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The Oneworld Explorer User Guide

Old Feb 8, 2020, 1:07 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: Mwenenzi



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Welcome to the Oneworld Explorer User Guide
Either: click on one of the icons, or
Select a Menu Option:


Menu Options
  1. Introduction
  2. Ticket Basics
  3. Ticket Rules
  4. Ticket Cost
  5. Ticket Purchase
  6. Ticket Changes
  7. Planning Tools
  8. Terminology
  9. Ticket Tricks
  10. FAQ





INTRODUCTION
This wiki describes the basics of the Oneworld Alliances popular RTW ticket - the Oneworld Explorer. Oneworld has another RTW ticket, the Global Explorer, and Star Alliance and Skyteam also have similar products these tickets limit the number of flights to 16 and have maximum mileage limitations, whereas the Oneworld Explorer has the same limit of 16 flights but has no mileage limit (which is probably why it is so popular!)

The wiki is not exhaustive but does cover all the major topics that you need to know if you are thinking about going RTW on this ticket
The FAQ section at the end answers some questions that newbies often have

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TICKET BASICS
You must circle the globe, either westbound or eastbound, crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

You are allowed a maximum of 16 flights and can fly with any of the airlines in the Oneworld Alliance, plus their affiliate airlines

You can purchase the ticket from one of the airlines, or through a travel agent, or by using the Oneworld Explorer on-line booking tool

You can change or cancel your ticket, before or after departure (fees may apply)

From first flight to last flight, you have one year to complete the journey

The total price of a ticket depends on the number of continents, the cabin class, the starting point, and the actual flights you take (for calculating arrival/departure charges and airline surcharges)
Some ballpark prices (as at January 2020) are:
  • 2,500 (USD3,300) for a 3 continent economy class ticket starting in the U.K.
  • 7,000 (USD8,000) for a 4 continent business class ticket starting in a euro zone country
  • 1,500,000 (USD14,000) for a 5 continent first class ticket starting in Japan
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TICKET RULES
This section identifies the main rules of the ticket, which are those to do with how you can move from continent to continent and also within a continent
At the end of the section is a link to the full rule sheet on the Oneworld web site

The ticket rules divide up the world into three Tariff Conferences (TC) each having two continents; as follows:
TC1 = North and South America
TC2 = Europe/Middle East and Africa
TC3 = Asia and South West Pacific (SWP)

Notes:
Europe/Middle East includes the countries of North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan)
Russia is split between Europe/Middle East and Asia (the split is at the Ural Mountains),

Main Routing Rules:
  • You must visit all three Tariff Conferences you will of course be starting in one of them, so you must visit the other two in order (travelling either eastbound or westbound), and complete your RTW journey by returning to your starting TC; generally you must return to your starting country (there are exceptions - see More Rule Details below for more information)
  • Within a TC, you can visit either or both continents
  • Within a continent you can travel about in any direction you like
  • You are limited to four flight segments per continent (6 for North America) subject to an overall maximum of 16 segments in the whole itinerary
  • You cannot travel via your point of origin
  • You cannot return to your country of origin until the end
    (exception: if you start in the U.S.A. then you are allowed to make one transit there, but without stopover)
  • You cannot fly directly more than once between two cities in the same direction
  • There are restrictions on trans-continental flights in Australia and in North America (including to/from Alaska and Hawaii) see More Rule Details below
  • You are allowed to visit each northern hemisphere continent twice, but each southern hemisphere continent only once see More Rule Details below

Segments
There are two types of segment flight and surface

A flight segment is a direct flight between two airports (it may be a non-stop flight, or it may stop somewhere on the way for example BAs London to Sydney flight stops in Singapore)

A surface segment is when you land at one airport and later depart from another airport. The airports may be close to each other (for example the 11 miles between New York's La Guardia and JFK airports) or distant (for example Chicago and LA - for someone whos going to drive the more than 2,000 miles all the way of Route 66)
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  • You are allowed a maximum of 16 segments
  • Within each continent, you are allowed up to 4 flight segments (6 for North America)
  • You must fly across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans - surface segments are not allowed
    (exception: for itineraries starting in SWP one crossing can be a surface segment)
  • You are allowed a surface segment between your point of origin and your final destination, which does not count toward the 16 maximum allowed see More Rule Details below

