Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Mr H]

Because I will already have stop and spent time in London I thought I couldn't return.

Ah yes, only one stopover allowed. I assumed you were just doing a transit the second time. That could also cause difficulty with the private travel sector as I think that counts as a stopover. You might have to do LON-KEF-LON as a self-funded side trip.

 

[GaryLG]

Ah yes, only one stopover allowed. I assumed you were just doing a transit the second time.

Well I was hoping by making my own way from Iceland to London that might be sufficient so when I fly out of LHR it would be like transit. Sorry if I didn't make that clearer but that's the question?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Because I will already have stop and spent time in London I thought I couldn't return.

you are allowed no more than one stopover *and* two transits in any one city (except your country of origin!) So you could have stop in London on the outbound, and then transit - less than 24 hours - on the way back.

 

[GaryLG]

you are allowed no more than one stopover *and* two transits in any one city (except your country of origin!) So you could have stop in London on the outbound, and then transit - less than 24 hours - on the way back.

I guess my question was more how would they know? If I make my own way from Iceland to the UK and then leave the UK as a continuation of my journey albeit from LHR there would be gap no flight.

I am trying to be too clever or would that work?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I guess my question was more how would they know? If I make my own way from Iceland to the UK and then leave the UK as a continuation of my journey albeit from LHR there would be gap no flight.

I am trying to be too clever or would that work?

You're wanting 2 stops in London?

 

[aikman]

I guess my question was more how would they know? If I make my own way from Iceland to the UK and then leave the UK as a continuation of my journey albeit from LHR there would be gap no flight.

I am trying to be too clever or would that work?

As you say, they won't know. It is therefore irrelevant what other flights you book separately outside of this award. The separate flights have no impact on the award ticket and the rules which apply to it.

All that matters is that according to your award itinerary, you arrive in Iceland and depart the UK more than 24 hours later. That is a stopover.

 

[GaryLG]

You're wanting 2 stops in London?

Effectively but I know that isn't allowed.

 

[GaryLG]

As you say, they won't know. It is therefore irrelevant what other flights you book separately outside of this award. The separate flights have no impact on the award ticket and the rules which apply to it.

All that matters is that according to your award itinerary, you arrive in Iceland and depart the UK more than 24 hours later. That is a stopover.

Sounds like that's not going to work then?

So what about I fly KEF-LHR and then resume my journey in HEL? Does it matter how long between LHR and HEL? And would it matter if I paid for a flight on AY for that leg?

 

[Mr H]

Just pay for London to Reykjavik return and it’ll all count as one long stopover in London.

 

[GaryLG]

Just pay for London to Reykjavik return and it’ll all count as one long stopover in London.

Ah okay, hadn't thought of that obvious answer! Thanks.

 

[11sjw]

Ah okay, hadn't thought of that obvious answer! Thanks.

"Pay" can mean a totally separate points booking!

 

[GaryLG]

"Pay" can mean a totally separate points booking!

Ah okay, so I guess that also means I don't need to avoid Oneworld airlines when I am booking regardless of cash or points?

 

[11sjw]

Ah okay, so I guess that also means I don't need to avoid Oneworld airlines when I am booking regardless of cash or points?

Not at all. During a OWA a couple of years ago we flew into and out of New York. We used separate bookings to fly to NY to DC, Philly to Buffalo and Buffalo to New York. Like you mentioned it's just treated as a long stay in the one city.

 

[Mr H]

London to Iceland is unlikely to be the optimal use of points.

 

[GaryLG]

Not at all. During a OWA a couple of years ago we flew into and out of New York. We used separate bookings to fly to NY to DC, Philly to Buffalo and Buffalo to New York. Like you mentioned it's just treated as a long stay in the one city.

Thanks.

Post automatically merged: Oct 24, 2021

London to Iceland is unlikely to be the optimal use of points.

