Originally Posted by
number_6
Oneworld rules require the first international carrier to issue the ticket -- hence the enthusiasm of these airlines. Any OW carrier is allowed to issue any OWE ticket, but is not required to (and most prefer not to these days unless forced).
That's weird, on my DONE4 in 2005 CX issued the ticket, and my first sector was QF SYD-HKG. I didn't fly CX internationally at all - just intra-asia (a rookie mistake, I should have taken them HKG-LHR).