Stopovers
You have a stopover when there is more than 24 hours between the scheduled arrival time of one flight and the scheduled departure time of the next flight (if you spend 24 hours or less between flights, that is called a Transit)
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  • You must have at least two stopovers in your itinerary
  • You are allowed only two stopovers in your continent of origin (each can be a surface segment; you can still have the maximum allowed number of flight segments in the continent )

There is no restriction on multiple stopovers at one place (other than the point of origin). It is possible to stopover in the same place up to four times (five in North America)

Ticket Validity
From first flight to last flight, you have one year to complete the journey
Also, airline general conditions of carriage allow you book up to one year in advance
So, in theory, you can book an itinerary that will start in one years time and end in two years time
BUT airline booking systems can only hold booking that are up to about one year in advance. However there is way around this problem see the Ticket Tricks section below

More Rule Details
This section provides more detail on:
  • Restrictions on trans-continental flights in Australia
  • Restrictions on trans-continental flights in North America, including Alaska and Hawaii
  • Surface segment between point of origin and final destination
  • Second visits to northern hemisphere continents

Restrictions on trans-continental flights in Australia
The relevant rule for Australia is:
4(l) Within Australia ‐ only one nonstop/single plane service flight is permitted between the following points:
BNE/CBR/CNS/SYD/MEL ‐ PER
CBR/MEL/SYD ‐ DRW
BNE/MEL/SYD ‐ BME
BNE/MEL/SYD ‐ KTA
EXCEPTION
  1. No restriction between SYD/MEL ‐ PER for passengers originating in PER when in conjunction with travel to/from JNB/SHA
    • No restriction between SYD/MEL ‐ PER for passengers originating in New Zealand when in conjunction with travel to/from JNB
The online booking tool interprets this rule to mean you are allowed only one of the flights depicted on this map

However, there have been recent (2019) reports here on FT that some airline telephone agents are allowing one flight to or from each of the west coast cities (subject to the overall limit of four flight segments for the continent)

Restrictions on trans-continental flights in North America, including Alaska and Hawaii
The relevant rules for North America are:
4(k) Within the USA/Canada only one nonstop or single plane service transcontinental flight permitted. A transcontinental flight is defined as travel between a city in column A and a city in column B.
and:
4(b) Travel must be in a continuous forward direction between TC1 ‐ TC2 ‐ TC3.
Backtracking within a continent is permitted except as follows:
Backtracking between Hawaii and other points in North America is not permitted.
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Surface segment between point of origin and final destination
The relevant rule is:
4(c) Travel may originate at any point for which fares are published and must terminate at the same point, except that origin‐destination surface segments are permitted as follows:
a. within the country of origin
b. within the Middle East
c. between the United States and Canada
d. between HKG and China
e. between Malaysia and SIN
f. within Africa
g. between Maldives and Sri Lanka/India
Really, it is a bit confusing to call this a surface segment; the more usual phrase is "open jaw at origin"

Second visits to northern hemisphere continents
The relevant rule is:
4(e) Only one intercontinental departure and one intercontinental arrival permitted in each continent except as follows:
  1. Two permitted in North America.
    • Two permitted in Asia when one is for travel between the Southwest Pacific and Europe/Middle East.
      • Two permitted in Europe/Middle East for travel to/from/via Africa. If travel is to/from Europe in both directions, itinerary may not include Mauritius/South Africa.
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Because of the requirement in Rule 4(b) (Travel must be in a continuous forward direction between TC1 ‐ TC2 ‐ TC3), the only way to have a second visit (i.e. a second intercontinental departure and a second intercontinental arrival) to a continent is to travel down to its southern hemisphere neighbour and then return

You can stopover in the northern continent both before and after you travel south

For North America there are no additional rules

For Asia, to have a second visit you are also required to travel between Asia and Europe/Middle East and what that means is that you cannot travel between Asia and Africa

For Europe/Middle East, the continent is divided into two zones Europe Zone and Middle East Zone, as shown (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia are in the Europe Zone; Libya, Egypt and Sudan are in the Middle East Zone)

The rule is that if both your intercontinental flights are between Africa and the Europe Zone, then South Africa and Mauritius cannot be included in the itinerary
Fortunately, Qatar Airways serves many destinations in Africa from its hub in Qatar, Middle East

