Gardyloo

Sorry, my bad.  You can access domestic US lounges only when you're on an itinerary that day that includes an intercontinental origin or destination.  So for example if flying LAX-JFK-LHR with JFK only being a connection, you'd have lounge access in both LAX and JFK.  If you're stopping over in New York for a day or two, you wouldn't have access at LAX.

Yes.

This would be in August, Finnair Oslo, Finnair Helsinki, IB Budapest, AA MAD then later AA DFW and AA (CUN)

Yes to all the European airports (not sure which lounge you'd use at BUD.)  You can only use lounges at US airports or at Cancun if arriving or departing as part of a continuous set of flights that begin or end overseas.  So for example if you flew through DFW on the way home from Europe, or on the way TO Europe, you could use the lounge.  If the trip starts and ends in North America, then no.  Hope that makes sense.  

For years the Admiral's Club (AA) in T3 was miserable but was updated a few years ago and is now much more pleasant.  I haven't been in it, but the new-ish Qantas lounge has gotten terrific reviews, especially for the food and service.  I'd also see what the crowds are like in the Cathay Pacific lounge, which has always been a personal fave.  Your business class ticket or Sapphire or better OW status will get you into any of them.  

If you mean free shuttles from the airport to airport-area hotels, yes.  If you mean free shuttles from the airport or airport hotels to the cruise terminal, no.  If you mean shuttles from city hotels to the dock, no.  There are cabs and rideshare services, of course, but not free.  Taxi and rideshare (Uber, Lyft) fares from the airport or airport-area hotels to downtown hotels or Pier 66 will run around $50; cab rates from most downtown hotels to Pier 66 will be under $20.

Hotel prices in Seattle during the cruise season are very high, so be prepared.  If you want a hotel that's very convenient to Pier 66, the Marriott Waterfront is right across the street; the famous Edgewater Hotel (where the Beatles stayed) is a couple hundred yards from the cruise terminal, on the same (water) side of the street.  

20 hours ago, Pearl64 said:

 Also, is it better to get air now or wait? I can’t imagine prices coming down that much and seats may be sold out.

 

I'd wait, for quite a while, actually.  When airlines open the booking window, usually around 11 or 12 months before the flight date, they can't be certain of how their operating costs are going to change over the interim year, so it's typical that they set prices higher in order to hedge against their costs going up (fuel costs, labor costs, etc.)  

As the year/booking window progresses, the airline computers get a better read on things and so prices can typically come down.  They'll go back up as the flight date approaches on the assumption that people booking late don't have a lot of choice in their schedules.  

It's never certain when the cheapest prices will turn up in the course of that booking window; only Hogwarts graduates can fathom the airlines' pricing algorithms, but you're not likely going to be hurt by waiting for a few months.  Use the time to shop for good deals, either in PE or business.  

I should ask because I'm a broken record... Do you have any other international travel/cruise plans for the rest of this year (before Japan) or next year following the Japan cruise?  Because if so, you might benefit from a round the world ticket that would let you fly in business class at a more affordable price than individual PE round trips.  

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k7409073-About_round_the_world_RTW_tickets-Air_Travel.html

Here's a video review of a Delta Premium Select flight from Seattle to Tokyo.  Note SEA-HND is 10h 40m flight time; a nonstop from Atlanta would be around 3 1/2 hours longer.  

Another alternative (way cheaper than 13 Coins) is the food court at the iconic Uwajimaya pan-Asian supermarket and department store.  It's a couple of blocks from the station, and the food court (or vast takeaway section in the market) is likely to have something for your child.  

Uwajimaya is something of a Seattle landmark, a tourist destination in its own right.  Your son/daughter might enjoy visiting the branch of Kinokuniya, Japan's biggest bookstore, that's inside the market.  

Map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/w9bdcxu9FZccfsjT8

For a killer view in an iconic setting, Six Seven in the Edgewater Hotel.  Bring money.

1 hour ago, ilovesalchows said:

AS almost never gets those AA rewards flights in J.  I don't see any available for those dates.  

One big drawback to Alaska's program is that they don't allow multiple partners on one award - either Alaska + 1 partner or the partner alone.  So itineraries like American to London then BA to Oslo don't show up.  

