Global Explorer from CAI and payment
 

I know that the issue of Global Explorer RTW ticket bought from Cairo has been discussed on this forum, but I still would like to know if anyone has experiences on this.

From what I have read here, I understand that the best way to do this is to book through British Airways and have the ticket issued at BA's Cairo airport ticket office. However according to the Global Explorer rules "TICKETS MUST BE ISSUED AT LEAST 7 DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE FIRST FLIGHT." Do you know if I have to pick-up and pay the tickets 7 days in advance or can I just fax my credit card details to BA's Cairo Airport office and ask them to issue the tickets and keep them until I collect them (I don't want to spend waiting 7 days in Cairo).

I have tried to contact BA's office at Cairo Airport, but had no answer (although in a recorded message they say to be open from 6am to 4pm).

Yes it works: try + 202 578 0742. If you haven't already done so, suggest you get your local BA reservations office to book [and price] the itinerary. Then fax the locator to BA in Cairo [+ 202 574 7674].

If you're not planning to be present when paying for the tickets, you'll be asked to fax the last 2 pages of your passport, together with an authority to debit your credit card.

BA Cairo can hold the tickets awaiting collection when you are ready to commence travel.

It's really that easy.

I think it was really that easy when there was no advance ticketing rule. The point of imposing the new advance purchase rules is specifically to curtail the business of shopping around the world for a cheap starting point. Not to say that the Cairo office won't continue to be cooperative...

Ticketing occurs when the ticket office prints the ticket and debits your card. When they actually hand them to you is irrelevant, so I wouldn't see any problem with what is being proposed.

Other than it's against the rules. CAI is being lenient.

Excuse my ignorance, but what's the difference between paying for a ticket through the BA desk at Cairo and collecting a week later, and booking through ebookers and collecting from their office in London a week later?

Or, for that matter, paying extra for ticket on departure with BA? (Definitely not an expert on the latter.)

In most cases I would say "intent". I am not aware of any rules that are being broken by BA in CAI issuing tickets in advance.

TAs and ticketing desks issue tickets for people who are not physically there all the time. I've had dozens done like that in HK where there has been an advance ticketing requirement and I have been on a previous trip.

The problem is that if the ONE ticket is shipped to London then the intent is normally simply to throw away the first coupon. This breaks the rules fo the ticket, which is what BA wishes to avoid.

Maybe I am too honest about all this, but in my view it is OK to push the rules to the limit (doing fast turnrounds in CAI just to get a cheap ticket), but not OK to deliberately break the rules of the ticket you have bought (i.e. the contract you have entered into with BA/OW).

But maybe others think I am just being naive.

[This message has been edited by christep (edited 09-10-2003).]

Thank you for the answers!

If BA Cairo issues the ticket, do you pick it up at the airport or is there a City Ticket Office. Does anyone happen to know the office hours? I'm passing through Cairo in the middle of the night between Istanbul and Jeddah and I'm not sure if I'll be able to pick up the ticket then.

You'd better fax Cairo and ask specifically. ATO pickup can almost surely be arranged, but the ATO probably won't be open in the middle of the night.

When I did this in early July, the CAI ATO opened at 6am. The BA flight was at 8-15am.

Since my inbound BA was two hours delayed I only had about four hours to kill before it opened which I did in with a good book in the hall immediately in front of the ATO.

I'm in the process of sorting a MONE4 from Cairo. (nice cheap 1-way flight there on Lufthansa for £134 + tax).

However, have tried both BA Reservations and a BA Travelshop here in London to book flights and send to Cairo office for pricing, and both have outright refused.

Am I doing something wrong? I think it'll be easier to phone cairo direct.

Phone Cairo to establish the contact with Mrs. Sobhi then FAX her your itinerary and let her book it.

I recall someone saying that the 7 day ticketing requirement applied only to the M fares, not the D and A. Is this true?

The OWE rules have been 7 days in advance for Area 1 (basically the Americas) but no advance for any class elsewhere. However, the rules for GE just changed at the end of August to a much more restrictive policy: 7 days prior to departure for all A and D and sliding scale that ranges from 14 days to 3 days after booking for L (the "new" M). We could see a similar change in OWE