[sparoy]

Hi All,

I've been reading this forum for a little while and learned a lot from it. We're planning to do a xONE4 trip, but like to structure it so we can have like a 2 trip in 1 year, ie USA this year and Europe/Asia next year. We want to do the AAdvantage platinum challenge at the same time. I'm using the Oneworld planner below, so there may be some bugs there.

Round the World Planner Itinerary Details - 2007 RTW split
9/07/2007 Through 30/06/2008
------------------------------------------------------------
Total City Count: 18
Total Sector Count: 19
Total Region Count: 4
------------------------------------------------------------
City: Sydney, Australia (Kingsford Smith)
Sectors: 2
Flight details
Depart: SYD - Sydney, Australia (Kingsford Smith)
Arrive: BOS - Boston, United States (Logan)
Via: LAX - Los Angeles, United States (Los Angeles)
Leg 1:
Depart: SYD 1:25p 9/07/2007 Terminal: 1
Arrive: LAX 9:45a 9/07/2007 Terminal: 4
Flight: AA 7363 - American Airlines
744 - Boeing 747-400 Passenger
Operating Carrier: Qantas Airways
Connecting flight leaves in 3 hours 40 minutes
Leg 2:
Depart: LAX 1:25p 9/07/2007 Terminal: 4
Arrive: BOS 9:55p 9/07/2007 Terminal: B
Flight: AA 264 - American Airlines
757 - Boeing 757 Passenger
Operating Carrier: American Airlines
Total Duration: 22 hours 30 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Boston, United States (Logan)
Sectors: 2
Flight details
Depart: BOS - Boston, United States (Logan)
Arrive: SLC - Salt Lake City, United States (Salt Lake City)
Via: DFW - Dallas, United States (Dallas/Ft. Worth)
Leg 1:
Depart: BOS 7:00a 17/07/2007 Terminal: B
Arrive: DFW 9:55a 17/07/2007
Flight: AA 631 - American Airlines
M83 - Boeing (Douglas) MD-83
Operating Carrier: American Airlines
Connecting flight leaves in 50 minutes
Leg 2:
Depart: DFW 10:45a 17/07/2007 Terminal: C
Arrive: SLC 12:20p 17/07/2007 Terminal: 1
Flight: AA 1091 - American Airlines
M80 - Boeing (Douglas) MD-80
Operating Carrier: American Airlines
Total Duration: 7 hours 20 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Salt Lake City, United States (Salt Lake City)
Sectors: 1
*** No Flight Details ***

No direct flight and will purchase separate ticket SLC - LAS

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Las Vegas, United States (McCarran)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: LAS - Las Vegas, United States (McCarran)
Arrive: LAX - Los Angeles, United States (Los Angeles)
Leg 1:
Depart: LAS 6:35p 27/07/2007 Terminal: 1
Arrive: LAX 7:45p 27/07/2007 Terminal: 4
Flight: AA 3108 - American Airlines
ERD - Embraer RJ140
Operating Carrier: American Airlines
Total Duration: 1 hours 10 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Los Angeles, United States (Los Angeles)
Sectors: 1
*** No Flight Details ***

LAX - SYD by award flight 27 Jul 07
SYD - LAX by award flight 1 May 08
continue xONE4 trip LAX - YVR 1 May 08 by AA on Air Alaska metal?
Is it possible?

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Vancouver, Canada (Vancouver)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: YVR - Vancouver, Canada (Vancouver)
Arrive: LHR - London, United Kingdom (Heathrow)
Leg 1:
Depart: YVR 8:30p 2/05/2008 Terminal: M
Arrive: LHR 1:35p 3/05/2008 Terminal: 1
Flight: BA 84 - British Airways
747 - Boeing 747 Passenger
Operating Carrier: British Airways
Total Duration: 9 hours 5 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: London, United Kingdom (Heathrow)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: LHR - London, United Kingdom (Heathrow)
Arrive: ATH - Athens, Greece (Eleftherios Venizelos)
Leg 1:
Depart: LHR 12:25p 10/05/2008 Terminal: 1
Arrive: ATH 6:05p 10/05/2008
Flight: BA 632 - British Airways
767 - Boeing 767 Passenger
Operating Carrier: British Airways
Total Duration: 3 hours 40 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Athens, Greece (Eleftherios Venizelos)
Sectors: 1
*** No Flight Details ***

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Budapest, Hungary (Ferihegy)
Sectors: 1
*** No Flight Details ***

