dnotes

@dvs7310 thanks for the tips. to clarify, does that mean i have to pickup luggage from NRT and re-check-in at HND?

dvs7310

Unfortunately yes it does. ANA has moved a lot of their premium routes over to Haneda since the airport authority relaxed international flight slot allocations there. I'm
local so either is fine for me, but for people connecting it can mean the trek over to Haneda from Narita.

It' not a terribly difficult trip though. If you have large or heavy luggage, take the bus. If you're traveling light then the train is a viable option as well though honestly doesn't save a lot of money. With the train though you have the option to stop off in central Tokyo for a drink or meal, since you have plenty of extra time in both directions. There is one more train option but, while you could comfortably get luggage to Tokyo or Shinagawa stations on Narita Express, it's a royal PITA to get from wother of them to Haneda with more than 1 suitcase, that's why I'd highly recommend the bus with much luggage.

I think in your situation, there isn' a perfect solution since you want to maximize PQMs but don' prefer UA 787s. AC is probably the least hassle honestly but zero lifetime miles that way and on a $9k+ ticket you'll probably get more RDMs on a 016 UA ticket (depending on current status).

dnotes

@dvs7310 thanks for the update. newbie question, how do i price bos-sfo-lax-mel-bne as united.com doesn't let me price this even on multi-city. so far i can only do the standard bos-lax-mel-bne, which nets 21,062 PQM one way. (guessing here i have to price it on matrix then go to an OTA?)

update: found the 77W's fly SFO-AKL return, so I guess the no-brainer (for real polaris) is to tack on BOS & BNE at each end and fly that routing.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...routes-40.html
https://www.routesonline.com/news/38...as-of-01sep17/

dvs7310

If that's true then it' a no brainer, take the 77W to AKL. As for the initial question, I can't get Matrix to allow UA to MEL then VA or QF to BNE. The routing rules 'seem' to allow it, but it may take a real travel agent to make it work. If wouldn't be the first routing on a UA fare I've run across that appears legal but can' get to work online.

dnotes

@dvs7310 https://bookwithmatrix.com/54036842f...47e5e1e182487f this works but of course booked on OTA, not UA. i've never booked with the OTA before so a little nervous with doing that.

UPDATE: it doesn't allow that to be booked. oh well.

findark

I had no trouble pricing BOS-SFO-LAX-MEL-BNE on ua.com. I used multi-city with a city break in SFO (i.e. BOS-SFO, SFO-BNE, BNE-SFO, SFO-BOS). United doesn't want to sell tickets from MEL-BNE as a "stand-alone" segment probably because either no *A option or no UA fare filed.

To get SFO-BNE to be SFO-LAX-MEL-BNE just uncheck SYD and AKL as connection points in the filter. You can also route BOS(-IAH)-SFO-AKL-BNE with the same search. Prices in D with a r/t cost of about $9.5k.

I would recommend searching ITA to make sure you have space too - first AKL attempt I tried forced J on a segment probably because no D space.

dvs7310

Wow, that Airport filter is golden, first time I've encountered that one myself. Will be extremely useful for award searches going forward.

findark

While useful, it is unfortunately not magic. The search will return 150-200 results, and using the filter only sorts those returned results. If your desired routing is not within the top results returned before the original search times out, you are stuck.

When all else fails, calling and pricing manually is my backup plan.

prestonh

There are P fares bookable on the AC YVR-BNE with UA tags ~$8300. There are not UA/AC plate restrictions on the first fare rules. Maybe UA will ticket if you call it in?
https://bookwithmatrix.com/e306f700c...77158117de2ada
Also, A lot of P fares with QF tags on UA.com .{nvm..these were D fares in construction when clicked through} The SYD-BNE flight is <500 miles so I really wouldn't sweat the flight credit vs. the savings on the tag via NZ which you will never get a deal on. If you want the deal, do the P fare via NH or AC.

dnotes

@findark thanks for sharing the multi-city tips + filtering out airports. just learned something really useful here @prestonh it shows up as economy when you clicked through to pay on flight network. weird. hmm. @dvs7310 great tips on matrix as well. thanks!

BOS-SFO-LAX-MEL-BNE return. not including the MEL-BNE segment, max PQM is 44,500
BOS-SFO-AKL-BNE return, with BNE-AKL inbound on Y, max PQM is 41164.
Difference was 3336 PQM, upside was that SFO-AKL-SFO is on 77W, which was what I picked in the end. Price ended up just under 8k.

What was interesting about this was that I actually called in to get them to construct it and they managed a 30 min connection AKL-BNE and 45 min connection AKL-SFO.
United's website doesn't allow for that close of a connection, at least not from what I've tried to reproduce, those flights just don't show up.

jsloan

Sorry, you what? You mean you got a 30-minute international to international connection at AKL?

malgudi

That was a head scratcher ... good luck to OP in making any of those connections.

dnotes

@jsloan @malgudi hey the flightdesk booked it. not my fault if I misconnect right? they'll have to rebook me at their dime, right?

jsloan

Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm going to lay out some assumptions, because I can't quite piece together exactly what you've done and the details may matter. It sounds like you're connecting from UA to NZ at AKL on the outbound, with a 45 minute connection. This is probably an illegal connection. The Minimum Connection Time (MCT) for International to International (I-I) at AKL depends upon the marketing carrier and flight number. If one flight is a UA flight number and one is an NZ flight number, the MCT is 1 hour, 15 minutes. If they are both UA flight numbers and either is in the range UA6729-6828, the MCT is 55 minutes. If they are both UA flight numbers outside that range, the MCT is 45 minutes. The range from 6729-6828 appears to be used for all Air New Zealand codeshares, although I'm not 100% sure since UA stopped publishing the PDF timetable. Still, the chances are good that your first connection is illegal.

It also sounds like you're connecting from NZ to UA at AKL on the inbound, with a 30 minute connection. This one is definitely an illegal connection, as I can't find any legal 30 minute I-I connections at AKL at all, regardless of flight number. Keep in mind that you will have to go through security at AKL, and that UA is allowed to give your seat away if you're not in the boarding area at T-30 for an international flight, and absolutely will if you're not there at T-15.

Now, as to what happens if you misconnect -- first of all, you may not be able to check in or to check luggage, if the computer detects the illegal connection. If you are somehow able to check in and check any bags, then, yes, you will probably be placed on another flight automatically. However, I'm not 100% sure about that; it seems to me that the airline could deny protection because the ticket was invalid, although I can't find any evidence of whether or not they will. If (when?) your bags don't make the connection, UA may refuse to deliver them to you in SFO.

That issue aside, while UA or NZ may well rebook you, you're the one who would be waiting in AKL for your new flight. On the way to Australia, it looks like you'd have several other options that day. On your way to the US, I guess you'd have to hope that they'd rebook you onto Air New Zealand. But it wouldn't surprise me at all if J were full on that flight, and on the next day's UA flight, and...

BTW: I also can't find the particular flights that you're talking about. What are your travel dates?