December 2010/January 2011 Trip Planning Thread.

[damaxer91]

I've been looking for ages for the ZRH-JFK flight and can't find a single seat, even a year out...
Have you found any dates that do have availability bichlal?

Seats usually only open up a week or two in advance

[damaxer91]

I'm having second thoughts about the 280K Oneworld F award...

Maybe I should really use 160K Continental F award.  I found availability for my dates like this:
-Virgin to London in upper class.
-Paris to Bangkok on Thai on the 77W leased from Jet Airways in a private F suite and be able to get the free amazing Thai F treatment in BKK.
-Stopover in Phuket.
-BKK-SYD-BKK-ZRH on the Thai A346 in F
-ZRH-JFK on a Swiss A333 (this is the only flight I haven't been able to find availability on)

I'll still need to drop a bunch of AA miles for intra-Australia flights, probably about 50K.
So 160K CO + 50K AA for that itin or the previous OneWorld itin for 280K.
The other advantage of CO are the free changes, even after departure.  With AA there's no route changes after ticketing, although somehow I still have almost a month to ticket.

Opinions?

You finally woke up and smelled the coffee

1) Try and fly to Asia on NH or OZ. Both are supposed to be amazing. NH usually has good availability ex-IAD or ORD

2) Now you can get in SIN (Shabbos?) and HKT

3)TK F?

[aussiebochur]

Seats usually only open up a week or two in advance

Yep, just had a look. Only business seat available on the 333 is exactly 2 weeks out.
But wouldn't hold my breath for 2 F seats...

[aussiebochur]

2) Now you can get in SIN (Shabbos?) and HKT

Doesn't CO only allow one stopover (and open jaw)?

[chuchem]

It will be very hard to get f seats with star alliance miles on swiss. Alot of times they only open 24-48 hours in advance. If you book with co i would suggest you have another flight from zuerich and hope to change it on short notice. You can try to get zrh-ist-jfk with tk in f.

[steve2]

Generally I agree with you, but with so much bad blood between chabad and kz in kowloon....

 why was it when I posted this way back everyone got on my case! and told me I had no idea what I was talking about and simply was Chabad bashing

[steve2]

 Why waste your time, just because its free and you get a nice room?

I Agree with you but to many people that is actually their Game Plan & all that matters is a Free room and a Flight that wont cost them anything and being able to cross off another Country or City or Airport as having been to

 Personally Id rather be in a simple Hotel  in a place that has things Im interested in checking out and even taking a train to get there if need be, buts its not a case that their game plan or my game plan is the right way but rather what ones Game is

[chuchem]

Well, I think a free flight and a cheap nice room is a plus, but these are only making the main thing of the trip more exciting and that should be seeing something interesting and new. So if you take 4 F flights to get to a "no point" place and have a nice suite, in my opinion, is worth nothing. the journey should not be the destination

Unless you are like this guy

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1116538-my-craziest-trip-date-odyssey-premium-travel-108-hours-16-airlines-c-f.html

[chuchem]

Generally I agree with you, but with so much bad blood between chabad and kz in kowloon I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be there all decked out in my chabad regalia.  And with our fellow forum member no longer at chabad of kowloon I'm not sure I want to support what's going on there either...

If you would be a normal guy, you would not even know about these issues. You are a normal chabad guy spending shabbes at the closest place to the hotel. Nobody will care. Its the best food you will ever have, if you want to skip it......

[steve2]

If you would be a normal guy, you would not even know about these issues. You are a normal chabad guy spending shabbes at the closest place to the hotel. Nobody will care. Its the best food you will ever have, if you want to skip it......

