Interesting, thanks I guess my "perceived wisdom" comment was based on what I'd read here over the last year or so. The main thread with some interesting viewpoints is the third one you referenced; however post #4 from NM is the one which resonates most strongly with my own experiences. As does the second paragraph of post #5 where it is reported you lose your PNR when you reach the end of your dated sectors. I had great trouble resurrecting a ticket with a few (open) sectors left on it; I had to supply the ticket number (which I fortunately had to hand) but it was still a struggle.

This thread is now nearly two years old; perhaps the airlines have improved their systems now and some of the issues which caused problems in the past have been fixed? Me, I'm certainly in the "dated" camp now.

Thanks for pointing the debate, it's not nearly as clear cut as I'd thought.