Issuing Carriers and Segment Marketing Carriers
 

So changing the issuing carrier to QR can make a significant difference.
How much difference to the total would it make if the BA segments were eliminated, perhaps by changing
YVR-LHR to YVR-HEL-LHR
and
DXB-xLHR-OSL to either DXB-xHEL-OSL or DXB-xDOH-OSL?

Could changing segment marketing carriers reduce Chesil's cost significantly as well as changing the issuing carrier?

the more general question is how does one optimize issuing carriers and segment marketing carriers?

Thanks for any thoughts.

If QR is in the RTW (ideally starting airline) and issued you have saving of approx. EUR800 with DONE3. More savings when DONE4 / DONE5 etc. Not about changing carrier.

All other OW carriers have higher YQ or Carrier Imposed charges.

Let me know your routing and i will check tomorrow.

regards

The question was referring to Chesil’s routing.
So if issued by QR, you say no additional cost saving by using Finnair or QR or JL rather than BA.

Would these changes reduce costs much if DONEx is not issued by QR (using AA or JL as two other options)?

Thanks

You save money when it's issued on QR.

Changing the route does not matter.

BA / AA /CX they have the highest taxes and Carrier Imposed charges.

I've been using the AA RTW desk for years, ever since they eliminated the rule that you have to buy your ticket in your originating country (when I used to use Mindpearl). A couple of questions:

1. While I understand that it varies by specific itinerary, roughly how much can I expect to save on a DONE3 by having it issued by QR instead of AA?

2. How difficult is it to get QR to issue one of these? Does it have a dedicated RTW desk similar to AA? How does one do it?

​​​​​On question two, I think one or two said upthread that QR is essentially not interested in RTW bookings and directs people to the oneworld website. A TA could probably plate on QR, though.

All of these questions re pricing on QR require use of a travel agent. Yes, it means paying for a service that you have gotten for free with AA or the online tool...but the value is that you can run through the variety of routing scenarios with this person and other benefits. Not sure what people are expecting on here, posting about fare quotes for their specific itinerary. :confused:

Hi Dr. HFH,

1. QR does not issue these tickets

2. Not, No dedicated desk, they will tell you use a TA.


Have booked and issued RTW on QR stock last month 7 x times (all started ex-OSL).

dutch_122 are you offering your services as a TA? If so, what is your fee? It sounds like this is a need in this community.

Hi izzik, i can help, work as TA since April 2023 again for e-Businesstravel in the Netherlands. Our fee for the RTW is fixed EUR75.00.

Feel free to sent pm or email.

regards

So Many Questions...

We are a retired couple who travel. End of 2025 or Jan 2026 we are starting to explore Asia. We think a RTW is the way to go.

1. OneWorld Global Explorer vs One World Explorer. We will be buying Business Class tix. We would like the most bang for the buck ( cost). Is one better than the other. We plan to us all 16 segments.

2. We can start the ticket any North American city. I've read Canada is a good place to start ( lower fees)?

3. We would like to go to Japan, Viet Nam, Thailand, Singapore, at least. We have unlimited time. Great Circle Mapper is a good resource, I've been playing around with it. Any Asia experts think of a good order we should go?

4. We have been toying with making it a two trip ticket. Asia in early 2026, coming back to US for Spring, then heading back out later in the year, using the full 12 months time limit.

5. We dont mind zig zagging and backtracking.

6. Maximizing mileage and minimizing $$$.

7. Should we status match with AA right before we but the tickets? We have no AA status.

8. Use AA credit Card or Chase Saph Reserve? Thoughts?

I'm not asking for anyone to make a route, really just asking if I'm on the right track in what I should be paying attention to in order to make a RTW work and work it to its full advantage. And are these questions/thoughts in my head important, not just the route, but the other piddly things like status matching and which CC matter.

thanks for reading, and any suggestions that would help me plan
J

It would be very helpful if folks who've used/liked their TA would post details here. From trolling this thread for a while, it seems most people use AA RTW desk, but it'd be nice to have referrals from folks who've used/liked a TA.

The mods might want to move this to the newbie question thread, but I'm happy to take a shot at your questions in the meantime. My wife and I started RTWing a few years ago and I had many of the same Qs.

