Oneworld Explorer ticketing

[ftm]

It should be noted that in recent years, when trying to make free (date/time/carrier) changes with airport agents, after calling ticketing, they have claimed that the change would have the fee. This has mostly been with US/AA agents at SFO, DFW and LAS and the issues started when the US merger process began.
The lounge agent at DFW I spoke with last year when trying to change a PDX-LAX to different flight, same day, agreed with me that the change should be free, but had to do what the ticketing office said.

I ended up not making the change at the time and instead emailed the travel agent back home to do it.

I haven't tried to make changes via other airlines for some time, so can't say if it is just an issue with the AA ticketing office or not. (I have made changes during travel with QF, CX, BA and JL before without issue, but not for some years. The one time I tried to change a flight at the MH downtown KUL office, they came back and claimed I had to go talk to SQ.)

If there isn't the right fare class available, then that would technically be the case, wouldn't it? Wouldn't be unusual for D Class not the be available on the day of travel.

 

[serfty]

...
Note that in attempting to reschedule my LONEx (one year from the first flight was way past one year from ticket purchase date) QR has insisted that a change of transit to stopover is grounds for charging the US$125 re-issue fee. Certainly there would be small changes in the taxes involved (at some airports) ...

This would be correct.

Changing a transit to a stopover is effectively changing the routing.

i.e. When booked AAA-xBBB-CCC you are actually routing (and using using availability for) AAA-CCC. If changing to AAA-oBBB-CCC then you are rerouting AAA-BBB and BBB-CCC.

Some years ago I saw it explained as such. Note that going from a stopover to a transit is generally different as a competent TA can change effectively AAA-oBBB-CCC to AAA-oBBB-CCC even if the oBBB is 24 hours or less.

 

[Himeno]

If there isn't the right fare class available, then that would technically be the case, wouldn't it? Wouldn't be unusual for D Class not the be available on the day of travel.

In the times when I've needed to change a flight during an xONEx, I've already checked the availability of the relevant booking class before I contact the airline. If the required booking class is not available on a given flight, then that flight is just that, not available.

The point I'm making is that AA, since the US merger, has been trying to charge the rebooking fee for changes that are free.

 

[Himeno]

i.e. When booked AAA-xBBB-CCC you are actually routing (and using using availability for) AAA-CCC. If changing to AAA-oBBB-CCC then you are rerouting AAA-BBB and BBB-CCC.

There has to be more to it then that. If it treated AAA-xBBB-CCC as routing AAA-CCC, then it would also claim that routing like JFK-oLAX-oSFO-xDFW-BOS would be 2 US transcons (when only 1 is allowed).

 

[serfty]

It's apples and oranges.

The latter is a fare rule and not dependent on fare buckets, nor is it relevant to how levies and taxes are assessed.

I'll try to find a deeper explanation.

 

[serfty]

...
I'll try to find a deeper explanation.

OK, here's a rather intense flyertalk thread:

Unnecessary reissue demanded by Qantas? - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[Preemo]

Booking a Oneworld Explorer ticket in the Oneworld tool. I have Sydney SYD, Tokyo HND, London LHR, New York JFK, <24hr in Chicago ORD and then I run into problems.

I would like to spend several days in Kona KOA on the way back to Sydney SYD so I've continued the itinerary from Chicago ORD, Los Angeles LAX, Kona KOA. That worked OK.

Now I'm booking KOA back to Sydney and not getting any options. I could see there was a Qantas flight from Honolulu HNL to Sydney SYD, so I made Kona KOA to Honolulu HNL a surface sector thinking I would have to buy that as a separate one-way ticket but then the Qantas flight does not show up.

Ideally I want to travel back from Chicago ORD to Sydney SYD with a 3 day stopover at a beachy island (Hawaii, Vanuatu, Fiji etc.) or I am also willing to consider somewhere else beachy (thinking Mexico, Caribbean, SE Asia maybe?)

Any thoughts ?

 

[JohnM]

My guess is that there is no D fare bucket availability on the QF sector. How many days either side of a nominated date did you try?

Do you subscribe to Expert Flyer to be able to check for D availability? If not, and you provide a date, I can check EF.

Is this a vacation? - ie. are you time-constrained or not? If not, you seem to be using rather few sectors of the 16 maximum. As someone who does a DONEx annually, and has done so for the last 15 years, I hate to see wasted opportunity .

 

[Danger]

Booking a Oneworld Explorer ticket in the Oneworld tool. I have Sydney SYD, Tokyo HND, London LHR, New York JFK, <24hr in Chicago ORD and then I run into problems.