Yes, I figured and looking at the planes there wouldn't be much point being in business class either.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes, I figured and looking at the planes there wouldn't be much point being in business class either.

Each to their own but... while the seating in 'eurobusiness' is the same format as economy, the middle seat is blocked. As seat pitch is really tight on most european carriers - 29-30 inches, the spare seat in the middle gives a lot more leg room and space.

Aside from that, while status may give you priority check-in and lounge access, in general the overall experience in ClubEurope (if flying BA) is a lot more fun... usually great crews, some nice meals, and free flowing champagne. Sometimes clubeurope is as little as $60 more... well worth it for all the benefits and extra Qantas points and SCs

Not all eurobusiness is as pleasant as BA... Air France isn't too bad, nor KLM, Lufthansa or Swiss. But some are very average... like Iberia.

 

[GaryLG]

Each to their own but... while the seating in 'eurobusiness' is the same format as economy, the middle seat is blocked. As seat pitch is really tight on most european carriers - 29-30 inches, the spare seat in the middle gives a lot more leg room and space.

Aside from that, while status may give you priority check-in and lounge access, in general the overall experience in ClubEurope (if flying BA) is a lot more fun... usually great crews, some nice meals, and free flowing champagne. Sometimes clubeurope is as little as $60 more... well worth it for all the benefits and extra Qantas points and SCs

Not all eurobusiness is as pleasant as BA... Air France isn't too bad, nor KLM, Lufthansa or Swiss. But some are very average... like Iberia.

Might have to reconsider then but I also noticed that aside from BA there is also Icelandair who are using 767's instead of A320's so do offer better seat pitch and width for a similar price in J even if I miss out on points and SC ( they are even slight better in economy).

Decisions, decisions!

 

[11sjw]

Might have to reconsider then but I also noticed that aside from BA there is also Icelandair who are using 767's instead of A320's so do offer better seat pitch and width for a similar price in J even if I miss out on points and SC ( they are even slight better in economy).

Decisions, decisions!

Plus you maintain a better baggage allowance which is handy if the rest of your flights are in J and you don't have status.

 

[GaryLG]

Plus you maintain a better baggage allowance which is handy if the rest of your flights are in J and you don't have status.

True.

 

[cambriamarsh]

That's one of those questions like "how long is a piece of string?" but this is what I've seen over the past 3 months:
Release date patterns have only recently started to be more or less reliable now that governments are indicating they will open up to international travel. That's particularly so for Australia where most airlines stopped flying here and stopped listing any flights at all.
Individual airlines have varying J release patterns for differnt routes. You really do have to look at each route on its own merits


JL - 4 - 6 weeks ago there was excellent availability for some routes such as HND - SYD right on 360 days but for LHR - HND I didn't see anything around 360 days at all, but then sporadic availability started showing up at about 330 days. JL HEL - HND was only showing Y, as well.

QR - Routes into and out of Australia have only recently even started to be listed for revenue fares. J awards have been exceptionally variable from one route to another. E.g., there's been plenty of J available for JNB - DOH at 330 - 360 days but virtually nothing showing on flights to connect to from DOH to Europe such as CPH, NCE, ARN, OSL etc. over the same time frame. I did see some European routes available at 250 - 280 days. That made trying to book connecting flights almost impossible.

Part of the reason for that might be because JNB-DOH has 3 flights on most days but some of the flights connecting to Europe have only one flight a day.

AA. I haven't searched for AA availability in recent times but they are notorious for not releasing J awards at around 330 days as expected. For some routes they may not release any seats until approx. 250 days out and for others like LAX - LAS they may never release any J at all. Another bugbear of AA is that they very often only show J availability between 2 cities via some other out-of-the-way city with very long transit times or which blows out the overall trip distance so much that the total trip time is long.

And never ever give up. Flying AKL-TLV a couple of years ago and had given up on getting J in the AKL-HKG flight so went via SYD. Sitting in the lounge after check in and had a look, found J availability. Aaargh!