African destinations in RTW itinerary
 

Hello everyone

I'm trying to plan the RTW itinerary of my dreams and need some help. Starting in London, I want to include some African destinations (say Nairobi) in my trip.
However, considering that Nairobi is not connected to any OneWorld destination but London, I can't figure out how to get out of it without having 2 intercontinental departures in my orign (LHR), which is illegal.
The only option seems to be doing an awful surface segment to Harare or Jo'burg, which seem to be the only African destinations connected to continents others than Europe.
So, does that mean destinations like Nairobi or Accra are off-limits for itineraries starting in Europe unless you include surface segments to Harare/Jo'burg?
Or is there another way of doing something like London-Accra-London-Nairobi-London-...?

many thanks!

Claudia.

Claudia,

Great question and welcome. You are correct that the surface segment from NBO - JNB is the only option if originating in London/Europe. However, if you are flying in First or Business you will find it much cheaper to buy a 1-Way ticket to the Seychelles to begin your RTW.

You could then fly SEZ-NBO (stop) NBO - LHR (transit) - rest of the world - LHR (stop) - SEZ

Originations from the SEZ are permitted two arrivals into Europe with 1 being a transit only.

rich

I know the following route does not help your situation but may be of use to others contemplating adding Africa to the Around the World experience-

Cathay Pacific's Hong Kong to South Africa to Argentina route is pretty unique!

Care to fill us in on the stopovers?

BTW, BA's AKL-EZE is also interesting:
AKL-HKG-LHR-LGW-EZE not bad for mileage, eh?

Unfortunately, there is no Oneworld flight South Africa to South America - only SAA and Malaysian cover that route, with Varig and Aerolineas Argentinas code-sharing. I'm pretty certain Cathay do not code-share onthe JNB-EZE SAA flight although they do on HKG-JNB as well as having there own flights. Even if they did code-share though, it wouldn't be allowed on the Oneworld RTW fare which excludes code-shares not operated by non-Oneworld carriers.

Back to the original question though,there are other options to surfacing from NBO to JNB.As you are allowed 4 segments within Africa you can do a side-trip NBO to the Seychelles and back on BA then fly the next day from NBO to Mauritius from where one-way flights to Capetown, Durban or JNB on SAA are only $US150 or so. Alternatively, BA (Comair franchise which is included in Oneworld) have flights from Lusaka, Vic Falls and Harare to JNB so you could surface to any of those and pick up a flight. They used to fly to LLW in Malawi but I think they may have pulled out of that route.

3544Quebec:

Thank you for such a insightful and informative information. I, too, have been
looking at OAG trying to figure out what to do about my propsed ex-Sey OWE trip.

Well, Seychelles has been on top of my list of where I have wanted to go but boy, it sure
is expensive, say Frigate Island!, so any lower rate in OWE fare would be welcome for me! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Incidentally, when and which will SA ever
join an international alliance? That would certainly help us plan a trip "In and Out of Africa" Skyteam?, I sure hope not!

You're welcome Kaoru.

Having had Oneworld Explorer tickets issued in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and reissued in Australia, England, Canada and Colombia I almost feel as if I have a Masters in the rules - I just wish they would stop changing them so often!!

If I was originating in The Seychelles I'd probably use the 2 entries to Europe allowed and fly SEZ-LHR direct, then on the return do something like LHR-CPT which would count as my gateway stopover, then fly CPT-JNB-Lusaka which would count as my 2nd allowed stopover and surface to Nairobi and then pick up the BA flight back to the Seychelles from NBO. Or from Capetown buy an SAA oneway to MRU then fly BA to Nairobi where you can have your 2nd African stop before flying back to the Seychelles.
If you are a bit more adventurous there are plenty of Overland safaris originating in Capetown, Vic Falls and Harare that take 3 to 5 weeks tarvelling through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya ending in Nairobi allowing you to fly into Capetown(gateway stop),continuig onto JNB and Vic Falls(2nd stop), picking up an overland trip ending in Nairobi and then taking your last flight with BA back to the Seychelles. After 4 weeks overlanding through Africa I'm sure that you'd be more than happy to pay the tariffs at Frigate island!!



[This message has been edited by 3544quebec (edited 01-26-2001).]

kaoru san,

try cx's site, you can download a OW only OAG software to do your planning

p

Thanks to you all for the great replies; I am aware of the Lusaka option and in the end I think it's what I will have to do. I don't mind a bit of dusty overland now and again, it's just that those border procedures, checkpoints, visas etc freak me out a little bit. Especially when they count as a segment in my ticket!

happy travels everyone

c.

Claudia

The surface sector should not count as one of your 4 free sectors, it does however count as one of your stopovers. But if you were actually stopping in Nairobi it makes no difference. LHR-NBO-surface-Lusaka should count as one stopover but no intra-African segment.
By the way, I don't think you can fly out of Harare anymore when leaving Africa after coming from Europe. I believe that QANTAS no longer fly tom Harare but are awaiting approval to code-share on SAA flights. Why they don't codeshare on their Oneworld partner British Airways' flights I don't know.