Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[blacknwhite]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi Guys,need your thoughts on a situation that has come up.We booked 2x J 280,000 OW RTW that has been ticketed 2 weeks ago and the first stop was
MEL/HKG/DOH/LHR with cx to DOH and then ba to LHR.
Got an email last nite advising that the HKG to DOH was now with QR but the problem was that this flight arrived half hour after BA left.So I rang Qantas and they came back saying could fix it but it meant a very long transit in HKG-something we definitely dont want.I told them they could change the flights as long no long transit times.
She said she would get the team to look at it and ring me back tonite.
Well Qantas sent me a new e-ticket today with now MELB/HKG/DEL with cx and a 4 and a half hour transit in DEL.Not happy as I was promised a call back and definitely dont want the stop in DEL. DEl to LHR with BA.
I am angry that they didnt call me with options,especially since a J class ticket that was confirmed.What options do I have?

 

[Princess Fiona]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi Guys,need your thoughts on a situation that has come up.We booked 2x J 280,000 OW RTW that has been ticketed 2 weeks ago and the first stop was
MEL/HKG/DOH/LHR with cx to DOH and then ba to LHR.
Got an email last nite advising that the HKG to DOH was now with QR but the problem was that this flight arrived half hour after BA left.So I rang Qantas and they came back saying could fix it but it meant a very long transit in HKG-something we definitely dont want.I told them they could change the flights as long no long transit times.
She said she would get the team to look at it and ring me back tonite.
Well Qantas sent me a new e-ticket today with now MELB/HKG/DEL with cx and a 4 and a half hour transit in DEL.Not happy as I was promised a call back and definitely dont want the stop in DEL. DEl to LHR with BA.
I am angry that they didnt call me with options,especially since a J class ticket that was confirmed.What options do I have?

I'd call them up and advise that you don't want to transit DEL.
In a situation like this it's very good to have researched the options yourself and feed the flights you do want to take to the agent.
The QF booking engine is a bit limited with these things but you can check more reliably with a BA account or Asia Miles for free.

Just my opinion but if the choice is between DEL or a long transit in HKG I'd definitely take the latter option. There's no better place to have a long transit IMHO.
Good luck with it all.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi Guys,need your thoughts on a situation that has come up.We booked 2x J 280,000 OW RTW that has been ticketed 2 weeks ago and the first stop was
MEL/HKG/DOH/LHR with cx to DOH and then ba to LHR.
Got an email last nite advising that the HKG to DOH was now with QR but the problem was that this flight arrived half hour after BA left.So I rang Qantas and they came back saying could fix it but it meant a very long transit in HKG-something we definitely dont want.I told them they could change the flights as long no long transit times.
She said she would get the team to look at it and ring me back tonite.
Well Qantas sent me a new e-ticket today with now MELB/HKG/DEL with cx and a 4 and a half hour transit in DEL.Not happy as I was promised a call back and definitely dont want the stop in DEL. DEl to LHR with BA.
I am angry that they didnt call me with options,especially since a J class ticket that was confirmed.What options do I have?

Why not fly direct from HKG - LHR? I just had a look at a couple of random dates in July next year (that's when your trip starts isn't it?) and there are several flights with J awards available on that route. Was there a particular reason you had originally intended to transit through DOH (apart from their very excellent lounge that is ).
CX and BA both have J award seats open for HKG - LHR - the possibility of a bit longer transit in HKG wouldn't put me off - not a bad trade-off if you eliminate the need for one extra sector.

 

[blacknwhite]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Why not fly direct from HKG - LHR? I just had a look at a couple of random dates in July next year (that's when your trip starts isn't it?) and there are several flights with J awards available on that route. Was there a particular reason you had originally intended to transit through DOH (apart from their very excellent lounge that is ).
CX and BA both have J award seats open for HKG - LHR - the possibility of a bit longer transit in HKG wouldn't put me off - not a bad trade-off if you eliminate the need for one extra sector.

The date we are looking at is the 7th JULY and there doesnt seem to be any flights from HKG-LHR on this date.There was when we booked but my husband didnt want the long transit time.He hates to sit in airports.I think we should have now.
I will be ringing them and tell them its not suitable and see what they come back with.Many thanks

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

The date we are looking at is the 7th JULY and there doesnt seem to be any flights from HKG-LHR on this date.There was when we booked but my husband didnt want the long transit time.He hates to sit in airports.I think we should have now.
I will be ringing them and tell them its not suitable and see what they come back with.Many thanks

CX257 has J available on 7th July - direct from HKG- LHR

 

[blacknwhite]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

CX257 has J available on 7th July - direct from HKG- LHR

Our flight from Melb arrives in HKG AT 1520 so no good.AM on the phone waiting to speak with them.