The DGLOB34 (Global Explorer) costs the same as a DONE4. The only reasons I can see going for the DGLOB34 are that you want to fly the couple of airlines you can't on a DONE4 (but maybe with Fiji joining OW that will be less or an issue) or there is some way to get to 5 or more continents in the 34k flown miles you are limited to on a DGLOB34.

Get a trial subscription to Expert Flyer. You can get the RTW base fares and rules from there. Canada is better than the US. But they are much cheaper starting in certain countries in Europe (esp. OSL, ARN, BUD, REK, HEL) or Asia (Japan, India, Sri Lanka). From the east coast, positioning to REK or OSL and starting there could be the way to go (or to Japan from the west coast).

If you want to explore Asia, it might be better to start in Europe, since you are limited to 2 stopovers in your continent of origin. Also: flights within Asia can be quite cheap, esp. within SEA. And easier, since you won't need to be on MH or CX all the time. So you don't need to go everywhere on the RTW.

Sure. But keep in mind that when you are flying business, the only thing status really gets you is higher mileage earning (but on AA that's only on the airlines you get crappy spend-based earnings on anyway, I believe) and, if you can get Emerald status, first-class lounges and check-in (which can be quite nice). If this is likely to become a new lifestyle, crediting to BA, AY, or QR might make sense.

Personally I find 3 URs > 2 AAs, since I like transferring to Hyatt and for the odd United flight. You may also find you have plenty of AA if that's where you are crediting your flights. But (wait for it), your mileage may vary.

Oneworld offer

• OneWorld Global Explorer is distance based and has more allowable airlines. More airlines in the Pacific
• One World Explorer is continent based. Most posts on FT are about OW Explorer
• Circle Pacific may match your plans

None is "better: than the other. All have different rules on stop overs. Just what matches your intineray-plans
Starting in Asia with a long stopover in USA and back to Asia may suit. Would need USA-Asia (start) and Asia USA(end) positioing flights

My understanding AA do not status match, but may offer a challenge.
What ffp's are you a member of now?
Flying business class status does not do much extra for you.

https://www.oneworld.com/round-the-world
Rules are in "What are the Round the World rules"

Wow!

thanks for the quick responses so far. One small point, the only reason I was asking about status matching, is if thru miles/spend we can get even Gold AA status for 2026, it would something. And if we status matched from DL before we purchased and started the trip, would it get us more miles?

Our lifestyle is fully retired, and doing 3 months travel, home to restock, and back on the road for 3 months. We are currently in Argentina, heading to Peru, Bolivia and then Colombia then home in March.

We have Africa in July/August so we are starting Asia next. So, with the 3 months on the road, trip home, we could work the ticket, to come home and pick it back up, getting 2 ( or more) trips out of a 12 month... Thats a LOT of planning.

We have a fair bit of AA miles, DL, LIfeMiles , UR and Cap One points. So we can use those for other parts of the RTW trip(s).

If this gets moved to Newbi, thats fine, thanks again so much for the early insights!

Also, interesting, Circle Pacific... Im going to look at the rules right now.

off topic
Earnings to a ffp's is a little off topic for this thread
AA have specific rules for earnings on RTW --> https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...age-miles.html
Is harder with spend based earnings.

Hi stan1162

There is no dedicated thread in this forum for the Global Explorer, but the below old thread discusses the differences between it and the much more popular Oneworld Explorer (and I've just updated the first post in the thread :D)

Musings: Circumstances where a Global Explorer might be better than a Oneworld Explo - FlyerTalk Forums

Gotcha
 

Yes, thanks. I'm subscribed to both, and will post questions to the appropriate thread ( I hope).

I've started playing around with the Circle Pacific and I get all types of errors. Change dates, change cities.
Can someone give me an example of a valid routing so I can see what is "Valid". Crossing the Pacific and the Atlantic, only once each. Can you stop in Europe? In the description below aren't you essentially going RTW if you have cross both the ATL and PAC? whats the difference?

Circle Pacific

Multi-Continent Air Travel

If you prefer to visit multiple continents without actually flying all the way around the world, our Circle Pacific fare lets you explore the continents that border the Pacific Ocean. You can choose to start and finish your journey in one of the following continents:

• Asia (Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam)
  
• Southwest Pacific (Australia and New Zealand)
  
• North America (USA and Canada)
  
• South America
  

This is the thread for discussion on the oneworld Explorer, not the Global Explorer or Circle Pacific fares.