However, there are numerous open flights from DFW to London in business class in August using AS miles; the OP would have to purchase a cheap one-way connection to Oslo from London.  

16 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Ticket is purchased.    AA RTW was great; got flights that did not show in the OneWorld tool.  Got the flights that Gardyloo recommended.  All in for less than 12,000 business class for 2.  I be back bugging everyone for recommendations for dfw to osl in Aug.  🙂

I'd be on the lookout for bonus offers or sales on purchased miles, or on credit card signup bonuses.  Right now AA is offering up to a 35% bonus on purchased miles, meaning you could get the flights listed by SelectSys for around $3200 for two persons, quite a lot less than the going price for one ways in business class.  Or Alaska Airlines is offering 60K Alaska miles (a good program) when signing up for their Visa card (which also comes with an annual $100 companion fare perk.)  

Or if you can spare a week and leave in late July, you can ride the Queen Mary II from NYC to Southampton for just over $1000 (inside cabin.)  That's how my late wife and I positioned ourselves for our first RTW (starting from Istanbul) in 2005.  Here's a long trip report I posted to Flyertalk during the Covid lockdown:  Trip report – Our First RTW, 2005 - FlyerTalk Forums

15 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Time, Finances, and Resources

 

Time - we have two weeks (one of us is still employed with limited vacation time) to spend on the Europe sections.  Either Aug 24 to Sep 8 or the start Aug 31.  Note the Aug 24 to Aug 27 part is on our nickel to get to Oslo.

 

Finances - still employed.  Fairly low priority to save bucks.  The great ideas of using cheaper econ flights will matter in 2 years. HA!

 

Resources - We are slowing down.  Like to spend 4 to 6 hours touring then a nice meal.  A few days can be longer.

 

So maybe we change the order of our itinarary?  Right now we plan to have two day in Oslo, two day in Prague, train to Vienna, 2 days in Vienna, train to Budapest, 2 days in Budapest, fly to Madrid, two days in Madrid.

 

Ideas to improve?

 

The only recommendation I'd make given this would be to look at using Finnair via Helsinki to get from Oslo to Prague instead of BA via London.  As long as you use AA between Madrid and DFW, which would incentivize the AA RTW desk to issue the ticket, switching from BA to AY for the first segment would potentially help you avoid big BA fees and surcharges.   The total elapsed time will be similar for OSL-xHEL-PRG but will give you some time to visit the nice Helsinki Finnair lounge, while the LHR transfer would potentially be a footrace.  Plus, the HEL route would all be in Schengen, speeding things up for your arrival at PRG.  

On 4/9/2024 at 7:00 AM, Beachvue said:

Flying Virgin Atlantic upper class (Airbus 330-900) JFK/London and Delta business Class (Boeing 767-309) Stockholm/JFK.  Looking for opinions on which seating arrangements are good for couples. TIA.  

You might want to look at this post, part of an over-the-top trip report, on Flyertalk.  If you're in one of Virgin's older cabin configurations, expect a pretty uncomfortable time of it.  

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36160807-post21.html

15 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

OK, I will call AA this coming week.  But before maybe I can have a bit more knowledge?

 

How do you get seat assignment in business class (how to easily check seat configuration)?

 

Here is the RTW Segments of note:

 

osl prg 27/aug/2024 BA763/BA860

BUD MAD 05/sept/2024 ID32914

MAD DFW 08/sept/2024 IB6149  (AA only shows econ)

three US trips

dfw tyo 22/feb/2025 JL 11

TYO SIN 26/feb/205 JL35

HKF OSL 16/Mar/2025 AY100/AY911

 

Any ideas of options?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Once you're ticketed, you'll get a record locator/PNR that you can use with the individual airline's website to pick seats, the same way you'd select seats with any other type of ticket.  Note some carriers (BA, Iberia) will charge a fee for seat selection until 24h before the flight (yes, even in business class.)

Note that there are two systems that issue the PNR locators.  Some airlines (American, Alaska) use the Sabre system that will issue locators comprised of six letters, like ABCDEF, while others (BA et al) use the Amadeus system, which issues locators with mixed letters and numbers, like AB12CD.  It's useful to have both locators on hand; contact any airline and they can give you both, otherwise you might run into a situation where Airline A can't see Airline B's PNR for your trip.