 

[Battymum]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thanks for such quick and helpful advice.

There will be two of us travelling and hoping for a J award.

As we need to be back home early December, this means our US portion will be over thanksgiving. This is the busiest time in Disneyworld - so we want to avoid that week and arrive there around the 8th of November. Then we will have 10 days New York before heading home on the 29th.

Thanks for picking up the second HKG stopover . I had it figured that way to avoid a transit in HKG that may be rejected - could look at a stop in NRT instead.

Another question, if I book a separate flight from LHR to MAD to pick up an Ib flight will I still incur the extra charges? - it just seems logical to end up in England.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thanks for such quick and helpful advice.

There will be two of us travelling and hoping for a J award.

As we need to be back home early December, this means our US portion will be over thanksgiving. This is the busiest time in Disneyworld - so we want to avoid that week and arrive there around the 8th of November. Then we will have 10 days New York before heading home on the 29th.

Thanks for picking up the second HKG stopover . I had it figured that way to avoid a transit in HKG that may be rejected - could look at a stop in NRT instead.

Another question, if I book a separate flight from LHR to MAD to pick up an Ib flight will I still incur the extra charges? - it just seems logical to end up in England.

As Danger said, the OW interactive map is worth playing around with. You have quite a few more options flying from Europe to MIA than to MCO. AA then flies MIA - MCO if you didn't want to drive. There are still London departure taxes if you fly to MAD or somewhere else on a separate ticket before starting your long haul flight across the Atlantic but they are less than flying direct from London.

 

[Battymum]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Yeah thanks I have looked at that. I can see several options on Aa ,but I just can't see them to book I guess I just wanted to know when their award seats are released

 

[Coley]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi all - another first time poster here
I have read through all 274 pages over the last few months -

I am contemplating a oneworld award - not until 2017 but have been checking availability for 2016 - I am not seeing any award availability from Europe to USA on American - when can I see these. I am looking at a road trip through Europe - September October - starting in Rome and ending in London - although will fly from CDG or elsewhere if it avoids huge LHR taxes - we would like to head to Disney in Florida - the week before thanksgiving week - and then head to NYC for thanksgiving before heading home via HKG.

So far its a simple SYD - HKG (CX) Stop
HKG - FCO (CX) Stop
FCO - London - surface
(somewhere in western Europe to east coast USA)
MCO - JFK (Stop)
NYC - HKG (Stop)
HKG - SYD

So can anyone suggest the best option for our transatlantic leg

much appreciated.

I'm actually planning a very similar trip to yours in 2017, although I haven't decided on exact dates yet.

I have also been trying out 2 x J phantom bookings in 2016 with touch and go results. I've been checking out availability using AA, BA and Qantas frequent flyer websites as well as the free award nexus account but suspect I'll have to bite the bullet and get KVS or Expert Flyer if I want the best results.

I've been looking into using both Qatar and Cathay for the long haul flights with some mix of Iberia/AA/Finnair to get around Europe and the transatlantic flight. From what I've read on this forum and blogs, the AA (777-300) or Iberia (A330) business class product is probably the best for transatlantic flights and not having to pay excessive fuel charges on BA. In your case, as someone said above, there is a direct flight on IB from Barcelona to Orlando but I'm not sure on what plane flys this route.

I have a similar route planned:

BNE-SYD-DOH-FCO (Qantas/Qatar)
FCO-MUC (ground leg/road trip)
MUC-TXL-ORY (airberlin) or MUC-LHR (BA) and train to CDG.
CDG-MIA-PLS (AA) or CDG-MAD-MIA-PLS (IB/AA)
PLS-MIA-LAX/SFO-HKG (AA/Cathay)
HKG-BNE (Cathay)

Might also throw in a Greek Islands leg as Finnair and BA do some flights in and out of the islands without going thru Athens, however it would be very close if not over the 35,000 mile limit.

As you can see, a very similar trip to your own. I'd be very interested on how you get on so please don't forget to update your progress every now and then!