Further information on rules
This section has not covered every single rule in the rule sheet for the Oneworld Explorer ticket
See the full rule sheet on the Oneworld web site for more information
Go to Oneworld Around the World
Scroll down to the Frequently Asked Questions
Click on "How is my fare calculated? "
Click on the oneworld Explorer link

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TICKET COST
The ticket cost is made up of two components:
- the base fare, and
- the add-ons

Base Fares
As an example, here are the base fares for Canada (provided by an FTer)

Base fares vary by cabin class, number of continents and starting country

The highest class of all the flights determines the class charged for whole journey. So if only one flight in your itinerary has first class and you want to fly that flight in first class then you must purchase a first-class ticket (and be downgraded on all the other flights on the ticket). You cannot purchase mixed cabin tickets. There are no Premium Economy fares. If you are purchasing an economy ticket, you can pay extra to fly individual flight segments in premium economy.

Each continent you visit is counted, including your continent of origin
A continent is counted even if all you do is change planes there; even if your plane merely lands there (flying London-Sydney your plane will stop at Singapore, so you pay for Asia)
And, in the case of Asia, you pay even if you fly non-stop between Europe/Middle East and South West Pacific (say on the London-Perth non-stop Qantas flight)

Oneworld does not publish the base fares
However, if you search the Oneworld forum here on FT you will find some fares posted, especially for lower cost starting points
Ask the friendly FT community if you cannot find the fares for a country you are interested in (some have access to systems that show the fares)

Add-Ons
The add-ons are the various taxes, fees and charges added on by governments and airlines
How much you will pay for your particular itinerary will depend on which airports you fly into and out of, and which airlines you use
For planning purposes, estimate 10-15% of the base fare for add-ons.

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TICKET PURCHASE
The ways to purchase a ticket are:
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  • Purchase directly from a Oneworld Airline
    It is best to have done your homework and be able to spoon-feed your itinerary to the agent (for each flight: date, origin, destination, flight number).

    The agent will check there are seats available in your booking class and that your itinerary complies with all the rules of the ticket. The end result of this step will be that you have a booking in the airlines system; you should receive an email confirmation of this check this carefully: that your name is correct, and all the flights are as you wanted

    The booking will be sent to the airlines fares team which will double-check its validity and price it up

    Once you have paid, a ticket will be issued and emailed to you - again, check this carefully
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  • Purchase from a Travel Agent
    This process is very similar to purchasing direct from an airline. The agent will send the booking to the airline for pricing, and once you have paid the airline will issue your ticket
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  • Use the on-line booking tool
    The online tool has been around for about 10 years, but it has always been flaky and as the fare rules have changed over time, it has not kept pace
    But when it works, it works, particularly for simple itineraries

    Generally, the ticket will be issued by whichever airline flies your first segment.
    The first carrier cannot be Qatar Airways.
    Depending on airline, you either pay in the tool or you will be given a reference number to pay by phone.

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TICKET CHANGES
You can make changes to your ticket at any time - either before you start your journey or once you have started
If you are adding or changing flights, then there needs to be seats available in your booking class on the new flights
The airline or agent making the changes for you may charge a service fee
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  • Ticketed point changes are changes to the list of airports in the itinerary dropping or adding points (including adding or removing connections) or reordering the list. Depending on the airline and potentially the specific agent, changing stopovers to transits or vice versa may also be considered a re-route.

    The change fee is USD125 (one fee for all changes made at the same time)

    Generally, the add-on charges will be recalculated which may result in additional fees to pay or a refund of fees already paid
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  • Provided ticketed points are unchanged, there is no change fee for changes you make; however there may still be a service fee.

    Examples of such changes are changing the date of a flight, or changing from one airline to another that also flies between the two points (say from BA to AA between London Heathrow and New York JFK)
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  • If you are making the changes before departure, then changes to ticketed points or to the first segment (even just a simple date change), will result in a re-price if the fare has increased
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  • You can increase the number of continents in your itinerary and/or upgrade the class of travel there is no change fee but you must of course pay the recalculated fare. There is no refund for downgrading (and you must pay the change fee).
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  • There is a fee to cancel the ticket, which you can do at any time
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PLANNING TOOLS
The following tools have proved useful, to varying degrees for planning Oneworld Explorer journeys
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  • Oneworlds See Where We Fly tool allows you to see all Oneworld destinations and what flights there are to/from each, and between any two airports - it works well
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  • Oneworlds Plan and Book Your Itinerary on-line booking tool should be the primary, and maybe only, tool needed

    It is intended to allow entry of complete itineraries and take a user right through to booking and paying.

