RTW gurus...am I on the right track ?

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cbert said:
NM said:
The best way to reduce the overall tax component is to book through AA and not through QF. This will reduce the Fuel Fine component of the extras.

Thanks for the replies,

what do you mean by the above, do you mean book direct with AA and not through a travel agent ?

I found an agent that was able to sell me the fare at slightly lower rate then the airlines set price and thought I might as well go with them cause there is also a fee for booking with airlines.

Thanks


Many Australian travel agents will issue through Qantas and you would be liable to pay a lot more in taxes and surcharges ( $300 extra is common ) than if it is booked through AA.

If you have an agent that can issue through Sabre ( AAs booking system ) and wil give a discount is to go to AAs ATW desk +1 800 247 3247 and arrange the itinery; the AA ATW desk is v knowledgable on these tickets rather than trying to deal with a travel agent who has less knowledge and may end up telling you that certain routings are invalid when they are not.

One the booking is in place and priced , then you can get the Travel Agent to issue it and obtain your discount

Dave
 
Dave Noble said:
cbert said:
NM said:
The best way to reduce the overall tax component is to book through AA and not through QF. This will reduce the Fuel Fine component of the extras.

Thanks for the replies,

what do you mean by the above, do you mean book direct with AA and not through a travel agent ?

I found an agent that was able to sell me the fare at slightly lower rate then the airlines set price and thought I might as well go with them cause there is also a fee for booking with airlines.

Thanks


Many Australian travel agents will issue through Qantas and you would be liable to pay a lot more in taxes and surcharges ( $300 extra is common ) than if it is booked through AA.

If you have an agent that can issue through Sabre ( AAs booking system ) and wil give a discount is to go to AAs ATW desk +1 800 247 3247 and arrange the itinery; the AA ATW desk is v knowledgable on these tickets rather than trying to deal with a travel agent who has less knowledge and may end up telling you that certain routings are invalid when they are not.

One the booking is in place and priced , then you can get the Travel Agent to issue it and obtain your discount

Dave


Damn wish I knew this earlier.

Ok so will ask my agent if he can book via Sabre.

I then create the itinery via calling AA RTW desk in America.

Then as per what you said:

"One the booking is in place and priced , then you can get the Travel Agent to issue it and obtain your discount"


Thanks for your help!!! :D
 
Hello again,

just got told by my travel agent that it wont make a difference if I book via AA cause:

"We are on the Sabre system and that is the price it is quoting"





Thanks for the feeback!
 
Pretty sure that Dave's point was that the AA ATW desk will be knowledge, and actually understand rules of the ticket you are buying. Then you can flip it to the TA if they discount the AA price.
 
just tried to call AA RTW in USA but they are closed.

Tired AA Aust call centre and they said go to TA here.

Got to wait till AA in USA wake up in 7 hours and then try again.

So you reckon with AA doing the booking they should be cheaper, I really hope so cause my taxes are a killer at just over $1,300 !!!! :shock:
 
cbert said:
just tried to call AA RTW in USA but they are closed.

Tired AA Aust call centre and they said go to TA here.

Got to wait till AA in USA wake up in 7 hours and then try again.
Got to love the time time difference. This week I am participating in a Workshop happening in Texas - but I am in Australia. So that means being on the phone from midnight to 8am each day! A great way to experience jet-lag without the duty-free allowance (or FF miles/points).
cbert said:
So you reckon with AA doing the booking they should be cheaper, I really hope so cause my taxes are a killer at just over $1,300 !!!! :shock:
The difference is the fuel surcharges. All other taxes, levies and surcharges will be the same if ticketed through AA or QF. To get the lower fuel surcharge rate you need to have the ticket issued by AA.

It does not matter who makes the reservation - TA or airline. But the ticket is always issued by an airline and most TAs in Australia will default to using QF to issue the ticket. This is partly due to commissions and local incentives (volumes) and partly due to being on the same timezone since the issue of a ATW ticket is complex and often involved lengthy discussion between the issuing agent and the issuing airline.

The saving used to be more significant when using AA to issue as they did not add any fuel surcharges to their fares. In the USA, most airlines include the cost of fuel in the base fare and not as a surcharge. However, about a month ago AA started including some fuel surcharges in their ATW fare calculations, possibly due to pressure applied from other OneWorld alliance partners. But the fuel surcharges they add are still lower than those added by Qantas.

In order for AA to be able to issue the ticket, the itinerary must be booked by the TA in Sabre (AA's res system).

The other advantage with having AA issue the ticket is if you are going to upgrade any AA sectors using AA miles or VIPOW certs. Such upgrades can only be done if the ticket is issued by AA. This is often termed as being "on AA ticket stock", but of course these tickets are usually electronic these days. AA will only process an upgrade if the ticket number begins with 001 (which means on AA ticket stock, even for e-ticket). This is because they actually change the ticket and confirm you into A or C fare class for the upgrade and can only do that if the ticket was issued by AA through Sabre. If your ticket was issued by Qantas (number begins with 008) you will need to pay for AA to re-issue the ticket before they can process the upgrade (about US$125 I think for a xONEx fare).
 
cbert said:
So you reckon with AA doing the booking they should be cheaper, I really hope so cause my taxes are a killer at just over $1,300 !!!! :shock:

I think that they will be; I would actually be surprised if your agent was using Sabre to price since it seems uncommon to use Sabre in Australia

Dave
 
Dave Noble said:
cbert said:
So you reckon with AA doing the booking they should be cheaper, I really hope so cause my taxes are a killer at just over $1,300 !!!! :shock:

I think that they will be; I would actually be surprised if your agent was using Sabre to price since it seems uncommon to use Sabre in Australia

Dave
Calrson Wagonlit use Sabre in Australia, but I have not found many others that use it here. So they may be worth a try.
 