Regarding the itinerary, a couple of notes.  First, by having BA for your first flight (OSL-LHR) the Oneworld tool will default to having BA issue the ticket.  That will expose you to very high BA fees and surcharges for the whole trip, which conceivably could add hundreds, maybe more than a thousand dollars to the final price.   

This is your trip, of course, but if it was me, I'd do the Prague/Budapest visits BEFORE starting the RTW in Norway.  Look at it this way - with a $5K+ price tag, each of the 16 allowed flights is worth around $312.  A one-way ticket (yes, in economy, but it's only an hour flight) between Prague or Budapest and Oslo costs $150 or less (even less than $100) so if you save those segments for higher-value flights later, you're money ahead.  It would also have the added benefit of avoiding BA and their fees.  Your first RTW segment would be on Iberia to Madrid; while Iberia and BA have the same ownership, Iberia's surcharges and fees tend to be a lot less than BA's, PLUS, if you chose the American Airlines flight from Madrid to DFW (which leaves a little earlier than the Iberia flight but which will be a much better experience - AA uses new Boeing 789s rather than Iberia's clapped out A330s) you'll be using AA planes for a transoceanic segment, thereby greasing the skids for AA to issue the ticket in the first place, a good thing. I hope that's not too confusing.  

If you can get to the pricing screens using the Oneworld tool, go for it there first.

If that doesn't work, then by all means phone the AA RTW desk.  You shouldn't have any difficulty getting the ex-Japan price; if you get some rep that wants to charge the US price, say thank you, hang up and call again (HUCA is standard practice in such cases.)  

If you're using AA metal on the South America segments, that ought to be adequate incentive for AA to issue the ticket; you might also look for AA codeshares on other airlines' flights.  AA codeshares on most/all JAL flights between the US mainland and Japan, including LAX-NRT/HND.  

If you want to post your route I can see if there are any hints or suggestions possible.  Good luck!

Adding "refundable" to the equation creates a real mismatch with any attempt at keeping the budget bearable.  Almost all the "normal" fares, which would be in the $4000 - $5000 range at present, will bounce up to nearly double that if you want the ticket to be fully refundable.  

The one exception I could think of (top of the head stuff) would still involve a cancellation penalty, but not a terribly big one; it might be worth contemplating.

Both Oneworld and Star Alliance offer "Circle Pacific" fares in which you travel in one direction via the North Pacific (e.g. LAX to Tokyo or Hong Kong) and via the South Pacific in the other, e.g. Sydney - LAX.  Within those broad rules, you can take up to 16 flights, using member airlines of whichever alliance product you choose.

Both alliances sell Circle Pacific fares with different flown mileage maximums - 22,000 flown miles and 26,000.  Obviously the higher mileage costs more, but one of the big features of these products is that they're priced very differently depending on the country from which the travel begins.  For example, a Oneworld 22,000 miles Circle Pacific fare in business class with travel starting and ending in the USA has a base price of $9998.  (Taxes and airline fees would be additional depending on which countries are visited and which airlines are used.)  However, the same ticket costs $5967 if travel begins in Canada.  So hop a $120 flight to Vancouver to save four grand?  Okay by me.  

Now regarding cancellations and refunds.  If you cancel before the first flight, there's a 5% penalty; that's it.  So on a $6K ticket you'd be out $300, which I'd say is pretty tolerable.  

So imagine you book something like this:  Vancouver - Seattle - Honolulu - Sydney - Hong Kong - Beijing - Tokyo - Los Angeles.  Total 20,475 flown miles, all in the pointy end using Alaska, Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Japan and American Airlines.  (You can end in LA even if you started in Canada - no penalty.) 

Obviously this would take more time than a simple round trip or open-jaw ticket, but it needn't be too punishing - a few extra hours in the air (in a flat bed) and a couple of nights in Sydney (or could be Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane...) and you're good to go.  

Anyway, I thought I'd throw that out.  

For around US$100 you could rent a car in downtown Vancouver for the day and return it at the airport later.  Get something with a trunk or covered storage (a tonneau cover in the back of an SUV, for example) for luggage safety, and visit some of the parts of the area that are more convenient with a vehicle.  For example:

- Drive up the Sea to Sky Hwy (BC 99) to Squamish - one of the most beautiful drives in North America.