    Unfortunately, it is very buggy and poorly maintained - so buggy theres an FT Thread on it (xONEx Tool Bugs Thread)
    The biggest problems are that it has not been kept up to date with rule changes, and frustratingly the tool can just hang (forever), especially when you ask it to price your itinerary

    When it works, it works OK - you can enter your itinerary, it will display a picklist of flights for each segment and when youve chosen them all, you can request the price (it will itemise all the add-ons) and then you can pay
    Just be cautious with regard to the rules; it will sometimes flag an error where there is no error; if in doubt ask for advice here on FT
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  • The Great Circle Mapper tool is great for visualising your itinerary; and you can copy and print your final itinerary (so you can pin it up at work and make your colleagues jealous)
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  • Subscription services. If you are getting serious about planning your RTW journey you might consider two on-line tools - KVS and ExpertFlyer, which have lots of features including fare look-up, timetables, seat availability.
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  • The Matrix and Google Flights can be used to check flight schedules and to see the +++ add-on charges for individual flights.

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TERMINOLOGY

Oneworld Explorer Specific
  • OWE acronym for One World Explorer
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  • xONEx, LONE4, AONE6, DONE3, DONEx, xONE5 and their variants
    All tickets have what is called a Fare Basis, which identifies the fare in airline computer systems. The fare basis code is a string of letters and numbers
    OWE fare basis codes are all five characters long - the letters ONE in the middle, a single digit at the end (specifying the number of continents), and a single letter at the beginning (called the Booking Class) specifying the cabin class A for First, D for Business and L for Economy)

    So when someone posts about a DONE4, that is shorthand for a 4-continent Oneworld Explorer in Business Class; LONEx is referring to Economy Class Oneworld Explorers in general; xONEx refers to all Oneworld Explorers
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  • SWP is shorthand for the South West Pacific continent

General
These general terms are often used in discussing xONEx tickets
  • Booking Class - tbc
  • +++ and ai are used to indicate if a fare is the base fare ($500+++) or the all-in fare($650ai) (+++ meaning that the add-ons need to be added on)
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TICKET TRICKS
Booking in Advance
The rules allow you to book a ticket one year in advance, for an itinerary where the last flight is one year after the first flight (so two years after booking)
But airline booking systems cannot book flights that far in advance

The trick to booking such itineraries is to make use of the fact that date changes are free
So use dummy dates for the later flights in your itinerary; you can change them later to the actual dates you want

Ways to Reduce Costs
Start Somewhere Less Expensive
Fares vary by cabin class, number of continents and starting country. So check out the fares from nearby countries. Of course, here on FT there are posts identifying the known less expensive starting countries. As at Jan-2020 these are:
Europe: Norway
Asia: Japan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
North America: Canada
Africa: South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique
If you live in another country, then you would need to factor in the positioning costs to get to a low fare country to start the RTW and to get home from the final destination. As a concrete example - the fare differences between Canada and the U.S. vary from USD750 for a LONE3 through to USD4,000 for an AONE6

Where there are multiple carriers flying the same route look at the surcharges for each, they can vary a bit

The total government charge to land in a country can be quite different to the total charge to leave that country. The notorious example is the U.K. no charges at all to land there, but significant charges to leave from there, especially if flying long-haul in a premium cabin so if you are intending to fly in and out of Europe then fly into the U.K and out from somewhere else.

