One World Award flight planning assistance

[DontGetMeStarted]

Hi All
I am in the early days of planning a one world award trip in J for 2 people in June/July/August 2013, pretty flexible with dates so long as we can get on a med cruise that we are planning and the optional dates being 4[SUP]th[/SUP] or 9[SUP]th[/SUP] August or alternatively 8 July, 29 July or 19 August.
My problem at the moment is the planning as I know I cannot book until 355 days out or so.. so have messed around on the One World site doing some dummy bookings but keep receiving error messages..currently looks like:

Mel-HK – Stop - HK-BCN* – Stop Make our own way to Paris CDG – IAD Stop IAD – LV Stop
LV – HNL – Stop HNL – Mel

*The Barcelona stop could be changed to Rome as cruises also depart from there.
* The HK could also be changed to Shanghai or another Asian hub
but thought there would be better flight availability out of Hink Kong

Not sure if the surface segment from BCN to Paris is causing an issue but would welcome some advice if the above itinerary can be booked if and when seats become available. We have Paris in the equation as our daughter in the UK could come over and meet us there or we could chunnel over to her

Would really like a stop in HNL on the way home but I know seats are few and far between and as a bronze FF only would carry no weight, any ideas on that one too, happy to take the long way home ?
Just really want to bed down what is actually possible and then hope for seat availability
thanks in advance

 

[Danger]

I suspect your issue with the oneworld Explorer booking tool relates to the fact it's not designed for building an award.

It sounds like you're referring to the Qantas oneworld five stop award which is 280k per passenger in J and it seems you've got your five stops no worries. However, I'm not sure but I think your surface sector may count against the five stops. Someone else will clarify.

Your flexibility will help but I don't think it should be a problem with something like the following:

MEL-xSYD-HKG with QF (via SYD to get the A380 on selected days)
HKG-FCO on CX OR HKG-xFCO-BCN on CX and IB
CDG/FCO-xJFK-IAD with AA OR CDG-xLHR-IAD with BA who has, I believe, a much better J product
IAD-xDFW-LAS with AA (or via a number of other cities instead of DFW)
LAS-xLAX-HNL with AA
HNL-xSYD-MEL with QF

Remember the HNL-SYD leg is currently only a 767 which means no skybeds. You may want to consider flying HNL-xLAX-SYD. That said, I know that on the oneworld Explorer fare that once you've reached Hawaii you can't return to the continental US; I'm not sure if the same rule applies to the award.

How does this look?

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

Thanks Danger...will have a look and see what can be done...and thanks for the comments around the better J products and planes..being fairly new at this I want to ensure we get the best value Cheers Noreen

 

[Isochronous]

I suspect your issue with the oneworld Explorer booking tool relates to the fact it's not designed for building an award.

It sounds like you're referring to the Qantas oneworld five stop award which is 280k per passenger in J and it seems you've got your five stops no worries. However, I'm not sure but I think your surface sector may count against the five stops. Someone else will clarify.

Your flexibility will help but I don't think it should be a problem with something like the following:

MEL-xSYD-HKG with QF (via SYD to get the A380 on selected days)
HKG-FCO on CX OR HKG-xFCO-BCN on CX and IB
CDG/FCO-xJFK-IAD with AA OR CDG-xLHR-IAD with BA who has, I believe, a much better J product
IAD-xDFW-LAS with AA (or via a number of other cities instead of DFW)
LAS-xLAX-HNL with AA
HNL-xSYD-MEL with QF

Remember the HNL-SYD leg is currently only a 767 which means no skybeds. You may want to consider flying HNL-xLAX-SYD. That said, I know that on the oneworld Explorer fare that once you've reached Hawaii you can't return to the continental US; I'm not sure if the same rule applies to the award.

How does this look?

Another option would be to buy LAX-HNL-LAX AA domestic separately.

 

[DavidMjps]

Hi All
I am in the early days of planning a one world award trip in J for 2 people in June/July/August 2013, pretty flexible with dates so long as we can get on a med cruise that we are planning and the optional dates being 4[SUP]th[/SUP] or 9[SUP]th[/SUP] August or alternatively 8 July, 29 July or 19 August.
but thought there would be better flight availability out of Hong Kong

I'm in the process of doing something similiar. We are doing a cruise from Venice to Rome in June 2013 and I'm looking for 2 x J classic award flights flying SYD - FCO and back via LAX.

It seems to me there's lot less availability into Europe than there has been in the past and i found, while i was experimenting, that by the time the return flights i wanted became available the flights out of Australia had gone.

In the end I booked our flights to Italy, on Cathay, as one way tickets and plan to add the return flights when they become available. I spoke to the frequent flyer people about this and while it costs quite a few points the extra flights can be added to the original booking and turned into the 280K award.

Regards
David

 

[travelislife]

I'm in the process of doing something similiar. We are doing a cruise from Venice to Rome in June 2013 and I'm looking for 2 x J classic award flights flying SYD - FCO and back via LAX.

It seems to me there's lot less availability into Europe than there has been in the past and i found, while i was experimenting, that by the time the return flights i wanted became available the flights out of Australia had gone.

In the end I booked our flights to Italy, on Cathay, as one way tickets and plan to add the return flights when they become available. I spoke to the frequent flyer people about this and while it costs quite a few points the extra flights can be added to the original booking and turned into the 280K award.

Regards
David

Interesting, I have wondered this as well. How many extra points is it going to cost you to lock in those first flights? Is it just the 5000point change fee (is this fee even right)?

