Planning DONE5 or maybe AONE5 ex Asia - advice needed

[z0s0]

We're working on the details of our first [x]ONE5 trip, and plan to depart from Manila or Jakarta to get a reasonable price on a D or A cabin ticket.

We'll have 6-9 months to complete the trip, with a very flexible schedule. Given that, I'm wondering how much solid planning is needed ahead of time.

Obviously we'd nail down the routing at purchase time, but I'm wondering how flexible the dates are? We have only a rough idea of how much time we'd like in each stop.

How difficult is it to get onto a flight in the respective cabin classes at short notice? I imagine some routes are difficult / popular whilst others are less so?

Do D & A classes generally have more availability than economy?

If the actual flight dates don't need to finalized too far ahead of time, is it feasible to buy the ticket once we arrive in Jakarta / Manila?

I've read that others have purchased the ticket from Australia, but I was under the impression that the ticket rules state that you have to buy locally to be eligible for the local price - is this true or not?

Any and all answers & tips appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Evan]

You must fix the first flight date or else it will be a re-issue, you would organise it ahead of time, ticket it and pay for it in advance, then get there to start the journey (yes i know the T&C's say in some zones you can change first date but you may or may not get away with it from what i read here)

The rest of the flights you could pick dates later, generally D & A (espessially D) on the routes i have looked at are ok,... but keep in mind any busy routes wil be the most difficult to get seats.

E

 

[Keith009]

Welcome to AFF.

As noted above, availability generally depends on the time of travel and whether a route is busy or not. Some routes are notorious for v little or nil availability in D or A even when booking 330 days out, for example SYD-SCL, JNB-SYD on certain days of the week. Other routes less so, but again really depends. D or A is generally easier to get at short notice than L though, as L is a really low sub class.

Once ticketed, changes at any time to date/time/airline are free (disclaimer: except the date of the first flight as that'd result in a cancel, refund, rebook; some agents will claim that the first flight can't be touched at all unless you want to cancel and rebook the entire booking). Changes to routing are free prior to departure for TC2/3 points of origin but will incur a USD125 fee for every reissue due to rerouting after departure.

It could be feasible to purchase your ticket upon arrival, even easier where the airlines have ticketing desks at the airport like CX, otherwise you'd have to trek into their downtown office to pay up as some offices do not accept CC payment over the phone (eg the AA GSA in MNL). However I'd recommend at least setting up the reservation and getting it fared and ready to be ticketed in advance to avoid unexpected last minute complications. I'd further recommend purchasing the ticket prior to getting there but that's just me being risk averse. This is where a phone card or VOIP service comes in handy.

If a fare is from a cheaper origin, yes you do need to purchase from the point of origin to get the cheaper fare unless the fare basis is one that doesn't exist in Australia (eg xONE3).

 

[z0s0]

Thanks for the rapid responses!

Just to clarify, does using your credit card over the phone to the Manila office constitute buying your ticket at the point of origin hence qualify for the cheaper fare? i.e. you don't actually need to be there in person.

Can you recommend any resources for planning the route before I contact the ticketing office? I notice that *A has a pretty nifty online tool for planning - is there something similar for OW?

Seems that just deciding where to go is the trickiest part ;-)

 

[Keith009]

Yes paying with CC over the phone actually constitutes paying at point of origin as the ticket will be issued at that location.

For now you might find the oneworld itinerary planner helpful for plotting your itinerary:
oneworld - Itinerary Planner

SeatCounter - The Booking Class Availability Machine to check availability

oneworld has announced their intention to introduce online booking and ticketing in due course.

 

[Flashback]

oneworld has announced their intention to introduce online booking and ticketing in due course.

Which you would think, would almost close off being able to get cheaper tickets from ports where the currency is favourable..

 

[Evan]

Which you would think, would almost close off being able to get cheaper tickets from ports where the currency is favourable..

Maybe, maybe not, you still have to get to said port
But really i think not many people would think... oh why don;t i start my RTW trip in Indonesia because its cheap... thats just us crazy nuts

E

 

[sr81]

Maybe, maybe not, you still have to get to said port
But really i think not many people would think... oh why don;t i start my RTW trip in Indonesia because its cheap... thats just us crazy nuts

Me: Hi, my name is Rob.
AFF: HI Rob.
ME: I am CraZY nUTs cause I fly to Indonesia to get a cheap, maxed out DONE3.
AFF: Welcome!

To the OP:
It is reasonably easy to work out how to get the DONE ticketed whilst not leaving Aus. I wouldn't leave it to the last minute as things can change and the price will only ever go up.

Get your dates and route sorted via the oneworld tool.
Check the availability of seats via seatcounter
call the AA Round the World Desk +118002473247 and get it costed and booked.
pay via direct debit (works for MNL)

 

[moa999]

Also note that AA ticket offices have different policies for accepting credit card payments offline (ie without card and signature)

Tokyo NRT - Yes, pretty easy
Manilla MNL - Yes, pretty easy
Seoul ICN - No, but will accept wire transfer (currently working on them)
Karachi KHI - Unsure and want to ticket on CX (currently working on them)

 

[Keith009]

Manilla MNL - Yes, pretty easy

They'd only accept wire transfer for remote payments.

Karachi KHI - Unsure

It's almost impossible to get through to AA KHI. When someone did pick up, they couldn't hear me - and i know it's not a problem on my end as I'd tried calling on 2 different lines and a friend did the same. Tried the ISB office and the person who picked up immediately transferred me to AA UK. Ended up queuing the PNR with a message explaining what I wanted to KHIAA, with nary a response till 4 days later by which time I'd already given up and changed the itin to an ex-JNB origin and they thought I'd queued things to them in error. Also note that you'd need a visa for Pakistan even in transit so ex-KHI might not be that practical.

To add to the list: AA CPT is quite happy to take CC payment over the phone.

AA local stations certainly vary a lot. Were it not for the lack of fuel fines and the eggcellent ATW desk, it is far easier to deal with Cathay offices, a lot of whom take CC payment over the phone and are reasonably and consistently competent with booking these things in their own right - once you satisfy their "first flight must be CX" nonsense that is.

edited to add: Friend just received the following email from AA KHI:

Just for your info a Credit Card payment is only acceptable if card holder is in our office for signature on our authority form.The country of origin of the card is not an issue .

No word on wire transfers tho.