Avoid Short Flight Segments
16 flights may seem like a lot, but when you start planning your trip you will likely find that 16 is not enough!
If this happens then look at your short-haul flights; places such as Europe are easy to get around by train save your flight segments for those long-haul flights.
Low cost carriers are another option; they are good for S.E. Asia.
Also look at your first and last flights. If they are short flights, probably getting you to a major hub for its long-haul flights, then consider making your own way to and from the hub that way you will free up two segments to use elsewhere

Avoid Short Surface Segments
Sometimes when you are planning an itinerary, you end up with pesky little surface segments, such as LGA-JFK, LHR-LGW, which waste a whole segment of your allowed 16 segments.
The trick is to find somewhere in between such that the surface segment is eliminated.
For example, you want to fly from Atlanta to New York and then fly transatlantic from New York. The problem is that all the AA flights into New York are in to LGA, and none of the Oneworld transatlantic flights leave from LGA. The solution is to fly from Atlanta to somewhere that has flights into JFK for example Chicago, Dallas or Miami. This will eliminate the surface segment and give you an extra stopover!

Break the RTW into Two (or more) Portions
You might not have the time to do a complete RTW in one go. If so, it is possible to break it into two or more separate trips. You can purchase a return ticket home from some intermediate point, or you can start somewhere other than home and have a stopover at home partway through the RTW

Use all 16 Segments
It is possible to have un-used segments at the end of your trip.
Consider someone starting a 3-continent trip from the US 3 intercontinental flights plus 4 flights in Europe and another 4 in Asia all totals 11 flights, leaving 5 unused!
OK you might use a couple getting to and from a gateway city to leave/come back to Nth America still leaves 3 unused.

So, you could use those spare segments as surface segments somewhere, or you could have a holiday in the US; heres the trick:
  • Remember that you can have two stopovers in your continent of origin and can fly the allowed number of flight segments (6 for Nth America but limited to 16 segments on the entire itinerary)
  • Remember also that you cannot travel via your point of origin
  • Lets say your hometown is NYC dont start from there! Start from say Boston or Philadelphia; that way after going around the world, you can stopover in NYC which will be the first of your two allowed stopovers in Nth America.
  • Then later, but still within the one year allowed by the ticket, use the left-over segments to have the second stopover somewhere else in the US (Miami say) and to fly back to NYC at the end.
  • This way, apart from the +++ for the final flights, you get a free round trip! (Note: there is no restriction on stopping over at your final destination in the example that means you can stopover in NYC, even though it is also your final destination)
  • If you have 3 segments to play with, then the west coast is reachable (remember you are allowed only one transcontinental flight, so you need three flights - say JFK-oLAX-xDFW-JFK (o means stopover, x means transit))
The whole thing can be done in reverse free US trip first (starting say BOS-oLAX-xCHI-JFK) and then go around the world, ending in New York

So, that can work well for someone originating in a large country such as the U.S. But what about starting in a small country such as the U.K.? The trick here is to start in a nearby country say France, which will then be the country of origin and so after the RTW (ending with a stopover in London) the extra segments can be used for flights and a second stopover in Europe/Middle East, ending in France.
Our New Yorker can play this trick too by starting in Canada the extra flights can be to a North American destination outside the U.S. (Bermuda say). An added benefit is that the itinerary can still end in New York

For northern hemisphere starting points, there is one more trick possible to make effective use of leftover segments a return trip to the neighbouring southern hemisphere continent. This will add a continent to the itinerary, which is not free but might be cost-effective compared to purchasing a completely separate ticket to go down there. So our New Yorker can start in Canada, travel around the world ending up back in New York for a stopover, and later have a trip down to Rio returning to New York after it.

Five (or even six) holidays!
This is going over the top, but it is possible! At least for those located in the northern hemisphere (those of us located south of the equator miss out on this ☹)
  • Take a positioning flight to another continent and start from there (you will get to visit this continent twice, which may drive your choice of starting continent)
  • When you return to your home continent take separate trips:
    • 2 return trips in your home continent using the 4 flights allowed per continent (3 return trips using 6 flights allowed in North America)
    • a return trip to your southern hemisphere neighbour
    • complete your RTW trip by returning to your starting point
Heres an example of such a trip - for a Londoner:
Position to Sri Lanka (one of the low-cost starting countries); start an xONE5 from CMB
  1. CMB-NRT-JFK-MBJ-MIA-LAX-LHR
  2. LHR-TLV-LHR
  3. LHR-RAK-LHR
  4. LHR-SEZ-LHR
  5. LHR-MEL-AKL-HKG-MLE; then re-position home from The Maldives
Of course for some people 5 holidays in one year might seem a bit OTT😊