I am currently building up my points towards 2x280k J oneworld awards so have been following these kind of threads to get routing ideas, etc. Always thought of the issue of flights disappearing before the return were released, so will be interested to see how you go DavidMjps, please keep us updated.

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

Thanks David, we have a few options with routing and some flexibility on dates, my biggest problem at the moment seems to be finding J seats either to or from the USA but as we cannot go until July 2013 or later I will keep looking, think we will forget the Honolulu return as I am sure those seats are few re far between. What cruise line are you using?

 

[DavidMjps]

Interesting, I have wondered this as well. How many extra points is it going to cost you to lock in those first flights? Is it just the 5000point change fee (is this fee even right)?

I am currently building up my points towards 2x280k J oneworld awards so have been following these kind of threads to get routing ideas, etc. Always thought of the issue of flights disappearing before the return were released, so will be interested to see how you go DavidMjps, please keep us updated.

The cost (per passenger) is 3500 points for the change plus an 8000 points service fee.

 

[DavidMjps]

Thanks David, we have a few options with routing and some flexibility on dates, my biggest problem at the moment seems to be finding J seats either to or from the USA but as we cannot go until July 2013 or later I will keep looking, think we will forget the Honolulu return as I am sure those seats are few re far between. What cruise line are you using?

We're going with Regent Seven Seas. The main thing we wanted was a smaller ship and we looked at Silverseas, Oceania and Seabourne. We picked SevenSeas because their fares are all inclusive (excursions, food, drink etc) and the cruise takes in a bunch of ports we are keen to visit.

Most of these cruise lines are offering big discounts at the moment and since they are mostly costed in US$ it's quite a good time to book.

 

[JohnK]

Have you tried validating booking against QF award booking engine? Do not need to try the exact dates to start with but should give an indication of what is possible.

Mel-HK – Stop - HK-BCN* – Stop Make our own way to Paris CDG – IAD Stop IAD – LV Stop
LV – HNL – Stop HNL – Mel

That looks OK. Surface segments are counted as a segment and included in total mileage but I am not sure if they are included as a stopover or not.

 

[Timtammi]

Not wanting to get off topic but I did a med cruise with Oceania from BCN to Rome 2 years ago. Happy to share any insights if you are interested.

Cheers

Timmi

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

Not wanting to get off topic but I did a med cruise with Oceania from BCN to Rome 2 years ago. Happy to share any insights if you are interested.

Cheers

Timmi

that would be great thanks, any info appreciated - we had looked at the Grand Med Cruise with Princess and another with Celebrity, just need to get the pricing right and hope that it is something we would enjoy anyway as first time cuisers - my frustration at the moment in the Q Award site, keeps kicking me out when putting in some dummy dates, hope thats fixed by the time we are ready to book !! Dont fancy paying Qantas the points for an assisted booking but if I have too I will

 

[Julesmac]

Noreen, just a suggestion - I see you are planning to make your own arrangements from Barcelona to Paris. Having just returned on Monday from Europe/UK can I recoomend the TGV? I've used it on three previous trips within Europe and it just gets better and better. We did Paris-Nice in 5 hours, smooth ride, lovely clean trains, fuss free booking from Oz, great seats, dining/snacks, why oh why don't we have a fast train service here

 

[Timtammi]

Cant help with the flights but we found Oceania great, its very US centric but that is fine with me. Of course it depends on what you are looking for but I think smaller is better for a Med cruise. I've done quite a bit of cruising, I think I've done about 10 or so cruises and I would have to say that Oceania cruise was probably the best one in many ways. Food was outstanding. Age demographic was 45+ mostly but active, interesting and educated people. I also like the "country club casual" dress code as med cruises are very port intensive and you probably wont feel like dressing up after schlepping around all day. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.

Cheers

Timmi

 

[DontGetMeStarted]

Have you tried validating booking against QF award booking engine? Do not need to try the exact dates to start with but should give an indication of what is possible.


That looks OK. Surface segments are counted as a segment and included in total mileage but I am not sure if they are included as a stopover or not.

JohnK - sorry for the late response ...still trying to validate but engine keeps kicking me out, seems to work if I press I must travel on these dates, but if you do flex dates it boots me out ! I am sure I am OK with my 5 stops and can amend to suit as I am sure that getting back from somewhere like LAX or HNL will be more difficult. One question though do I just put in the 5 requested stopovers or is there something I am missing when doing the dummy runs. I might give the QFF centre a call and see what they think too as when the time comes to book I do not want to pay them for something that I should be able to do myself. Appreciate your input and advice

 

[norbert]

HNL-SYD is difficult on points--very little availability.Best to fly back to LA withhAA & then connecting QF flight to Melbourne--did this last year on a round world withg points & it worked well.

 

[JohnK]

One question though do I just put in the 5 requested stopovers or is there something I am missing when doing the dummy runs.

That should be sufficient. Sometimes I split up the legs in between stopovers if the trip involves a transit point.

e.g YYZ-ATH may not yield any flights but YYZ-LHR and then LHR-ATH will yield some flights.

I might give the QFF centre a call and see what they think too as when the time comes to book I do not want to pay them for something that I should be able to do myself.

It would not hurt to try calling Qantas.

 

[norbert]

I used Qantas to help--it is worth the points/$$.The big advantage of going back to LA is that you can get a connecting QF flight direct to Melbourne.You can use as many transits as required

 

[JohnK]

I used Qantas to help--it is worth the points/$$.The big advantage of going back to LA is that you can get a connecting QF flight direct to Melbourne.You can use as many transits as required

True in different cities.

Can only transit a single city twice and the third time has to be a stopover.