Yes, you're on the right track now, getting excellent information from NM and Dave Noble.

These are the two gentlemen whose flying knowledge I respect immensely - that's why everything I do flying I pass through Dave first (but when he's away, NM might get my calls :eek: )...

You might need to stay up late, or get up early to ring the AA ATW desk, but the cost of the phone calls and the knowledge you will obtain from them, will far outweigh the cost of the call.
 
Dave Noble said:
cbert said:
So you reckon with AA doing the booking they should be cheaper, I really hope so cause my taxes are a killer at just over $1,300 !!!! :shock:

I think that they will be; I would actually be surprised if your agent was using Sabre to price since it seems uncommon to use Sabre in Australia

Dave

wow thanks for all the info.

the agent I am going through is Bestflights.com.au

Agent assures me they are going through the Sabre system and that is the price it is quoting.

Should I know insit he books it thorugh AA and not go to QF ?
Can I insist he do that, does that mean he loses on some agent discount ?

Thanks again, this frquent flyer stuff is really interesting and look forward to getting into it again with next trip :D
 
cbert said:
Should I know insit he books it thorugh AA and not go to QF ?
Can I insist he do that, does that mean he loses on some agent discount ?

You've had my advice; go to AA and get the itinery held and priced by them and then go ( should you really feel the need to ) to the agency for ticketing. Personally , I would avoid using an agency and deal direct with airline in order to avoid middle men if you need to make changes et al

Dave
 
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I agree with Dave here:

Use AA ATW Desk to get the itinerary held and priced by them

and then go to AA SYD for ticketing. AA SYD office is Mezzanine Level, 141 Walker Street, North Sydney. Phone is 1300 650 747. Ask for Kristy (Receptionist) who is a 5 year + veteran of AA and was excellent when I needed my 3 tickets for USA travel done (a B class BNE/LAX/DFW/MIA...MBJ/MIA/SFO/SEA/YLW/SEA/LAX/BNE itinerary - it saved me a couple of hundred doing it through AA USA and ticketing here).

Do exactly what Dave suggests, you'll pass go and SAVE hundreds of $$$. Otherwise you might as well go directly to jail if you use a local TA to book, price and ticket...

Still, it's your money..but you know what they say about money... :roll:
 
Lindsay Wilson said:
..but you know what they say about money... :roll:
Kids: can I have some?
Teenagers: give it to me now.
Wife: I just need a little more.
CC company: How much do you want?
Me: Where did it all go? :roll: :roll:
 
NM said:
Lindsay Wilson said:
..but you know what they say about money... :roll:
Kids: can I have some?
Teenagers: give it to me now.
Wife: I just need a little more.
CC company: How much do you want?
Me: Where did it all go? :roll: :roll:

You mean that your lot actually ask :?: :!:
 
straitman said:
You mean that your lot actually ask :?: :!:
Mostly, but only because they don't like the dust and moths they find if they open my wallet themselves :p .
 
NM said:
Mostly, but only because they don't like the dust and moths they find if they open my wallet themselves :p .

I think my wife works on the melt down principle. If it (CC) hasn't melted then it's serviceable and available for use. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
I just got off phone with AA RTW desk, they kind of put the hard sell on you as she listed all these reason why I should book with her and no one else, but she still helpful and knowledgable.

She said will take 2 days to get the taxes figure but she doesnt expect it to be more than $400USD ($550AUD).....but I guess I will know for sure in 2 days.

btw....the agent in Aus got back to me and said that he could negotiate a special drop in taxes for me from $1300 to $980. Dont know how he negotiated the drop though cause all the sectors are the same.

oh yes, one thing the AA lady told me on the phone was a new rule that has come out yesterday applicable to all travel in Aust. You are no longer allowed to have more than one transocean flights in Aust.

I wanted to do PER - MEL - PER and she said no, now with new rule that came out yesterday that not allowed.
 
can I also jsut confrim with you guys that there is the OW rule that you are only allowed 2 flights in country of origin.
 
cbert said:
can I also jsut confrim with you guys that there is the OW rule that you are only allowed 2 flights in country of origin.
You are limited to 2 stopovers in the continent of origin.
You are limited to 4 segments in the South West Pacific continent
You are limited to one international departure and one international arrival from/to your country of origin.
 
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cbert said:
oh yes, one thing the AA lady told me on the phone was a new rule that has come out yesterday applicable to all travel in Aust. You are no longer allowed to have more than one transocean flights in Aust.

I wanted to do PER - MEL - PER and she said no, now with new rule that came out yesterday that not allowed.
MEL-PER restriction has been there for a while. It did not come in yesterday. From a copy of the rules dated April 2005:
OWE Rule April 2005 said:
WITHIN AUSTRALIA - ONLY ONE NONSTOP/SINGLE PLANE SERVICE FLIGHT IS PERMITTED
BETWEEN THE FOLLOWING POINTS:
BNE/CNS/SYD - PER
MEL/SYD - DRW
And from a copy of the rules dated Jan 2006 (bolding is mine):
OWE Rule Jan 2006 said:
Within Australia - only one nonstop/single plane service flight is permitted between the following points
BNE/CNS/SYD/MEL - PER
MEL/SYD - BME
MEL/SYD - DRW
Note the addition of BME flights from the east coast, and the inclusion of MEL in the list of restrictions for PER flights.
 
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