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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Ticket rule questions

Ticket cost questions

Ticket purchase questions

Ticket change questions

Terminology questions

Planning tools questions

Ticket tricks questions

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Change Log
Date User Handle Change Description
2021-May-10 pandaperth "one visit to ANC" etc changed to "one visit to State of Alaska" etc see Changes to the xONEx Rule Sheet
2021-May-10 pandaperth Updated the instructions to go to the full rule sheet on the oneworld web site
2021-Jun-01 pandaperth Rule 4(k) - Inserted new table of west coast and east coast states
2023-Nov-20 anabalism - added text noting that changing stops to connections and vice versa may or may not be considered a route change.
2024-Jan-18 Mwenenzi - formatting




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The Oneworld Explorer User Guide

Old Aug 15, 2022, 7:53 am
  #31  
 
Join Date: Aug 2022
Posts: 3
Whos responsible for cancelled flight

I noticed that one of my flights with AA/AS from Heathrow to San Diego (via Seattle) in November, the AA leg was cancelled recently without me getting any notifications. I contacted MH yesterday as the first leg of my itinerary is with them, and the MH agent told me to contact Oneworld directly as they couldnt make any changes to non MH flight. As Oneworld doesnt seem to have any direct contact number I tried calling AA to see if they could help. The AA agent insisted that she could see the flight and its not canceled but she couldnt tell why Im no longer booked on that flight. She said there is nothing she could do as the ticket is not issued by them.

I tried MH again today and its been a nightmare dealing with them. I called 5 times and each time I got cut off after waiting ages for the agent to come back to me. Most of them seemed to have no clue about the RTW product. The last person I spoke to said that I might need to pay extra charges and then disappeared for 30 minutes to investigate. She then came back and said that the earliest flight she could find without any extra charges is the same AA flight 8 days later. She also said who ever issued me the ticket made a mistake as the ticket shouldnt have been issued by MH, which I know is completely bonkers as its clearly stated by Oneworld the airline that flies the first leg is the issuing airline,

My understanding of the fare rule is that any changes to flights shouldnt incur extra charges as long as it doesnt require route change. Or is changing the transit point considered as routing change?

I can see 16 flight options on that day with either BA or AA via different transit point on the Oneworld planning tool but only one BA flight (AA code share) that transits via Seattle. So if I choose the AA code share flight I shouldnt have to pay any fees
or fare difference?

Also isnt AA responsible for finding me an alternative flight since they cancelled my original flight?
Pharaohnz is offline  
Old Aug 15, 2022, 3:17 pm
  #32  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 20,923
Pharaohnz Welcome to FT

Originally Posted by Pharaohnz
I noticed that one of my flights with AA/AS from Heathrow to San Diego (via Seattle) in November, the AA leg was cancelled recently without me getting any notifications. I contacted MH yesterday as the first leg of my itinerary is with them, and the MH agent told me to contact Oneworld directly as they couldn’t make any changes to non MH flight. As Oneworld doesn’t seem to have any direct contact number I tried calling AA to see if they could help. The AA agent insisted that she could see the flight and it’s not canceled but she couldn’t tell why I’m no longer booked on that flight. She said there is nothing she could do as the ticket is not issued by them.

I tried MH again today and it’s been a nightmare dealing with them. I called 5 times and each time I got cut off after waiting ages for the agent to come back to me. Most of them seemed to have no clue about the RTW product. The last person I spoke to said that I might need to pay extra charges and then disappeared for 30 minutes to investigate. She then came back and said that the earliest flight she could find without any extra charges is the same AA flight 8 days later. She also said who ever issued me the ticket made a mistake as the ticket shouldn’t have been issued by MH, which I know is completely bonkers as it’s clearly stated by Oneworld the airline that flies the first leg is the issuing airline,

My understanding of the fare rule is that any changes to flights shouldn’t incur extra charges as long as it doesn’t require route change. Or is changing the transit point considered as routing change?

I can see 16 flight options on that day with either BA or AA via different transit point on the Oneworld planning tool but only one BA flight (AA code share) that transits via Seattle. So if I choose the AA code share flight I shouldn’t have to pay any fees or fare difference?