 

[Coley]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Yeah thanks I have looked at that. I can see several options on Aa ,but I just can't see them to book I guess I just wanted to know when their award seats are released

I believe AA release seats 331 days out however have been known to release awards seats ranging between 300 to 331 for the initial offering on a route. That being said, there is differently something going on with some of the transatlantic flights as some routes no availability at all and others have quite a lot.

I found the easiest way to initially search for AA award availability is to sign up to AAdvantage and use their award search function. They have a full calendar option and even a direct flights only tick box so you can use it with multi-city search to search for specific flights only. Be sure to look for MileSAAver awards and not AAnytime awards. There can be differences in what's available to AA and what's available OW partners but this is where I'd start.

 

[Kangol]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

its a little further up the page you looked at

14.3.5 A Classic Flight Reward Itinerary must contain no more than one departure from the city or country of first departure on that Itinerary.

I got caught out on that one

 

[hankahanka]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi everyone.

I remember reading that you could book this award 1 bite at a time, due to lack of award availability.

ie. book an award flight for LHR-MEL, take the flight. Afterwards you could arrange the rest of your RTW, and the call centre people had some way to accommodate this. I can't find any detail about this... am I dreaming?

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi everyone.

I remember reading that you could book this award 1 bite at a time, due to lack of award availability.

ie. book an award flight for LHR-MEL, take the flight. Afterwards you could arrange the rest of your RTW, and the call centre people had some way to accommodate this. I can't find any detail about this... am I dreaming?

Yes unfortunately you have been dreaming. While it's true that most people need to book flights as they are released, you must have all your flights booked before you take the first flight.

 

[Radio8tiv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

so I'm planning a J class RTW for 2017 and want this to be more about the trip then the destinations so I'm looking for a great business class product,
I am a little stuck on the Europe to USA leg.
at this stage I like
TSV-BNE BNE-ADL QF
ADL-DOH A350-900 QATAR
DOH-LHR A380-800 QATAR
then Im not sure but want to get to JFK
JFK-MIA MIA-AUA with AA
AUA-MIA MIA-LAXWith AA
LAX-SYD 777-300ER AA
SYD-TSV QF
Which euro provider offers the best J product?

 

[madrooster]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

so I'm planning a J class RTW for 2017 and want this to be more about the trip then the destinations so I'm looking for a great business class product,
I am a little stuck on the Europe to USA leg.
at this stage I like
TSV-BNE BNE-ADL QF
ADL-DOH A350-900 QATAR
DOH-LHR A380-800 QATAR
then Im not sure but want to get to JFK
JFK-MIA MIA-AUA with AA
AUA-MIA MIA-LAXWith AA
LAX-SYD 777-300ER AA
SYD-TSV QF
Which euro provider offers the best J product?

BA1 from LCY to JFK, but you need to transit through LON. Eg. CDG-LHR, LCY-JFK.

AUA can be a difficult route to get seats on at times. AA has also not been releasing seats on LAX-SYD/SYD-LAX.

 

[sergeyvzn]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

so I'm planning a J class RTW for 2017 and want this to be more about the trip then the destinations so I'm looking for a great business class product,
I am a little stuck on the Europe to USA leg.

Which euro provider offers the best J product?

Finnair on their A350 or Iberia on their new A330

iberia seats are easy to get

 

[Radio8tiv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

BA1 from LCY to JFK, but you need to transit through LON. Eg. CDG-LHR, LCY-JFK.

AUA can be a difficult route to get seats on at times. AA has also not been releasing seats on LAX-SYD/SYD-LAX.

Thanks for the info, I'll look into it. AUA is not necessary anywhere in the Caribbean would be good still in the very early planning stages

Finnair on their A350 or Iberia on their new A330

iberia seats are easy to get

was looking at Iberia or Finnair, but on the Finnair website it didn't mention the new a350 flying to USA

 

[Danger]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thanks for the info, I'll look into it. AUA is not necessary anywhere in the Caribbean would be good still in the very early planning stages

In my opinion including a Caribbean stop like AUA on one of these award tickets is a bit of a waste. I reckon you'd be better off doing that as a side trip.

 

[Boca68]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

In my opinion including a Caribbean stop like AUA on one of these award tickets is a bit of a waste. I reckon you'd be better off doing that as a side trip.

Tend to agree with this.

Currently researching/plotting/manipulating a ATW next year. My limited research suggests, stick to the main points.

Anyhting else is just over done