OW Explorer Fare - Best way to lower taxes ?

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cbert

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Apr 17, 2006
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Hi

I got the following OW RTW LONE4 trip plan and thought best way to keep taxes low was to start trip with AA flights and keep away from QF overseas flights as much as possible.

SYD/LAX/YYZ/MIA/CUN/DFW/YYZ/JFK/LHR/DXB/LHR/SIN/BOM/HKG/PER/MEL

The cost on the OW site came to (3,704.00 + 1,077.81) = 4,781.81 AUD

Anyway I can drop that tax figure a bit, I rather not drop any of the segments unless I make some considerable savings in taxes.

Maybe I could drop JFK as I hear the tax is high there.

Plus I hear the tax in LHR is steep as well.


the flights picked:
SYD - LAX AA7363
LAX - TOR AA1586
TOR - MIA AA429
MIA - CUN AA2185
CUN - DAL AA2212
DAL - TOR AA1252
TOR - JFK AA4510
JFK - LHR AA142
LHR - DXB BA109
DXB - LHR BA108
LHR - SIN BA11
SIN - BOM QF51
BOM - HKG CX684
HKG - PER CX171
PER - MEL QF802

Fare type: Economy Restricted


thanks
 
Your planned trip contains 15 segments. If you are interested in maximising the segments, you could add one more as xONE4 allows for 16. You could look at adding MEL-SYD at the end, for example, as I see that you are planning to start the trip in SYD. Or MEL to anywhere else in Australia for that matter. This 16th segment may be taken later, as long as it's completed within 12 months of the start of the first segment.

Are you interested in SCs? If you were to drop one of the trips to YYZ, add another USA port (e.g., ORD) and maximise SCs, you could route the trip as SYD-JFK-CUN-ORD-MIA-DFW-YYZ-LAX-LHR-DXB-LHR-SIN-BOM-HKG-PER-MEL-SYD. If you are interested in QF/OneWorld status, then the changed routing could earn 405 SCs (with a MEL-SYD segment included), instead of the current 350 SCs for the route that you have outlined. Unless I've missed something, this is my understanding.

To ticket through AA, you have selected the first flight as SYD-LAX on AA7363 (QF11 codeshare). As another option, have you tried entering AA7365 (QF107 codeshare), a SYD-JFK flight, which has a short stop-over (and aircraft change) in LAX for immigration? If you are up to a long day (SYD-JFK), then this may suit. You'd still get to visit LA following the flight from YYZ. The advantage of this is that it counts as only one segment, and not 2. It also maximises miles and SC earnings for your trip, if you are interested in this.

Your main question relates to the fuel fines, which affects the price of the fare. My understanding is that AA still doesn't charge some fuel fines, including the QF segments. There are others here who are experts on this.

If one (or both) of your LHR flights is a transit of less than 24 hours, there should be a saving in taxes.
 
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cbert, I'm not intimately acquainted with the 'rules' and policies that govern who collects how much fuel surcharges (others here may be) but I can give this info which may be useful.

I travelled recently on a DONE4 (the fact that it is DONE rather than LONE should not affect fuel surcharges but meant some airport departure taxes - e.g. LHR) would have cost a bit more than for a LONE4 (oh, and I wouldn't avoid or choose a city based solely on their departure tax unless it is really hideous. Also, if it is a transit of 24 hours or less then the departure tax is not payable - at LHR at least.

The xONEx trip was was ex-AKL.

After I used the OW online tool to check flights and availability I rang AA and booked the itinerary directly via their Around The World desk (number escapes me, but easy enough to find). 24 hours later the quote was ready and the taxes and surcharges were ~NZD700. I obviously used AA flights domestically in North America, but beyond that there was no obligation on me to use any, and I mostly didn't. All other flights were CX, QF, JL, BA, AY, except for AA LHR-LAX, but the agent gave me a choice between BA and AA - I ended up upgrading the AA sector to First, thanks to some handy advice from this board, and some AA miles I had laying around. :)

I had some worrying moments with ticketing issues due to ex-AKL bit, but that should not affect you as you are flying ex-Oz.

NZD700 today is roughly AUD550 so about half of the taxes/surcharges quoted to you by the OW tool.

Like I said, I've no idea what the actual policies are, and how it would work out, but it seems that booking via the AA ATW desk has its advantages. Certainly worth a $10 phone card, and a comparison - you're under no compulsion to actually purchase the AA reservation once made. Because I knew which flights I wanted and knew there was availability it was very smooth and booked within 15 - 20 minutes on the phone to AA.
 
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That’s an impressive routing. If done in J you’d get Plat! :shock:

I don’t have any pointers other than TOR is YYZ and DAL should be DFW. :p
 
AA RTW desk (in Dallas): from Australia phone 0011-1-800-247 3247.

Business hours (Dallas time) are:

Monday to Friday: 7.00am to 8.00pm
Saturday and Sunday: 9.00am to 5.30pm

Changes to flight times/dates are at no charge (re-routing of your xONEx costs about $US125, from memory, so try and avoid this). It will save a lot of time if you have already checked the flights and availability prior to phoning. However, they have been very helpful when I've rung.
 
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I read on AFF a while back of a saving whereby somebody booked (their first outbound sector of a long trip) SYD/AKL flight on LAN but which was a codeshare flight on QF metal. This was so the ticket could be issued on LAN ticket stock and thus take advantage of the savings on taxes which were substantial.

From memory it saved them about AUD800.00 in taxes & the only minus was they didn't get any SC on the SYD/AKL but still got ff points for the 'LAN' flight.
 