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Rome, Italy (Fiumicino)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: FCO - Rome, Italy (Fiumicino)
Arrive: HKG - Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Leg 1:
Depart: FCO 12:50p 29/05/2008 Terminal: C
Arrive: HKG 6:25a 30/05/2008
Flight: CX 292 - Cathay Pacific Airways
744 - Boeing 747-400 Passenger
Operating Carrier: Cathay Pacific Airways
Total Duration: 11 hours 35 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: HKG - Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
Arrive: CGK - Jakarta, Indonesia (Soekarno-Hatta)
Leg 1:
Depart: HKG 9:20a 31/05/2008
Arrive: CGK 1:05p 31/05/2008 Terminal: 2
Flight: CX 777 - Cathay Pacific Airways
343 - Airbus Industrie A340-300
Operating Carrier: Cathay Pacific Airways
Total Duration: 4 hours 45 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Jakarta, Indonesia (Soekarno-Hatta)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: CGK - Jakarta, Indonesia (Soekarno-Hatta)
Arrive: NRT - Tokyo, Japan (Narita)
Leg 1:
Depart: CGK 10:10p 4/06/2008 Terminal: 2
Arrive: NRT 7:25a 5/06/2008 Terminal: 2
Flight: JL 726 - JAL
777 - Boeing 777 Passenger
Operating Carrier: JL for JO
Total Duration: 7 hours 15 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Tokyo, Japan (Narita)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: NRT - Tokyo, Japan (Narita)
Arrive: SIN - Singapore, Singapore (Changi)
Leg 1:
Depart: NRT 10:55a 6/06/2008 Terminal: 2
Arrive: SIN 5:35p 6/06/2008 Terminal: 1
Flight: JL 719 - JAL
777 - Boeing 777 Passenger
Operating Carrier: JAL
Total Duration: 7 hours 40 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Singapore, Singapore (Changi)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: SIN - Singapore, Singapore (Changi)
Arrive: SYD - Sydney, Australia (Kingsford Smith)
Leg 1:
Depart: SIN 8:00p 16/06/2008 Terminal: 1
Arrive: SYD 6:50a 17/06/2008 Terminal: 1
Flight: BA 15 - British Airways
777 - Boeing 777 Passenger
Operating Carrier: British Airways
Total Duration: 7 hours 50 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Sydney, Australia (Kingsford Smith)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: SYD - Sydney, Australia (Kingsford Smith)
Arrive: DRW - Darwin, Australia (Darwin)
Leg 1:
Depart: SYD 10:10a 27/06/2008 Terminal: 1
Arrive: DRW 1:00p 27/06/2008
Flight: QF 123 - Qantas Airways
333 - Airbus Industrie A330-300
Operating Carrier: Qantas Airways
Total Duration: 4 hours 20 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Darwin, Australia (Darwin)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: DRW - Darwin, Australia (Darwin)
Arrive: PER - Perth, Australia (Perth)
Leg 1:
Depart: DRW 2:20p 27/06/2008
Arrive: PER 5:35p 27/06/2008 Terminal: 2
Flight: QF 793 - Qantas Airways
73H - Boeing 737-800 (winglets) Passenger
Operating Carrier: Qantas Airways
Total Duration: 3 hours 45 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Perth, Australia (Perth)
Sectors: 1
Flight details
Depart: PER - Perth, Australia (Perth)
Arrive: SYD - Sydney, Australia (Kingsford Smith)
Leg 1:
Depart: PER 4:20p 30/06/2008 Terminal: 2
Arrive: SYD 10:20p 30/06/2008 Terminal: 3
Flight: QF 566 - Qantas Airways
743 - Boeing 747-300 / 747-100/200 SUD Passenger
Operating Carrier: Qantas Airways
Total Duration: 4 hours 0 minutes

------------------------------------------------------------
City: Sydney, Australia (Kingsford Smith)
Sectors: 0

------------------------------------------------------------
Warnings
1. Flight date (27/06/2008) is on the same date as previous flight (27/06/2008)


I like to have some comments from the experts regarding our itinerary. I'm tossing whether to do DONE4 or LONE4 with BA WT+ (how much extra?). I value my sleep and I can never get any reasonable sleep in long haul Y. I've never taken any long haul J. I've read that J in BA is very good for sleeping, that's why I try to use BA as much as possible. May be someone beg to differ?
The European leg is still not fixed, but they are relatively short flights. Any comments on Malev?
How do you overcome the problem of 1 transcontinental flight only in Australia? Can I only have less than 24hr transit in Darwin? I like to stay more than 24hr if possible.
Thank you so much in advance.

[serfty]

G'day sparoy, welcome to AFF.

I'll answer a couple of queries.

- Codeshares on non oneWORLD airlines are not permitted in an xONEx so that counts out having a LAX-YVR AA codeshare on AS.

