Originally Posted by
jridge
The way it is classified can be found on the oneWorld web site:
I'm not sure why Himeno further subdivides light/dark blue or orange/red.
With regard to the different colors for shades for Europe and the Middle East, there are some rules that only apply to the ME, hence the need to show that area separately. For example:
(c)
Travel may originate at any point for which fares are published and must terminate at the same point, except that
origin-destination surface segments are permitted as follows
(a)within the country of origin
(b)within the Middle East
(c)between the United States and Canada
(d)between HKG and China
(e)between Malaysia and SIN
(f)within Africa
(g)between Maldives & Sri Lanka/India