The on-line booking tool can handle the two RTW products - Oneworld Explorer and Global Explorer.
It cannot handle the Circle Pacific Explorer.

There is no dedicated thread in the forum for the Circle Pacific Explorer. Its basics are:

• Three Flavours - 3-continent 22,000 miles, 3-continent 26,000 miles, and 4-continent 29,000 miles
• Cannot include the Caribbean, cannot include western Asia
• Restricted number of stopovers allowed
• 3-continent itineraries must include Nth America, South West Pacific and Asia
• 4-continent itineraries must also include South America

The rule sheet is available on the Oneworld web site

stan1162 , eznh has provided some good points.

For such as this you need to know where to start. In most cases a DONE4 gives better bang for your buck - but that is somewhat dependent on where you actually want to go/see. For now, lets look at the costs of this OneWorld Explorer four continent fare which varies in base cost depending on the country of origin.

Starting in the USA has a base cost of USD12.2K, Canada USD10.5K per person. If you can fly to Oslo and start there the base cost is USD5.1K. Or Japan at USD6K (It can be useful to start outside the continent of residence - this can be wangled to give a breather mid trip.) See here for contemporary base price examples:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36757225-post2617.html

It is not unreasonable to expect to be able to comfortably locate oneself to a start point for a price point much less than the fare difference in the cost of starting in North America.

Thank you all!
 

Thanks to all who have answered. I'll be back after I do LOTS of work and try to come back with very specific questions. I think I have a much better understanding thanks to all of you!

Indeed. And not only North America. Some years back Mrs999 and I did a DONE5 from JNB. Even adding in the cost of the separate return ticket (also in business class) from/to our home in Finland, we paid considerably less than we would have for a DONE4 from HEL.

We have started our DONE3 ex-CAI.
Two travellers on the same booking.

Can we sever this booking? Consequences?

(for convenience - maybe different travel dates)

If one of the two passengers misses a segment, what happens to the other passenger's remaining segments?

We have started our DONE3 booked with AA RTW Desk.
I received yet another itinerary change which allows us to 'rebook once'.
Previously, I have not had need to change what was offered.

What are the rebooking options?

Specifically, DFW-SFO has changed enough to give the rebooking option.
Can we ask for something like DFW-YUL instead (assuming we have an available surface segment to get to MIA)?

Currently, we have BKK-HKG-DPS-KUL-NRT-HNL-ANC-LAX-SJO-DFW-SFO-MIA-DOH-AMM-CAI remaining on the ticket.

Recognizing that we'll have to pay a change fee(s), can we change DFW-SFO-MIA to DFW-YUL-MIA?
And can we just ask to dump AMM-CAI from the ticket (to have an extra segment if needed)?

AA did this to us during an RTW when they bumped us to a flight where only one seatwas available in business (they waitlisted the other pax). We got through the rest of the journey ok, but if there is a configuration change or seating gets bumped, you will have two separate bookings so it can be a bit messy.

That would be very helpful indeed - and especially it would be good to know how TAs handle midjourney problems. I wouldn’t want to be stuck at some remote airport with a cancelled flight and an agent telling me there is nothing they can do until the TA wakes up. Nor do I want to pay $100 per person if I need to reschedule a flight (as some TAs seem to have in their pricing) or ($100 + $125)*pax for rerouting a DONEx.

(Mods - this thread is getting rather messy with overlapping questions - should we break this into a separate thread?)

How to handle midjourney issues, you login, try to fix if help needed call the specific airline (chatbox). We use only Amadeus for RTW's, easier GDS and majority is using it.
Most check-in / airline agents have no ticketing experience, most of them only receive basic training these days (worked 21 years at Amsterdam Schiphol for various airlines as ticketing agent).


Our office is 24/7 available.
Change fee EUR45.00 per person plus the change fee of the airline.

After office hours from 0530pm till 0930pm fee is EUR25.00 per booking.
From 0930pm till 0600am it is EUR50.00 per booking.

Hope this helps.

Regards

We had to do this. It is a lot of time on the phone with the AA desk to sever and makes every change slower. It also lead to our seats being apart on most flights (it was RTW1, so didn’t have status yet). But no cost, and no other negative repercussions.

