadian Carrier.

ALL my Hellus and Robbers, oops I meant Bell/Telus and Rogers equipment has work worldwide once unlocked. However the phones you get from Koodo/Fido/Mobicity etc are more limited and these providers does not have agreement with other providers to roam outside Canad or US.

You can buy an preloaded international phone for voice and text only for $39 in Canada that works worldwide.

Message drop by calling back to Canada with a calling card is your best option. If you can get wifi you can monitor flight status in terms of departure/arrival/delays on the airline's website.

I have planned extended family trips and it is basically we meet at the hotel/resort/pier at certain day and certain time due to everyone's different airline and credit card loyalties.

IME - My advise is to pay a little more and do the trip together. The needs of a travelling 3 yrs old on such a long journey is easier dealt with when the parents are together.

I think this is excellent advice. Perfect application for cheap unlocked GSM phones

Naturally, knowing the itineraries would give us all better ideas on how to provide additional advice (i.e., airports with free wifi).

That said, I'm sure any gate or ticketing agent will be able to get the status of flights on different airlines via GDS.

If you do not have gsm phones that will work there, buy 2 cheap ones and 2 global or country-specific sims that will work there.

I have a Galaxy Nexus on Mobilicity. The gnex is a pentaband world phone but Mobilicity doesn't roam outside the US and Canada.

My wife is on the iPhone 4 with Rogers. I'm pretty sure she would be ok but I won't be.

Still very preliminary with the planning but tentatively one of us would use BA which has a connection in London as far as I know.

Aeroplan would likely be a connection through Narita.

The message drop sounds like a winner but when traveling through Europe, I have problems with 800 numbers and have never travelled to Asia. Not sure it calling cards purchased in NA would work from Asian payphones (ie is an 800 a toll free number in Asia?)

Gnex is unlocked. iPhone is locked to Rogers

OP, whichever way you go .....make sure you have a plan B such as a "home base central" in case of emergencies.

Um, you can both roam in Thailand.

Just use your phones to text each other when you arrive. Call your service providers before you leave to enable global roaming.

http://mobilicity.ca/support/faqs/tr...-available-in/

If you both have an unlocked android or I-phone you can use skype to call each other. Of course you will need wifi. Just a thought.