From memory it saved them about AUD800.00 in taxes & the only minus was they didn't get any SC on the SYD/AKL but still got ff points for the 'LAN' flight.
Real taxes & airport fees are independent of the airline. What does change are the airline imposed fuel surcharges: these are not taxes, no matter what airlines imply there are
 
Also note that the GB tax (UK Passenger Duty) is quite high. If you can make LGR a transit (less than 24 hours) or make it only a short-haul departure and then depart Europe from another point, you can reduce the GB tax component.

In economy, I think its GBP40 for a long-haul departure.
 
Has anyone ever had issues booking RTW flights from an overseas carrier? Do you need to arrange your booking in any particular way or can it be just as if you were booking through QANTAS just its AA?

Also, how did you pay them considering its a hell of a lot of money to pay with a CC over the phone especially with credit limits etc?
 
...I travelled recently on a DONE4 (the fact that it is DONE rather than LONE should not affect fuel surcharges...
That seems logical, and appears true for journeys commencing in Australia on tickets purchased in Australia (very egalitarian at least in QF ticket pricing, except for flights to JNB where pax in classes N/O/Q pay AUD60, while all other pax pay AUD85).

It is interesting that the general rule on fuel surcharges provides for no fuel surcharges on flights within Australia (except ADL-OLP).

For journeys commencing elsewhere, fuel surcharges can be quite different for different cabins: for example, for tickets issued in the UK, or tickets issued in Australia for journeys starting in the UK, the fuel surcharge LON-SYD is £89/£101/£121 for economy/premium economy/first and business. Perhaps this relates to the cost of flying the extra weight of the free appetizers and fancier seating up front. :>) I am sure it would not be a hidden fare increase. The more egalitarian Australians get to pay less and pay equally: AUD95 in all classes between SYD and LON for tickets purchased in Australia and journeys starting in Australia.

So be careful where you purchase your ticket and/or commence your journey if you want to minimize fuel surcharges, and they can be different by cabin.
 
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That seems logical, and appears true for journeys commencing in Australia on tickets purchased in Australia (very egalitarian at least in QF ticket pricing, except for flights to JNB where pax in classes N/O/Q pay AUD60, while all other pax pay AUD85).

It is interesting that the general rule on fuel surcharges provides for no fuel surcharges on flights within Australia (except ADL-OLP).

For journeys commencing elsewhere, fuel surcharges can be quite different for different cabins: for example, for tickets issued in the UK, or tickets issued in Australia for journeys starting in the UK, the fuel surcharge LON-SYD is £89/£101/£121 for economy/premium economy/first and business. Perhaps this relates to the cost of flying the extra weight of the free appetizers and fancier seating up front. :>) I am sure it would not be a hidden fare increase.

So be careful where you purchase your ticket and/or commence your journey if you want to minimize fuel surcharges.

Thx for the info jrobin. I guess it should come as no surprise, given all the anomalies in the wonderful world of airline policies and pricings. :)
 
Has anyone ever had issues booking RTW flights from an overseas carrier? Do you need to arrange your booking in any particular way or can it be just as if you were booking through QANTAS just its AA?

Also, how did you pay them considering its a hell of a lot of money to pay with a CC over the phone especially with credit limits etc?

If booking a oneworld Explorer, this can be booked, priced and ticketed online. The first carrier on your ticket determines your issuing carrier - so if you want AA your first segment has to be an AA flight number.

If booking by phone, it depends on the airline. Most if not all the major carriers have some form of ticketing presence in Australia and a hotline you can reach. My experience largely revolves around AA - simply ring up the AA ATW desk in Dallas to book and price your itinerary, and discuss payment with their Brisbane call centre. You can also complete the entire process with the local hotline but they might not be as spot-on about the rules as the ATW desk. Most carriers would also prefer you to include some of their intercontinental flights in your ticket, although this isn't strictly required by the fare rules, so don't be surprised to get a frosty reception if you present the AA ATW desk with zero AA content.

Alternatively, simply find a local TA who's willing to issue the ticket on the ticket stock of your desired carrier. Individual carriers and ticketing consolidators may have their own policies as to whether they'll allow TAs to ticket a fare via a particular carrier.

As for payment over the phone, I usually use a VISA debit card or an AMEX charge card. I'd contact the relevant financial institution prior to payment to ensure that the transaction will be approved without any issues. Could be tricky with a credit card if you don't have enough credit limit to cover the ticket cost - best to speak to the bank about a temp limit increase?
 
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...Most if not all the major carriers have some form of ticketing presence in Australia and a hotline you can reach. My experience largely revolves around AA ...discuss payment with their Brisbane call centre...
I happen to have an AA voucher, which I would like to use to purchase an AA ticket in Australia. Anyone know if this can this be done through the Brisbane call centre (currently closed for the weekend)? In North America, the most common way to use a voucher is to take to an airport ticketing desk, but AA does not have any airport ticketing in Australia.
 
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I happen to have an AA voucher, which I would like to use to purchase an AA ticket in Australia. Anyone know if this can this be done through the Brisbane call centre (currently closed for the weekend)? In North America, the most common way to use a voucher is to take to an airport ticketing desk, but AA does not have any airport ticketing in Australia.
jrobin,

How did you go with this :?:
 
jrobin,

How did you go with this [using an AA voucher to purchase an AA ticket in Australia.] :?:

Short answer: I haven't yet. I would like to purchase an AA December ticket in November when I will be in Australia; by then I will know when I want to take the flight. I was told by an AA telephone agent that one option would be the process for redeeming vouchers in North America when people do not wish to go to an airport: purchase the ticket from a telephone agent, give the agent the data about the voucher, and the ticket is put on hold until AA in the US receives the voucher. As I recall, she said they suggest allowing three weeks in the US, and that obviously if it was being mailed from Australia it likely would take longer.

Anyone know if vouchers could be mailed to the Brisbane centre?
 
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