Hi all, firsttimer here, but long-term traveller!

Firstly I wanted to thank those who have posted in this thread to date- its so useful and much appreciated!

I'm based in London and I'm still trying to get my head around the rules around the DONE4 stopover rules if I start in ARN. In particular the 4 segents within europe that I believe is within the rules, but the booking tool isnt playing ball and I'm wondering what I've misunderstood..?

My current routing is: ARN-MADx-BOG-surface-BAQ-MIA-LAX-HND-BKK-CMB-BOM-LHR then LHR-NBO-LHRx-ARN

Q1: The online booking tool is not allowing me to book LGW-RAK-LGW In between BOM and NBO, and the round the world desk have given me the explation of 'backtracking' even though its still within Europe/North Africa. But I thought it was possible to take up to 4 intra continental sectors, and I havent taken one? They have proposed just using a one way LGW-RAK and leaving the return out.

Q2: My second question is why I'm not allowed to officially stop at LHR on my last return flight from NBO. I'd prefer to be able to do this so I dont have luggage issues, plus it would be nice to use my final LHR ARN at a later date for my next DONE4!

Q3: My final question asks for your experience with stopping over on a transfer flight. I can 'downgrade' the fare to a DGLOB34 and save myself $900, but this would involve losing the idea of RAK altogether, and turning BKK-CMB-BKK into a through transfer BKK-CMBx-BKK to sneak under the 34000 mileage mark. Do people have any experience of trying to change this once the journey has departed? If I date changed one of those sectors, would the systems flag up the extra mileage?

Many thanks in advance for your kind help!

Best wishes

Useful to have concrete info on what's typical for a ta, thanks! So the change admin fee (ie airline charges on top of course) here is:
* 45 euro 6am to 5.30pm (mon-fri i assume)
* 25 euro 5.30pm to 9.30pm (mon-fri i assume)
* 50 euro at other times
(Central European Time presumably)

So that would presumably be the costs for changing a few flight dates (at the same time) on an xONEx.

It is less clear than that because se some of those numbers seem to be per person and some per booking (PNR)…?

Hello zoombee,


Will give better and clearer overview later today.

regards.

Trying to reschedule a DONE4 flight but do not see D fare class for my desired dates. I believe I can downgrade to B (economy) for this flight. Is it also possible to downgrade to Premium Economy,JAL W fare class?

After I posted this I noticed the available fare classes listed in the user guide and it seems that JAL Prem Economy is E. Anyone have any luck in getting something other than the official fare class?

Have you flown the first flight?
How far ahead are the flights you want to change?
Ticktet issue by which airline?

Guide explicitly says JL E to be booked for prem econ.
You are hoping some agent will break the rules for you.. why? Presumably for better mileage earning?

Last flight. Have been monitoring for 2 weeks. I do have a reservation to finish the RTW but not on preferred date.

The GUIDE isn't the definitive answer. I started in Tokyo yet was able to transit through Japan with flight # 12 which the GUIDE states isn't possible, but AA RTW desk had no problems with booking and then rebooking the itin. This was for voluntary changes, not IRROPS.Look at my previous posts for details, which surprised the experts on this board.

In cases where it is explicit, I think the rules do provide the definitive answer.

That said, I'm not aware of a rule prohibiting a "transit through Japan with flight # 12" when starting in Tokyo as you state, so perhaps the rules I refer to are out of date. (I am aware of a rule about transiting the country of origin, but it doesn't refer to Japan or a specific flight.)

In any event, what may well have happened to you having a ticket issued that is outside the rules doesn't take away from the fact that when something is explicitly prohibited or provided for, that is indeed the rule. Getting lucky doesn't somehow negate the rules carte blanche.

Am looking to start a DONE5 trip next Jan which will extend for several months. After the first 4 segments ending March 31st 2026 then the rest of the itinerary is fairly flexible.

In reading the rules it seems cost for a change (transaction) is $125 USD so it seems there is no way to avoid paying this as not possible to book more than 12 months in advance (or is there a way of putting dates in the booking more than 12 months subject to availability).

If not then I will wait until the end of March to ensure I get the flights required for activities planned and then I can do a bulk transaction, maybe in Sept, for the rest of the Itin and pay the $125 USD once