 I wouldnt go as far as to say its the best food... and I have already posted that the food when I ate by Chabad Fri night was very good as well

 Nor do I blame Dan, yrs ago I left with a Rosh HaYeshiva when he was thrown out of the Yeshiva he started and till this day wont have anything to do with the other place,  as long as those who threw him out are still in the other place. So if Dan will look like any Chabad guy I can understand why hed rather not walk into KZ and give them something to crow about. But plenty of people stay at Bishops Lei which is walkable to the Chabad on HKI and isnt expensive just its ot a Hyatt and no pts to be had for staying there

[Dan]

Well, I think a free flight and a cheap nice room is a plus, but these are only making the main thing of the trip more exciting and that should be seeing something interesting and new. So if you take 4 F flights to get to a "no point" place and have a nice suite, in my opinion, is worth nothing. the journey should not be the destination

Unless you are like this guy

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1116538-my-craziest-trip-date-odyssey-premium-travel-108-hours-16-airlines-c-f.html

Many I'm related to him?
Anyway I like just walking around a different city with a different culture then I'm used to.  I don't always need to to stick to cities with tourist traps.
And a free F flight and cheap nice hotel are plusses...

[Dan]

Im not having any luck getting CO to sell me a simple CLE-EWR-FRA-BKK-SYD-BKK-FRA-EWR-CLE itinerary.
Has anyone here actually gotten CO to book a ticket to Australia via Europle and Asia?

[Smirk]

-Paris to Bangkok on Thai on the 77W leased from Jet Airways in a private F suite and be able to get the free amazing Thai F treatment in BKK.

Is this the same as when i search on ANA and it says 773?

[Smirk]

Im not having any luck getting CO to sell me a simple CLE-EWR-FRA-BKK-SYD-BKK-FRA-EWR-CLE itinerary.
Has anyone here actually gotten CO to book a ticket to Australia via Europle and Asia?

I wanted to do it as well and spoke with CO yest. they told me it should be fine as long as i fly back over the same ocean, however if im in australia and start flying over the Pacific (to get to fiji) it then becomes a RTW ticket

[Dan]

Is this the same as when i search on ANA and it says 773?

If it's bookable in F it's the Jet Airways 77W.

[Dan]

I wanted to do it as well and spoke with CO yest. they told me it should be fine as long as i fly back over the same ocean, however if im in australia and start flying over the Pacific (to get to fiji) it then becomes a RTW ticket

Yes, many agents told me it would be fine, however when we created the itin every time I got the response that "the computer won't price it out."  I even got a sympathetic agent who completely agreed with me but whose supervisor said that she wouldn't overrule the computer.  She even tried calling a 2nd supervisor for me who said the same thing   She let me keep the itin on hold, but without pricing info loaded there's no way to book and nobody will manually add the pricing info.

I'm going to throw in the towel on the CO option.  If anyone is able to actually get an itin to OZ via Europe/Asia on hold with miles and price loaded please let us know!

[Dan]

Currently held itin (I love having a month long hold to change freely as flights open!!!)

This uses all 16 segments allowed (including 1 land segment) under Oneworld rules and is 34,830 miles.

I have 3 main concerns that I'd love to hear your suggestons about.
1. Just 33 hours in Hong Kong.  Maybe I should skip the wedding in London to get an extra night in HKG.  Just how much time do you need in HKG?
2. Arriving in HKG on 12/26 at 10:45pm and departing early the next morning.  Doesn't seem worth going into the city for that.  Any airport hotel recommendations?
I could also take an earlier flight from Phuket to Hong Kong but the earlier Air Asia flight is an extra $30pp and the earlier Bangkok to Hong Kong flight is on Royal Jordanian which seems to have a very substandard reviews in business compared to Cathay Pacific.  Although it's just a 3 hour flight and if we do that option we'll arrive in HKG 7pm instead of 10:45pm.
3. Not very happy with spending shabbos in Toronto at the end of the trip.

