Refuelling stop = extra continent?? Dumb!
 

Just trying to book the following:

Miami -> Los Angeles -> Sydney -> London -> New York -> Miami

I thought This would be three continents, wouldn't you?

But oh no, the plane from Sydney to London has to land to refuel in Bangkok. I'm not leaving the plane but guess what I've just added an extra continent for smelling the local air through the open door ;->

Surely AA are wrong - this is *the* dumbest rule.

Not wrong, not dumb. It's price control. You can also connect through Africa if you choose.

Sorry, but if you read the fare rules, any travel between SW Pacific and Europe and Middle East is deemed to include Asia.

If you speak to BA they will tell you any travel involving Australia counts as 4 continents. AA are not wrong. The rule is a pain.

As Darren says you do not have to go round the world with the oneworld Explorer. I was in the BA Shop in Edinburgh on Saturday and the agent explained we could return from Oz via JNB if Africa took your fancy.

[This message has been edited by Gaza (edited 09-20-2001).]

Gaza, that is what I said, but I didn't say you don't have to go around the world. You do (hence the name). http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Specifically, you have to have a trans-Atlantic and a trans-Pacific. So to include Australia, you can either go through Asia (example: LHR-LAX-SYD-BKK-LHR) or Africa (example: LHR-LAX-SYD-JNB-LHR). But in either case, it's four continents.

Yes, the current rulings stipulate that a Transatlantic AND Transpacific sector are required- in effect, you have to go all the way around the world.

However, I'm currently on a lengthy stopover in London on a OWE booked under the previous set of rules. I'm doing AFRICA-EUROPE-ASIA-AFRICA as a three continent. It's a circle trip really.
I notice now however that all African countries sell a minimum of 4 continents- thus taking into account the new rule of a mandatory transatlantic and transpacific crossing.

Darren/Salt

According to BA you do not have to go around the world with a oneworld Expolorer ticket. I was infomed of this by the agent in the BA Travel Shop in Edinburgh. Not being entirely convinced by this I emailed BA and this is the response I received:-

[This message has been edited by Gaza (edited 09-21-2001).]

Go to http://fewmiles.tripod.com/oneworld/owenotes.html#1 and read lines 121 to 128. This is the Oneworld Explorer. There is also a trip called the Circle Pacific that has other rules. BA tends to lump a lot of different trips under the OWE name. In fact, I had one tell me about the new OWE with a mileage limit. He was referring of course to the global explorer.

You can go to http://fewmiles.tripod.com/oneworld/...pacific.html#1 for the circle pacific rules, or to http://fewmiles.tripod.com/oneworld/index.html#1 for a few others.

The problem is that the OneWorld Global Explorer fare is almost identical to that of a 4 Continent OneWorld Explorer fare!

I believe whether it's compulsory to have one Trans-pacific and one Trans-Atlantic sector under the One World RTW depends on which continent you are starting from - sometimes the rules differ. The rules contained in that website above are probably the US rules. I have the Asian rules here and it says "Only 1 Transatlantic flt and 1 transpacific flt permitted when travel is via the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans" - implying that it's not necessary that one travels via either ocean. I also remember seeing a One World brochure in Bangkok one year ago showing a RTW via 3 continents - Europe, South Africa and Asia.

Yes - you may travel in a circle route without going transpacific or transatlantic!

Say originating from HKG - HKG-NRT-SYD-JNB-CPT-LHR-SIN-BKK-HKG.

Ok, I can see a specific rule on travel between Australia and Europe:

But how about transit between South America and Asia? Is it considered travel through 3 continents? S AMERICA-N AMERICA-ASIA?

Or South America-Southwest Pacific-Asia

I mean transit without stopover, still 3 continent? While there is a specific rule for between Australia and Europe, there is no mention for between South America and Asia. There is no mention even for between New Zealand and Europe!

Toxa,

If you can find a 1 flight number plane between New Zealand and Europe or between South America and Asia then the rules would not count the intermediate refueling stop as a continent. However, as far as I am aware, no such single flight exists. Therefore the intermediate change of planes would count as a continent whether you transit or stop.

rich