I am also wondering how feasible it might be to do a positioning flight into KHI and then start an xONEx for someone who only speaks English and clearly is not from the region. No checked bags.

Looking at flight schedules, EY has one flight that lands in KHI at 02:45, while QR has two, landing at 01:50 and 06:50. Outbound would have to be QR (EF is not showing any BA flights at the moment) at 03:55 or 09:35. 2:05 seems iffy. 02:45 still a tad close but maybe. 4:05 might be the right amount of time.

QR is pretty bad at letting you check-in at a different airport or different day, and often prohibits online checkin.

Just as a matter of interest - what is the current rate for an IONE3 ex KHI?

I assume that the only options are for Asia/Europe/North America routings?

According to ExpertFlyer, base fares are
IONE3 - USD4591
DONE3 - USD4681

And yes - Asia - Europe/Middle East - North America ,or v.v.

For the extra $90, I'd take the D. Much better inventory availability.

Thank you!