- You are only permitted two stopovers in your 'continent of origin' so you are looking at one at SYD and one a PER; to stay in DRW more than 24 hours would become a third stopover and the itinary would not comply with the rules.

- As far as trans continentals go, one way is to travel PER-CBR, then a red e-deal to CBR-SYD on a separate ticket.

[NM]

To maximise the miles earning along with the Platinum Challenge, think abouot routing SYD-JFK-BOS instead of SYD-LAX-BOS. SYD-JFK is 9950 miles flown. So start in MEL and use the AA codeshare for MEL-SYD and SYD-JFK so that the SYD-JFK flight completes the challenge and hence earns the 100% platinum bonus for the 9950 miles flown.

Of course, if you choose to purchase a DONE4, then it really does not matter since the SYD-LAX on a D fare will be enough to complete the challenge.

On a L fare, SYD-LAX-BOS will complete the challange and earn you about 12,700 AA miles. On the same fare, MEL-SYD-JFK-BOS will earn you around 21,400 AA miles. Quite a bit better for the extra routing.

[sparoy]

Originally Posted by serfty

G'day sparoy, welcome to AFF.

I'll answer a couple of queries.

- Codeshares on non oneWORLD airlines are not permitted in an xONEx so that counts out having a LAX-YVR AA codeshare on AS.

Thanks serfty.
Are there any other options apart from purchasing separate fare LAX-YVR?
I think I've used up my 6 NAM sectors, so even going say to SFO will be extra cost anyway and no guarantee will get to YVR on xONE4. I'm basically trying to avoid another transcontinental in NAM and also hate the non earning points USA to London. I was contemplating doing LAX-ORD-FRA instead.

[sparoy]

Originally Posted by NM

To maximise the miles earning along with the Platinum Challenge, think abouot routing SYD-JFK-BOS instead of SYD-LAX-BOS. SYD-JFK is 9950 miles flown. So start in MEL and use the AA codeshare for MEL-SYD and SYD-JFK so that the SYD-JFK flight completes the challenge and hence earns the 100% platinum bonus for the 9950 miles flown.

Of course, if you choose to purchase a DONE4, then it really does not matter since the SYD-LAX on a D fare will be enough to complete the challenge.

On a L fare, SYD-LAX-BOS will complete the challange and earn you about 12,700 AA miles. On the same fare, MEL-SYD-JFK-BOS will earn you around 21,400 AA miles. Quite a bit better for the extra routing.

Thanks NM
On a L fare for MEL-SYD-JFK-BOS, do I have to take the AA codeshare for MEL-SYD on the same day/international connection as the SYD-JFK? Or can I have a couple of days rest in between? The JFK will be an extra sector, right?

[fursten]

Have I missed something?
A Platinum Challenge must be done on AA metal or codeshare but the ticket must be bought and ticketed through AA.
Fursten

[Dave Noble]

Originally Posted by fursten

Have I missed something?
A Platinum Challenge must be done on AA metal or codeshare but the ticket must be bought and ticketed through AA.
Fursten

No. The flights that make up the challenge must be on AA flight numbers however there is no restriction on who issues the ticket

Dave

[sparoy]

Originally Posted by Dave Noble

No. The flights that make up the challenge must be on AA flight numbers however there is no restriction on who issues the ticket

Dave

Is it best to use book and pay using the AA desk for my itinerary? The AA Mascot office is not too far away, although I read somewhere they are not open to the public. How is the BA WT+ extra cost on LONE4 calculated? Is it by sector or as one fixed cost?

[NM]

Originally Posted by sparoy

Thanks NM
On a L fare for MEL-SYD-JFK-BOS, do I have to take the AA codeshare for MEL-SYD on the same day/international connection as the SYD-JFK? Or can I have a couple of days rest in between?

The MEL-SYD will need to be on the AA codeshare but does not need to be the same day. But if it is not the same day, then you have used one of the two stopovers permitted in the continent of origin.

Originally Posted by sparoy

The JFK will be an extra sector, right?

I am not really sure what you mean here. To maximise the points earning, make sure you reach the 10,000 EQP on a flight with large miles earning, since you get the 100% platinum bonus on the qualifying flight. So make sure the SYD-JFK is a sngle flight number and single sector.

[sparoy]

Originally Posted by NM

I am not really sure what you mean here. To maximise the points earning, make sure you reach the 10,000 EQP on a flight with large miles earning, since you get the 100% platinum bonus on the qualifying flight. So make sure the SYD-JFK is a sngle flight number and single sector.

I was referring to SYD-JFK-BOS as having an extra sector/segment compared to SYD-LAX-BOS, but I just realised now that it doesn't use an extra sector/segment because SYD-JFK is a single sector and single flight number even though it stopover in LAX. Thanks NM