Su 12/19 AA 3457, CLE-DFW, 11:30am-1:30pm, First
Su 12/19 BA 192, DFW-LHR, 4:55pm-7:35am+1, First
1 night in London at a relative's wedding
Tu 12/21 BA 270, LHR-AMS, 7:25am-9:40am, Business
Tu 12/21 CX 270, AMS-HKG, 1:05pm-7:05am+1, First.
1 night in Hong Kong
Th 12/23 CX 701, HKG-BKK, 4:00pm-5:55pm, First
Insert Air Asia Flight BKK-HKT here
3 nights in Phuket
Insert Air Asia Flight HKT-BKK here
Su 12/26 CX 702, BKK-HKG, 7:05pm-10:45pm
1 night in Hong Kong
Mo 12/27 QF 30, HKG-MEL, 9:50am-8:45pm, First.
6 nights in Melbourne/Great Ocean Road
Su 01/02 QF 2051, MEL-DPO, 8:30am-9:35am, Coach
4 nights in Tasmania
Th 1/06 QF 5720, HBA-SYD, 9:25am-11:10am, Coach.
4 nights in Sydney
Mo 01/10 QF 5842, SYD-HTI, 11:55am-1:25pm, Coach
3 nights in the Whitsunday Islands
Th 01/13 QF 5863, HTI-MEL, 10:55am-2:50pm, Coach
Th 01/13 CX 178, MEL-HKG, 11:45pm-6:00am+1, Business
Fr 01/14 CX 828, HKG-YYZ, 10:45am-12:35pm, First
2 nights in Toronto
Su 01/16 AA 4646, YYZ-LGA, 1:10pm-2:45pm, First
Su 01/16 AA 4674, LGA-CLE, 5:55pm-7:40pm, First

[Dan]

OneWorld award notes:
Link to the excellent OW Award chart

-AA's computer are messed up.  Be sure to check mileage traveled when booking a OW award as after editing the itin a few times they always seem to want to charge you more miles.  My itin should be 280k but they keep wanting to charge 330K.
Make the agent add up the mileage traveled and have them talk to the rate desk to fix the mileage required.  Interestingly when they did add up the miles traveled it came to 200 miles less than the great circle number.  So even if the Great Circle puts you over by a little you can still try to have the agent add it up and manually make it a lower rewards!

-Booking an open-jaw will cost you one of your 16 allowed segments.  In other words my flight from MEL to DPO and HBA to SYD costs 3 segments.

-The way I got a month long hold is because with each change they need to email the itin to the rate desk to recalculate the taxes.  When you're running out of time just say you need an extension due to the time needed for the rate desk to calculate the taxes.

-Staying in LHR for over 24 hours will add $200 to your ticket (Hence my 23:50 stay)

-I officially hate BA fuel surcharges!!! But this whole thing wouldn't be possible without their amazing availability in F during high season to LHR, so I can't complain too much.

[steve2]

I'm going to throw in the towel on the CO option.  If anyone is able to actually get an itin to OZ via Europe/Asia on hold with miles and price loaded please let us know!

 It wont be BF or anywhere as nice as anothers Carriers Biz cabin, but you are aware that CO flys into OZ on their own metal arent you? CNS I believe from GUM. 738s  reg FC , from CNS cash out 20k AA or BA for an internal OZ QF flight in coach or more for FC

 That way you can score the GBR as well theres a Holiday Inn  or Hilton in CNS and Sheraton in Port Douglas slightly North of CNS eitehr way you fly into CNS

[Dan]

It wont be BF or anywhere as nice as anothers Carriers Biz cabin, but you are aware that CO flys into OZ on their own metal arent you? CNS I believe from GUM. 738s  reg FC , from CNS cash out 20k AA or BA for an internal OZ QF flight in coach or more for FC

 That way you can score the GBR as well theres a Holiday Inn  or Hilton in CNS and Sheraton in Port Douglas slightly North of CNS eitehr way you fly into CNS

I'm aware of GUM-CNS on CO, but availability from CLE-HNL-GUM-CNS is nil.
And the thought is doing all that in a 73G/738 makes my back and knees hurt.

Now the Sheraton in PD is tempting though.  Maybe I should stay there with points instead shelling out the $$$ in the Whitsundays.  Only issue is neither of us are divers so from what I understand PD would be somewhat pointless.