Originally Posted by
Gardyloo
No idea of statistics, but I suspect the majority of xONEx tickets are changed at least once during their lifespan, maybe more. I certainly know I do.
A note on "repricing." If you keep the same number of continents, all that happens when you make changes is the taxes and fees are re-computed, e.g. if a transit turns into a stopover (airport/departure taxes) or if you add flights with fuel surcharges that replace those that don't have them. FWIW I've never had a re-issue where there wasn't an additional taxes and fees hit, on top of the $125. Some airlines (BA, Qantas) also charge service fees for changes, usually in the US$50 - $150 range.
Thanks for this answer, I am feeling a lot better that my strategy might work and turn out well for me. Certainly would rather avoid airlines with a lot service fees, especially for changes and those with crazy fuel fines.
Originally Posted by
Gardyloo
Iberia no longer flies JNB-MAD. Your options for South Africa > Europe are BA via LHR or QR via Doha.
Just a thought, but looking at your initial plans (yes, I know they're likely to change) I wonder if you need to go to South Africa for the start.
I am starting in JNB for two reasons, I do tend to spend a lot of time there and in this instance I will actually be there in need of a one-way ticket to Europe. I took advantage of the low cost BA I sale from the US to Spain/Italy and combined it with a general sale/favorable pricing of for ex-Spain/Italy fares to South Africa, but due to minimum stay and day of travel restrictions I couldn't pair them perfectly. My SA to Europe return will be weeks later than my Spain - US return, so I therefore have to bridge that gap.
My first option is buying a cheap one-way QR Y ticket or a business class return at about $2700-3300, which is not too bad considering the European and SAA fares for both Y and C. Second option is going the DONE4 route (a DONE5 isn't quite attractive to me due to the seasonal mismatch for either South America or Oceania). My plan to limit fuel fines would be to take the QR route from JNB to MAD, and then only flying AA,JL and CX, no rewarding BA. QR has the 787 on the JNB route, which was quite good when I flew it in August, and timing is better too in terms of making my connection in Madrid.
I guess the price increases last year really hit South Africa hard if Japan pricing is now that attractive on a relative basis. $6000 is how much a close-in roundtrip C ticket will cost from the US.