[soh]

I am preparing to book my first LONE4 for travel next April and have looked at the threads here and on flyertalk but would appreciate some expert advice. I am QF bronze and generally fly to the UK annually in economy with QF so I'm unlikely to attain even silver status. I generally take 2-3 domestic QF flights annually and usually a quick trip to NZ.

The LONE4 fare seems to offer the best value out of JNB so I am looking at using a 42k QF award flight to position myself there. I have addresses and credit cards in both the UK and Australia so was thinking of booking the ticket priced in ZAR with AA in the UK assuming the recent EU changes allow this in practice. Is there any advantage in booking it through AA and not another OW carrier in the UK? I believe the AA office is located in CPT and this would involve paper tickets being issued and picked up or sent to JNB.

My plan is to visit and stop in the following key cities although I will add a few more in Europe and the US where allowed. I will use the SYD-JNB later for a standalone trip or possibly to position for a future LONE4:

JNB-LHR-GLA-YYZ-MIA-LAX-AKL-SYD (-JNB)

Is there a preferred carrier to travel with or codeshare choice to keep the charges and fuel fines to a minimum such as AA/BA? I am a little confused with the difference between booking an AA flight number instead of a BA number on a codeshare to avoid or reduce charges.

Lastly, would it be appropriate to join AAdvantage and pay for a gold/platinum challenge based on the above itinery? I am concerned that the cost of the platinum challenge may outweigh any benefits considering my flight plans for the 12 months after returning would only involve a few QF domestic flights and a possible trip to JNB.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[QF009]

If you're ticketing with AA, AA charge fuel fines for the transpacific and transatlantic segments but limit them to their own flights. You'd be flying BA on the transatlantic so no worries on that front. Book LAX-AKL on the actual QF flight code rather than the AA one.

It is v likely that your itinerary qualifies for an eticket unless there are open segments in it. You could always put in a dummy date for otherwise open segments, and change them later since date changes are free.

[serfty]

If you use AA to book a xONEx, they will only charge applicable Fuel Fines on AA Flight numbers. These fuel fines are at their highest for intercontinental travel, so it is best to avoid these.

[soh]

So the best option is to ticket with AA in the UK but specify non AA flights or codeshare where possible to avoid the fuel fines? I take it AA would still ticket this itinery even though few if any flights are actually on AA metal or flight numbers?

An e-ticket would be an easier option and I will firm up my route prior to booking so no cost date changes would work out well for me.

I would imagine that the gold/platinum challenge would not be worthwhile if the majority of my flights will be with other OW carriers.

[serfty]

Actually, fuel fines on Domestic USA flights are virtually non existent (Due to competition I guess). You do have up to 6 segments to employ in N/A.

[NM]

Originally Posted by soh

So the best option is to ticket with AA in the UK but specify non AA flights or codeshare where possible to avoid the fuel fines? I take it AA would still ticket this itinery even though few if any flights are actually on AA metal or flight numbers?

You may find the AAgent will try to "encourage" you to use the AA flight numbers for inter-continental flights. There is nothing in the fare rules that say you must do so, but it does seem to be common that the ticketing airline insists on using their codes when available. You may need to stand firm and have some justification for using other airline codes, such as using QF code on QF operated trans-Pacific flight so you can upgrade with QF FF points.

Originally Posted by soh

An e-ticket would be an easier option and I will firm up my route prior to booking so no cost date changes would work out well for me.

There is no choice now. All such fares will be e-ticket only. Paper tickets ceased in the middle of this year.

Originally Posted by soh

I would imagine that the gold/platinum challenge would not be worthwhile if the majority of my flights will be with other OW carriers.

Well that depends on the value of attaining Gold/Platinum status. Note there is now a registration fee for the challenge, and add to that the fuel surcharge for the AA inter-continental flights (the longer flights make the challenge easily attainable) and you can draw your own conclusion on the cost/benefit analysis of the challenge.

[serfty]

Originally Posted by NM

... There is no choice now. All such fares will be e-ticket only. Paper tickets ceased in the middle of this year. ...

Note quite; if one insists on one or more OPEN segments then paper tickets can apparently still be produced. (Bookings with OPEN segments can't be e-ticketed by some GDS's.) Although while date/time/carrier revalidation changes remain 'free', there is really no need.

[NM]

Originally Posted by serfty

Note quite; if one insists on one or more OPEN segments then paper tickets can apparently still be produced. (Although while date/time/carrier revalidation changes are 'free', there is really no need.)

And having OPEN segments can lead to problems if the segment that is left OPEN is dropped by the carriers as you are not covered and will need to re-route the itinerary. If its a dated segment and its dropped, then the carrier needs to find you an alternate route at no cost to you. Its for this reason I have never used OPEN segments and always just adjusted dates as needed. I wonder if anyone would use OPEN segments just to get themselves a paper ticket now?

[serfty]

Originally Posted by NM

And having OPEN segments can lead to problems if the segment that is left OPEN is dropped by the carriers as you are not covered and will need to re-route the itinerary. If its a dated segment and its dropped, then the carrier needs to find you an alternate route at no cost to you. Its for this reason I have never used OPEN segments and always just adjusted dates as needed. ...

I fully agree!

[soh]

Thanks for the info guys.

I'll keep an eye on the exchange rate ZAR/GBP and book this one through AA in the UK. Hopefully it won't be too much of a fight to get it ticketed through them even if I specify non AA flights outwith the US to avoid the fuel fines.

I'll be aiming to accumulate QF points and status credits as much as possible with this itinery. I'll be nominating QF flights where possible but will have to go with AA and BA for the majority. I assume I will not be able to specify BH(K)Y Economy booking classes with these flights to earn the 1 point QF base rate but is there any way to improve my chances of not being stuck with Discount Economy class flights?