Oneworld Explorer ticketing

[kiwitripper64]

Thank you
That’s what I was after

 

[JohnM]

Paging @QF WP, @JessicaTam, @Princess Fiona

Mods: I think the last few posts (edit: originally in the OWAward thread) need to be a new different thread. I can see this discussion continuing and exacerbating the confusion that periodically erupts around OWA and RTW fares.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Paging @QF WP, @JessicaTam, @Princess Fiona

Mods: I think the last few posts need to be a new thread. I can see this discussion continuing and exacerbating the confusion that periodically erupts around OWA and RTW fares.

Done

 

[JohnM]

Just for quick reference… Japan is the cheapest point to purchase/start in this region.

An adult OW J RTW DONE4 starting in Sydney would be $9,192.55 USD (plus taxes), vs a DONE4 starting in Tokyo at $5,401.93 USD (plus taxes). If you can position to do this at the start, and get home at the end, it’s a sizeable saving.

Cheers,
Matt.

You can still get a good saving without positioning to/from Japan if you ticket on JL stock.

I did so Aus-Aus in 2019 without any repositioning - and was all set to do so again in 2020 before the world as we knew it ended and I had to get a refund.

The right TA can do that.

 

[dairyfloss]

You can still get a good saving without positioning to/from Japan if you ticket on JL stock.

I did so Aus-Aus in 2019 without any repositioning - and was all set to do so again in 2020 before the world as we knew it ended and I had to get a refund.

The right TA can do that.

Is that just as it knocks out certain of the YQ / carrier-imposed charges?

 

[Danger]

Hi, we are thinking about a Oneworld Explorer J ticket in 2024. I think I recall that it was cheaper to buy and start in certain countries. I can t seem to find any current information on this.
Does anyone have any tips.

The oneworld Explorer fare product can give fantastic value but its rules are outrageously convoluted to the point a lot of airline staff simply do'nt understand them and you'll get different answers from different agents (sometimes at the same airline) depending on who you talk to.

The booking tool on the oneworld website is as useless as the proverbial on a bull. It's full of bugs and doesn't even adhere to the (very lengthy) published rules. If you do get it to work (which is highly unlikely), the ticketing carrier will almost always be the carrier of the first flight. Your country of residence has no impact.

The current overall cheapest starting point is Egypt. Bases fares are USD4212, USD4570, USD4700 and USD5348 for a DONE3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively.

Oneworld options in and out of Egypt are limited. I believe CAI is the only city served (maybe Sharm el-Sheikh too) and then only by maybe five airlines. The big downside to starting in Egypt is that the rules then limit you to just two stopovers in the entire continent of Europe/Middle-East.

American Airlines has a dedicated oneworld Explorer (and probably Global Explorer) booking desk but it will insist on at least one overwater (i.e. TPac or TAtl) segment on AA metal.

There is a lengthy thread on FlyerTalk where you'll get much better information than here.

 

[JohnM]

Is that just as it knocks out certain of the YQ / carrier-imposed charges?

I don't know what YQ means. What I do know, as an example, that JL not collecting fuel fines saved c. $600 on a QR LAX-DOH sector alone.

The oneworld Explorer fare product can give fantastic value but its rules are outrageously convoluted to the point a lot of airline staff simply do'nt understand them and you'll get different answers from different agents (sometimes at the same airline) depending on who you talk to.

The booking tool on the oneworld website is as useless as the proverbial on a bull. It's full of bugs and doesn't even adhere to the (very lengthy) published rules. If you do get it to work (which is highly unlikely), the ticketing carrier will almost always be the carrier of the first flight. Your country of residence has no impact.

The current overall cheapest starting point is Egypt. Bases fares are USD4212, USD4570, USD4700 and USD5348 for a DONE3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively.

Oneworld options in and out of Egypt are limited. I believe CAI is the only city served (maybe Sharm el-Sheikh too) and then only by maybe five airlines. The big downside to starting in Egypt is that the rules then limit you to just two stopovers in the entire continent of Europe/Middle-East.

American Airlines has a dedicated oneworld Explorer (and probably Global Explorer) booking desk but it will insist on at least one overwater (i.e. TPac or TAtl) segment on AA metal.

There is a lengthy thread on FlyerTalk where you'll get much better information than here.

I used the booking tool on the OW site and never had any problems, taking it right through to ticketing on QF stock - until I found the TA option.

With the JL ticketing, I did not have to use JL as the first flight carrier; it was well down the full list of 16 flights.

 

[tdimdad]

I'm after ideas / pointers for a smart & affordable way of doing this. Traditionally, I would have booked three separate tickets, one for each trip. But would it make sense to try to combine them and perhaps form an Explorer ticket out of them. I'm looking at a cash fare.