- Visit the Granville Island market - farmers market, umpteen cool shops, cafes, pubs etc.

- Head out to Jericho Beach or the Spanish Banks for killer views of the city skyline with the mountains behind.  Continue on to the University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology on the UBC campus (due to reopen in June after modernizing and expanding.)  

- Head to the public gardens at Queen Elizabeth Park - stunning and free, and visit the (small fee) Bloedel Conservatory, full of tropical plants and free-flying tropical birds.

- Drive around, walk or spend some time in Stanley Park, Vancouver's legendary playground and one of the world's premier city parks.  The Vancouver Aquarium in the park is terrific.

- Head to Steveston (on the way to the airport) for some time in Vancouver's funky fishing port, where, by the way, the TV series "Once Upon a Time" was filmed.  (In fact, Vancouver is full of TV and movie filming locations due to the number of films and series shot in the city.)  

- Visit Lynn Canyon Park, a little north of the Capilano bridge.  The suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon is free as opposed to $$$ for the touristy Capilano one.  

- Visit the Punjabi market on South Main - colorful shops and Indian restaurants to die for.  

... I could go on.  

Don't miss the (drive-by) ski shrine on the Douglas Hwy.  

And even (typically) misty days can still be photogenic and evocative.  

On 2/8/2024 at 2:12 PM, Bedruthen said:

I could but my mobile to USA number is $18 per minute!

Subscribe to a VOIP (voice over internet protocol) service like Skype and your calls to a landline or mobile in the US can run around 2p per minute.  

How Much Does Skype International Calls Cost? (softkeys.uk)

I'd definitely have a plan B in your pocket regarding the Skyline Loop.  While across the Cascades this has been a below-average year for snowpack (in some areas dangerously so - fire problems later) there's currently still 10 feet of snow on the ground at Paradise and typically there's still 5 - 6 feet of snow on the ground on July 1.  Parts of the Skyline Loop might be bare, others muddy or slushy, or others still covered by rotten snow and ice.  Feel lucky?  It's also a time of year that has as many cloudy/rainy days in the mountains as clear ones.  

I'd probably be inclined to look at lower elevation hikes just to be safe.  One easy and rewarding hike is at Snoqualmie Falls, 40 min. east of the city off I-90.  In June the falls are quite spectacular with all the melting snow runoff from the mountains, and the hike from the top of the falls to the bottom is easy and rewarding.  

Discovery Park is certainly possible, and sure, you can get to Bainbridge Island easily from anywhere in town.  You might want to think about a couple of loop drives - either day drives or overnight, to two of the other major islands in the Puget Sound region, Whidbey Island to the north and Vashon Island to the south and west of Seattle.  There are excellent hikes to be had at places like Deception Pass State Park or Fort Casey State Park on Whidbey, or at the cool Port Robinson State Park on Vashon, complete with its picturesque lighthouse and views of Mount Rainier, and also a very cool giant troll made from scrap wood in the forest behind the beach.  Google the places on these maps.

Widbey loop - https://maps.app.goo.gl/GJP3pNo5bJtVkgLAA

Vashon loop - https://maps.app.goo.gl/GAF2pqRt2MYpTuZ97

The other thought I had, which would require investing at least 3 days (if you have the time) would be a loop over the Cascades and south to the Columbia River Gorge, just east of Portland.  The many waterfalls along the Gorge walls are at their best in late June, you can ride the "Magic Mile" chairlift on the side of Mount Hood from iconic Timberline Lodge up to the permanent ice fields, enjoy the "fruit loop" through the beautiful Hood River Valley, or visit the eclectic Maryhill Museum on the clifftops overlooking the great river.  This is one of the best short road trips in the west, really worth your time if you have enough.  Map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/7L4N6Gk4ecEuDfs78

13 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

Okay - I guess you just need to bet that a ticket will be available around the time you need it. My hope is to have as many real dates and flights locked in as I have seen using the online planning tool that not all flights have RTW space available.

 

Thanks again for all your good information.

The Oneworld online tool is and always has been, a piece of you-know-what.  I'd strongly recommend a subscription to Expert Flyer which will let you see seat availability by booking class (L for economy, D for business) for the chosen flights.

https://www.expertflyer.com/

8 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

Thanks again for all your good information on this subject.  Like @happy cruzer, your information has triggered me to start planning the planning process for a OW RTW ticket. 