Also isn’t AA responsible for finding me an alternative flight since they cancelled my original flight?
The full route of your *ONE* ticket would help. [assuming it is a OW *ONE* ticket]
*ONE* tickets do not have transits points. Just a series of flights. Guess you had LHR-SEA(AA) and SEA-SJC(AS). Changing SEA would be a reroute. An involuntary change can be treated different by some airlines/phone agents, as to cost and applying all the rules. For a seat to be available on a reroute or reschedule(date) need to be in the same fare class (L D A). In the past AA have had agents who were good & knowledgeable about *ONE* rules.
Good luck.

Last edited by Mwenenzi; Aug 15, 2022 at 4:05 pm
Mwenenzi is offline  
Old Aug 15, 2022, 4:27 pm
  #33  
 
Join Date: Aug 2022
Posts: 3
Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
Pharaohnz Welcome to FT

The full route of your *ONE* ticket would help. [assuming it is a OW *ONE* ticket]
*ONE* tickets do not have transits points. Just a series of flights. Guess you had LHR-SEA(AA) and SEA-SJC(AS). Voluntary changing SEA would be a reroute. An involuntary change can be treated different by some airlines/phone agents. For a seat to be available on a reroute or reschedule(date) need to be in the same fare class (L D A). In the past AA have had agents who were good & knowledgeable about *ONE* rules.
Good luck.
Thanks and yes you are correct my ticket is LONE4. I wasnt aware that there is no transit point with this type of ticket as the fare calculation in the e-ticket shows this which seems to suggest that they price transit differently than a stopover ? MEL MH X/KUL MH TPE JL TYO JL LON AA X/SEA AS SAN AS ORL AA DFW QF MEL

Even if there is no transit point with *ONE* ticket surely MH should still be able to change the LON/SEA leg from AA155 to BA49 on 22 Nov if I can see it as available on the Oneworld planner?

Also since its AA that cancelled the flight is it true that they cant do anything since the ticket is not issued by them or its all luck of the draw which agent you speak to?
Pharaohnz is offline  
Old Aug 17, 2022, 2:52 pm
  #34  
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The route-date can effect real taxes that are paid to governments~regulatory authorities. For example less than 24hrs between can have less taxes. The UK APD is a well know difference. So need a tax recalculation. But that does not change *ONE* ticket routing rules.

For AA155 to BA49 date/flight number change, on the same LHR-SEA segment, needs to be L class available. Seen reports some airlines (agents) want the $125 change fee for this. But some years ago I did a similar change at no cost. I would try AA again, as you have other AA segments. For AS *ONE* have read QF does the ticketing. But many QF phone agents are hopeless now, and would have little to no experience with *ONE* tickets.

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=MEL-KUL...=bm&PW=3&DU=mi
You are only using 9 segments. Years ago I did a *ONE* that had a 9 month "stopover" in MEL. Basically got a trip to DRW for the cost of cheapie MEL-SYD & ADL-MEL flights. The *ONE* started in SYD and ended in ADL 363 days later.

Last edited by Mwenenzi; Aug 17, 2022 at 3:08 pm
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Old Aug 17, 2022, 6:46 pm
  #35  
 
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I tried calling AA again and the agent said she had to check with their resolutions desk. The answer was as expected that they couldn't do anything since the ticket was not issued by them. I don't know if calling their US number would make any difference as the AUS number seems to always go to their call centre in the Philippines, and the agents there either have no clue about *ONE* or not willing to help. I saw on the forum before that some people were able to get assistance from AA RTW desk but I don't know how you can contact them directly or if the team still exists.

I'm now waiting for MH to get back to me. I had to call their elite hotline as the normal helpdesk agents all said they had no access to the system to view *ONE* availability. Even with the elite hotline agent I had to be quite persistent to get anywhere. First I was told that since my booking was done online I need to manage it through their website and she couldn't change anything for me. After telling her that their website doesn't let me change flights, she then said because only the AA flight was cancelled I have to stick with AS from SEA - SAN, and there is no AA flight to SEA until 30th Nov. I told her I could see 15 other flights on 22nd on the Oneworld website for LON - SAN but she said she couldn't see any on her end. After a bit more back ane forth she finally could see those flights but since these are BA flights and not transiting through SEA she couldn't book any of those for me. I told here the BA flights are actually all code shared with AA so couldn't she just book it under AA. She said she has no authority to book code share flights and had to wait for her manager. She got back half a day later and asked for couple more days as they need to pass this to another department to liase with other airlines to see if they can get the seats and there is no guarantee.