Trip 1: SYD - CHC return
Trip 2: SYD (or BNE) - Seoul - [land transport] - HND/NRT - SYD (or BNE)
Trip 3: SYD - HEL - KEF - TPE - SYD

I'm OK with the idea of positioning flights. This in mind, would something like this work OK? How would it be calculated for the purposes of zones used?
SYD - CHC - [separate position flight CHC-SYD-CHC] - Seoul - [position HND-SYD-HND] & [land to HND (in the ticket)] - HEL - KEF - SFO - TPE - SYD.

If this is feasible and could potentially offer a more affordable ticket cost, I'd like to refine the plan and then hand it over to a TA to finalise.

 

[bam71]

Egypt is currently the cheapest port to have a DONE4

 

[dairyfloss]

I don't know what YQ means. What I do know, as an example, that JL not collecting fuel fines saved c. $600 on a QR LAX-DOH sector alone.

They are pretty much exactly what you mention here… carrier imposed fees and surcharges, vs any government fees and taxes, which are not likely possible to avoid. You can find them in the full fare breakdown, where available.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[Danger]

I'm after ideas / pointers for a smart & affordable way of doing this. Traditionally, I would have booked three separate tickets, one for each trip. But would it make sense to try to combine them and perhaps form an Explorer ticket out of them. I'm looking at a cash fare.

Trip 1: SYD - CHC return
Trip 2: SYD (or BNE) - Seoul - [land transport] - HND/NRT - SYD (or BNE)
Trip 3: SYD - HEL - KEF - TPE - SYD

I'm OK with the idea of positioning flights. This in mind, would something like this work OK? How would it be calculated for the purposes of zones used?
SYD - CHC - [separate position flight CHC-SYD-CHC] - Seoul - [position HND-SYD-HND] & [land to HND (in the ticket)] - HEL - KEF - SFO - TPE - SYD.

If this is feasible and could potentially offer a more affordable ticket cost, I'd like to refine the plan and then hand it over to a TA to finalise.

First, including SYD-CHC-SYD would be a waste, in my opinion, given the flights are relatively short.

Second, your itinerary doesn't include a TPac segment so it breaks one of the fundamental rules of the xONEx product.

Third, any itinerary involving the southern hemisphere will be at least an xONE4.

 

[Mwenenzi]

I'm after ideas / pointers for a smart & affordable way of doing this. Traditionally, I would have booked three separate tickets, one for each trip. But would it make sense to try to combine them and perhaps form an Explorer ticket out of them. I'm looking at a cash fare.

Trip 1: SYD - CHC return
Trip 2: SYD (or BNE) - Seoul - [land transport] - HND/NRT - SYD (or BNE)
Trip 3: SYD - HEL - KEF - TPE - SYD

I'm OK with the idea of positioning flights. This in mind, would something like this work OK? How would it be calculated for the purposes of zones used?
SYD - CHC - [separate position flight CHC-SYD-CHC] - Seoul - [position HND-SYD-HND] & [land to HND (in the ticket)] - HEL - KEF - SFO - TPE - SYD.

If this is feasible and could potentially offer a more affordable ticket cost, I'd like to refine the plan and then hand it over to a TA to finalise.

You need to do a lot more research on the rules and OW airlines that fly the routes, including any transits.
For example have you looked at OW airlines that fly to/from KEF? [BA-LHR & AY-HEL] Keflavík International Airport - Wikipedia
No non stop flights KEF - SFO - TPE, so needs to be KEF-xyz-SFO-abc-TPE --> more segments.
And check the order you go to the continents. Cannot back track (a few minor exceptions for some transits)

Returning to start (SYD) ends the RTW. So SYD-CHC-SYD is a no go. SYD-CHC-BNE is OK. You can't touch SYD again until the end. Start say in CBR gets around that problem, but *very* poor use of available segments.

Years ago from MEL did a xONEx with a start in SYD and end in ADL, with a 9 month lay over in MEL. Purchased elcheapo MEL-SYD and ADL-MEL cash tickets. Effectively got a "no cost" trip to Darwin at the end. Would have cost $$$ to buy as a separate trip.

As above look at FT OW forum
Current FT guru on these is pandaperth, who occasionally makes it back to PER, but most of the time is flying a xONEx.

Yours is not that good a route

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

www.gcmap.com

As well as *ONE* continent based is *GLOB* distance based

RTW Flights: Round The World Airline Tickets - RTW

Book Round The World airline tickets. Search multi-city flights to hundreds of destinations worldwide from oneworld Alliance member airlines.

www.oneworld.com

 

[bam71]

I don't know what YQ means. What I do know, as an example, that JL not collecting fuel fines saved c. $600 on a QR LAX-DOH sector alone.