I would like to spend several days in Kona KOA on the way back to Sydney SYD so I've continued the itinerary from Chicago ORD, Los Angeles LAX, Kona KOA. That worked OK.

Now I'm booking KOA back to Sydney and not getting any options. I could see there was a Qantas flight from Honolulu HNL to Sydney SYD, so I made Kona KOA to Honolulu HNL a surface sector thinking I would have to buy that as a separate one-way ticket but then the Qantas flight does not show up.

Ideally I want to travel back from Chicago ORD to Sydney SYD with a 3 day stopover at a beachy island (Hawaii, Vanuatu, Fiji etc.) or I am also willing to consider somewhere else beachy (thinking Mexico, Caribbean, SE Asia maybe?)

Any thoughts ?

Two points jump to mind, in addition to what JohnM has mentioned.

First, the oneworld Explorer fare is ridiculously convoluted and has something like a 15 page rule sheet. There are reports on FlyerTalk of different ticketing airlines interpreting the rules differently. For me, it took some time to convince Qantas that Morocco, while geographically in Africa, is considered to be part of Europe/Middle East for the purpose of this product. It's quite possible that you're issue isn't related to Hawaii, although do note that one of the rules is that you can't return to the continental US after going to Hawaii (or return to Hawaii after going to the continental US) which significantly limits options (SYD out of HNL and TYO out HNL and one or two islands are it, I think).

Second, the oneworld booking tool is also notoriously buggy. Even simple itineraries can fail. You could post your full itinerary here for feedback or contact the AA oneworld desk in Dallas and ask them to look at it. American will only ticket it, though, if there is at least one AA-marketed sector (and it might actually be an AA ticketing requirement that the TAtl or TPac sector be on AA).

Given the limitation on Hawaii, you may wish to look at somewhere like the Caribbean for your beach stop. Cancun springs to mind. Or a beachy destination in Asia. Qantas is the only oneworld carrier that serves Fiji (NAN) which means it really doesn't like an option for you and Vanuatu is not served by any oneworld carriers.

And a final point: Just to be clear, you are talking about a oneworld Explorer 16 stop paid booking rather than a Qantas oneworld five stop award, yeah?

 

[Buzzard]

One year I should get somebody to book me one of these 16 stop DONEx trips and just go where they send me.

 

[Limewood]

Might be possible to return from USA mainland via NAN? on FJ or via AKL with AA/QF?

 

[Danger]

Might be possible to return from USA mainland via NAN? on FJ or via AKL with AA/QF?

Unfortunately FJ is not a member of oneworld so can't be included in a oneworld Explorer fare.

 

[madrooster]

Unfortunately FJ is not a member of oneworld so can't be included in a oneworld Explorer fare.

FJ is a oneworld connect member. They have not been added to the explorer fare though.

 

[Mattg]

I've just been playing around with the Oneworld Explorer tool. It doesn't let you book any itinerary that includes Casablanca (CMN), even though it's now a Oneworld hub. It will let you add other Moroccan cities - just not Casablanca. Does anyone know why?

 

[serfty]

Does anyone know why?

Well .... it is the "one world Explorer" tool ... often flaky and often full of errors ...

 

[Mattg]

Well .... it is the "one world Explorer" tool ... often flaky and often full of errors ...

Perhaps.

I was able to get Rabat to work... AT flies to ORY from there, and QR to DOH.

 

[kiwitripper64]

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.

 

[Captain Halliday]

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.

Not a product I’ve used, but this might help:
Oneworld Explorer Guide

 

[JohnM]

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.

Strictly DONEx's are OT for (edit: this the OWAward thread where originally posted), but I don't think there is a dedicated OneWorld Explorer (ie. revenue ticket) thread.

At risk of the thread wandering further OT:

There are (at least were) ways to avoid the higher pricing (a major saving was through partners that didn't pass on onerous fuel surcharges) but I think that you will need to use a TA knowledgeable in DONEx to do it. That's what I started doing just prior to Covid bringing my annual DONEx's to a crashing halt. IIRC, the saving was in the realm of $1.5K.

If you use the OneWorld tool to plan, it will default to the partner airline in the country you are in (ie. QF in Australia) when you hit the 'price it' button after you have built a valid itinerary.

You appear to be in NZ, so with no OneWorld partners actually there, I'm making a complete guess that it would default to QF as the nearest one that does. Maybe suck it and see?

I believe ticketing on JL might be a good way to go if you can do it, assuming systems haven't changed greatly since 2019.

Any further discussion on this topic should really have its own thread.

 

[dairyfloss]

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.

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.