Booking OW RTW ex NZ from Oz

[haydensydney]

My partner and I are organising a J RTW trip for Feb next year - traditionally we have been *A fans and last time we did a RTW on *A this worked out at about $11k AUD ea. This time however, we have found out that our journey will cost about $14k AUD (thats gone up heaps?).

Therefore our thoughts are turning to OW, particularly a OW RTW trip originating from AKL which is about $12k NZD (or $10k AUD). We are from SYD so we would need to grab a one way to start the trip from NZ - no biggie.

Has anyone done this previously, and if so - are there any special tips or tricks I should keep in mind? I'm sure I will need to get a NZ travel agent to book the trip, but am unsure of any other logistical issues.

Also, has anyone done the AA MD80's in F? Much chop?

Ta

PS - tried the search function but didn't find anything, so apologies if this has been discussed ad nauseum

 

[drron]

Can only answer the AA Mad dog part.This is a domestic premium cabin that AA call F whereas in the rest of the world it would be called J.It is close to QF domestic J-some here will say QF is much better.However it is better than Intra-European J.But hey,you are paying a J price and if you belong to QF then you get F miles and SCs.Do 5-6 US sectors and you can easily make WP on QF.

 

[pianoperson]

HI there
You should also think about booking your RTW starting in Nadi Fiji - the base fares are approx 7,500 AUD in J/D and 9500 AUD in F
The only product available is the mileage based Global Explorer which gives you 34,0000 miles
I can let you know logistics of booking if you want - have done it many times so just send me a message etc
Is a big saving on fares from OZ and NZ - and is not really much more hassle getting to NAN than AKL

Have also flown AA in First on MDs and is nothing to get excited about - is I think only in use on Domestic flights. The only halfway decent First on Domestic AA flights is on the transcontinental JFK-LAX and BOS-LAX 767s with 3 class service and also the few flights on 777s domestically eg LAX-MIA

Happy to provide more info if you want.

Hope this is of some use

 

[dragonman]

Can only answer the AA Mad dog part.This is a domestic premium cabin that AA call F whereas in the rest of the world it would be called J.It is close to QF domestic J-some here will say QF is much better.However it is better than Intra-European J.But hey,you are paying a J price and if you belong to QF then you get J miles and SCs.Do 5-6 US sectors and you can easily make WP on QF.

Actually I am pretty sure you get F miles and SC's on AA flights where there are only 2 classes (F and Y). So the USA is an absolute bonanza esp if you avoid the 3 class trans-con flights. Flights to Canada also book into J but the rest are all F.

If you are seriously after status you can easily be QF plat/OW emerald after a carefully planned DONE4.

 

[Leumas]

Yes, I've done this and am in the process of booking another one. I'm happy to share the travel agent I use - if you're keen, PM me for details. I've been using her for some 7 years now.

The only 'catch' is, she's not that keen to ticket through AA (as you may face less tax and surchages) as they normally ticket through QF. I managed to get her to ticket through AA last time, but it created a lot of work for her and your first trans-continental flight must be an AA flight number.

On a DONEx ticket, you're booked into 'A' for 2-class flights on AA, so aim for those and you'll get first class SCs - a good deal indeed. Service-wise, it's effectively J on domestic QF on an old 737.

 

[Dave Noble]

The easiest way might be just to book online using the OneWorld booking tool. Choose an AA flight for the 1st sector and the system should default to having AA issue it

Dave

 

[haydensydney]

Thanks for everyones thoughts - I will have a think.

Departing from Fiji sounds like a great idea, and we could fly F for the same price as J if we were to depart from NZ. I couldnt find Nadi on the OW booking tool however - I will PM pianoperson for further info I think...

 

[pblackm]

If you are doing the F in an MD80, make sure that you don't the bulkhead seat. There is less room for feet/legs than in Y (and only marginally more than a Sydney bus- I am not joking). I spoke to an American pax about this and he said that they had recently been re-configured and that many AA aircraft were the same. Of course, they were doing the FEBO thing, so my choice of meal was the salad or the salad.

I have flown in F AA many times and rate it below QF domestic J. Outside of "meal" flights, you get the obligatory hot nuts and drinks, and nothing else.

 

[drron]

Actually I am pretty sure you get F miles and SC's on AA flights where there are only 2 classes (F and Y). So the USA is an absolute bonanza esp if you avoid the 3 class trans-con flights. Flights to Canada also book into J but the rest are all F.

If you are seriously after status you can easily be QF plat/OW emerald after a carefully planned DONE4.

Corrected it.Knew what i meant to say but that darned finger.

 

[serfty]

Note that you can book into A class (F) with a DONEx only on AA domestic 2 class flights. e.g. DFW-SEA has F & Y, DFW-YVR has J and Y (D class on this one).

 

[Leumas]

The easiest way might be just to book online using the OneWorld booking tool. Choose an AA flight for the 1st sector and the system should default to having AA issue it

I tried that last time. My TA managed to get me a better price without my prompting...