I used the booking tool on the OW site and never had any problems, taking it right through to ticketing on QF stock - until I found the TA option.

With the JL ticketing, I did not have to use JL as the first flight carrier; it was well down the full list of 16 flights.

OK - so as long as one has JL in the itinerary, it can be issued on JL stock and therefore saving on fuel surcharges….??

 

[JohnM]

OK - so as long as one has JL in the itinerary, it can be issued on JL stock and therefore saving on fuel surcharges….??

I presume so. The TA handled it and as far as I understood things, JL does not (or then did not) pass on fuel surcharges.

There was the option of booking on other stock that offered various advantages/disadvantages, the details of which I can't recall. I think the grossed-up advantage weighed in favour of JL for my particular itinerary. It was not necessarily the case for all itineraries.

The TA is well known on AFF.

 

[kiwitripper64]

Oh fonts of wisdom, may I ask a follow up.
when you book xONEx with JL, can you still choose which airline to credit SC to. I am assuming you can.
Years ago, we did a family RTW, then later a couples J RTW. I am having trouble remembering all the rules, but we had a blast. AFF was just as helpful back then. Little tips to maximise SC were helpful, like fly AKL-MSY via LAX was one sector, taking us across the US, then up to BOS, then back to SEA then to LHR. and the tip that arriving at one airport and leaving at another in the same city counts as a segment. And I had to learn that the wife was not always happy about the extra 2 flights to arrive.
We have a bit of time to plan, but lots to re-learn and many places to decide on.

 

[dairyfloss]

Oh fonts of wisdom, may I ask a follow up.
when you book xONEx with JL, can you still choose which airline to credit SC to. I am assuming you can.
Years ago, we did a family RTW, then later a couples J RTW. I am having trouble remembering all the rules, but we had a blast. AFF was just as helpful back then. Little tips to maximise SC were helpful, like fly AKL-MSY via LAX was one sector, taking us across the US, then up to BOS, then back to SEA then to LHR. and the tip that arriving at one airport and leaving at another in the same city counts as a segment. And I had to learn that the wife was not always happy about the extra 2 flights to arrive.
We have a bit of time to plan, but lots to re-learn and many places to decide on.

Yes - you can credit the flights to whichever oneworld program you wish. The ticketing carrier has no impact on status credits (or equivalent) and FF points; it's the flights you select that will drive this.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Oh fonts of wisdom, may I ask a follow up.
when you book xONEx with JL, can you still choose which airline to credit SC to. I am assuming you can.
Years ago, we did a family RTW, then later a couples J RTW. I am having trouble remembering all the rules, but we had a blast. AFF was just as helpful back then. Little tips to maximise SC were helpful, like fly AKL-MSY via LAX was one sector, taking us across the US, then up to BOS, then back to SEA then to LHR. and the tip that arriving at one airport and leaving at another in the same city counts as a segment. And I had to learn that the wife was not always happy about the extra 2 flights to arrive.
We have a bit of time to plan, but lots to re-learn and many places to decide on.

For xONEx one flight number = 1 segment.
So if AKL-MSY via LAX was AKL-SYD-LAX-MSY and was 4 flight numbers that is 4 segments (of the 16).
Ground segments count.

[The QF "RTW" Oneworld award has very different rules = separate thread]

 

[k_sheep]

Hmm sat down to do some holiday planning for next year. I have to get home from Japan in February, to Boston in April, then to Europe somewhere in September. No QF J points availability for the first leg so wondering if a OWE might work well with some nesting. Something like Japan to Australia, stop, to Boston (or NYC or whatever and make own way there), separate return ticket home, Europe then Japan.

Mind you the main reason I nest flights is to take advantage of cheaper flights EU-Oz, but that's probably not the case USA-Oz.

 

[oz_boater]

Yes - you can credit the flights to whichever oneworld program you wish. The ticketing carrier has no impact on status credits (or equivalent) and FF points; it's the flights you select that will drive this.

Cheers,
Matt.

For someone based in Oz, is there are program that is clearly superior to QANTAS to credit the status / FF points to?

Given that a oneworld RTW can be a status bonanza?

I had just assumed QANTAS, but seeing the award availability via (for example) AA or BA websites where these tickets don't show up as bookable on QANTAS, and the high status needed for Platinum on QANTAS / low crediting for non QF flights, I am wondering if I should look elsewhere?

 

[oz_boater]

Reader of this thread might find this other thread interesting

My DONE4 (oneworld RTW) booking experience

Long time lurker here, wanted to share the process of planning and booking a oneworld round the world ticket to help others as it can be complex. The background is I'm moving to HKG soon, and yearly HKG-MEL-HKG trips back home is going to be on the table. After a bit of research here and on...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

@skylabsea does seem to have done their homework