 

One struggle that I am having is how to plan for flights beyond what is visible in reservation system's schedule?  I have been researching a ticket initiating in Tokyo in the fall and the tail end of the trip falls off what is currently visible schedule in 2025.

 

Flight date changes after ticketing are free, so what you do is book the unlisted flights with "dummy" dates that fall within the booking window, then change them to the actual dates when those become available.

What kind of budget and what month will this be?  

Places to look at:

Salish Lodge, overlooking Snoqualmie Falls, 40 min. east of Seattle.  Featured in the Twin Peaks TV series. - https://www.salishlodge.com/

Clearwater Casino Lodge, a Tribal casino resort located on the Kitsap Peninsula next to the bridge to Bainbridge Island, reached by 40 min. ferry from downtown Seattle.  https://www.clearwatercasino.com/hotel/

Silver Cloud Mukilteo, located on pilings over the beach in Mukilteo,30 min. north of Seattle.  It offers easy access to beautiful Whidbey Island as well as having Mukilteo's cute lighthouse and pleasant driftwood-covered beach within steps.  https://www.silvercloud.com/mukilteo/

There are many more possibilities.  

In my mind it comes down to the same suggestion I made in bringing up the RTW idea in the Singapore thread.  Make a plan, maybe call it a "master plan," although I don't much like that term, covering your travel aspirations for a couple of years, maybe three.  (Longer than that is fine but the chances of it going off the rails are correspondingly higher.)

Not only would the plan include where you'd like to go and when, but also how you'd get there and how you would pay for it.  Frequent flyer miles and points, whether gained through actual flying or through purchases with credit cards, etc., are simply a form of currency like dollars or Euros.  Use miles to pay for travel, maybe in conjunction with cash, or maybe not.

With almost all the airline frequent flyer (FF) programs, miles or points earned through flying also can contribute to "elite" status within that airline's FF program.  With this status can come various perks - bigger baggage allowances, lounge access, fast track connections - and also bonus miles that can be redeemed on flights.  

A business class RTW can provide a rich harvest of points toward these things - free flights and status - so thinking about the miles or points and the "currency" they represent could and should go into your "master plan" thinking.

When my late wife and I were doing a lot of travel utilizing RTW tickets, we set up a cycle where we'd use an RTW business class ticket in year one, then use the accumulated miles in year two, then a new RTW in year 3.  Of course it wasn't always that clean; sometimes in year 2 we'd have to spend cash for some unplanned travel, but nevertheless the system worked pretty well.  Our investment in the RTW not only gave us the flights included in the ticket, it also leveraged a number of "award" flights with the miles earned in the RTW.  Over the course of two years it reduced the per-flight cost (in business or first class) to very low levels, when you averaged the cost out.  $200 per flight seemed okay value for a one-way business class flight from Seattle to LA; it was downright golden for one way from London to Cape Town or New York to Hong Kong.  

Now this all requires some work on your part.  Even though you may buy the RTW ticket through American Airlines doesn't mean you need to sign up for AA's AAdvantage mileage program.  You can earn miles and possibly status with any Oneworld airline's program with the RTW.  For example, if you sign up for British Airways' FF program, the BA Executive Club, you can typically easily achieve "Silver" status with one RTW ticket.  With that status, you'll have access to business class lounges across the Oneworld system, even Admiral's Club lounges in the US that you wouldn't be able to access as an AAdvantage member.  

Or if you signed up for Alaska Airlines' Visa card, you'd get a big signup bonus but also receive an annual "companion certificate" which allows one person to fly on any Alaska Airlines itinerary for $99 if the other pays the going price.  That can make for big savings, well in excess of the annual fee charged by Visa. 

But it all requires you to have a plan and do your homework.  Might as well start now.

With a business class RTW ticket you will get lounge access for all flights EXCEPT AA flights within North America.  So I suppose it would depend on your detailed itinerary; if you plan to bounce around North America on AA during that portion of the trip, then the card that includes an Admiral's Club membership might be the best option. 

If your internal flights in North America connect to an overseas flight, e.g. DFW-LAX-HKG, then you'd get access to the lounges at both DFW and LAX.  If it's DFW-SEA with no onward overseas destination, then no access.  Hope that's clear.