I wish I could use up all 16 segments but I will be travelling with a toddler and newborn. I only booked *ONE* because I have to go to DFW and flights are ridiculously expensive from AUS to DFW at 2/3 the price of *ONE*

I have noticed that the base fare for *LONE4* has already gone up by AUD$300 this month since I booked it. Otherwise I would probably be better off just cancel the booking and rebook with another airline.
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Old Aug 17, 2022, 8:17 pm
  #36  
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The problem you have is the lack of detailed knowledge about *ONE* t&c's by the phone agents. Far more common post CV19 with most(all?) airlines.

Changing LHR-SEA-SAN to LHR-SAN (non stop) would be a reissue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Di...tional_Airport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattl...tional_Airport

Certainly is past times could book/change prime-codeshare flights on *ONE*, without cost. The earnings on A D L fare buckets could be different depending on the marketing carrier(flight number) and frequent flyer program. Was therefore possible to increase ff earnings by a change prime-codeshare flight.

Last edited by Mwenenzi; Aug 17, 2022 at 8:46 pm
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Old Nov 19, 2022, 1:09 am
  #37  
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Intending to Revise the User Guide WIKI

Hi all
It's been nearly three years since I wrote the user guide wiki
Time for a review I think
Nothing major (the rules haven't changed), but just a tidy up, correct a few minor errors, express some aspects more clearly, and the like
Comments/suggestions are welcome
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Old Nov 19, 2022, 3:58 am
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by pandaperth
Comments/suggestions are welcome
Introduction:
You may wish to modify comments about other alliance products as SkyTeam RTW has been suspended for a while now: https://www.skyteam.com/en/round-the-world-planner

Ticket Basics:
Update January 2020 ticket prices to current prices and perhaps additional/different originating points (this one's probably already on your list)
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Old Dec 24, 2022, 12:55 am
  #39  
 
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Last flight

7. MAXIMUM STAY
Return travel from the last stopover point must commence no later than 12 months after departure.

Hmmm ... 'no later than 12 months'. What does this mean in practice? If my first flight was 1 June, can the last flight be the following 1 June or does it have to be 31 May? (I've cut it close before but never this close.) TIA.
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Old Dec 24, 2022, 6:01 am
  #40  
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IME (limited to one case and it was a BA ticket) it would have been 31 May. As always, other airlines / different agents might have a different interpretation of the rule.
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Old Feb 12, 2023, 9:04 pm
  #41  
 
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Is one allowed a surface segment from the origin to the first stopover? Guessing the answer is no, but didnt see it explicitly mentioned in the Wiki.
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Old Feb 13, 2023, 10:55 am
  #42  
 
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Originally Posted by Ivan Denisovich
Is one allowed a surface segment from the origin to the first stopover? Guessing the answer is no, but didnt see it explicitly mentioned in the Wiki.
No. This is not allowed in any kind of air ticket.
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Old Mar 16, 2023, 5:41 am
  #43  
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Which is the best thread to discuss oneworld Explorer pricing? This one, this one or another one?
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Old Mar 16, 2023, 8:11 am
  #44  
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Originally Posted by danger
Which is the best thread to discuss oneworld Explorer pricing? This one, this one or another one?
I would say definitely this thread --> 2016-2023 Oneworld booking and pricing experiences - FlyerTalk Forums
The User Guide thread should really only be used for discussions of the user guide contents and for discussion of the rules and what "tricks" can be exploited.
The Oneworld product pricing - PLEASE READ - FlyerTalk Forums thread appears to be moribund
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Old Apr 23, 2023, 3:12 am
  #45  
 
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Advice on proposed itinerary

I think this is the right forum? Correct me if I'm wrong please! Im hoping to get some input into this itinerary its been 8 years since I had some invaluable advice from the experts on this forum and Im hoping for a bit more.

NRT-SEAo-LASo-JFKo-GRUo-MADx-CDGo-LHRx-ATHo-DOHx-SYDo-NOUo-SYDx-BKKo-NRT

Husband and I need to be in Brazil in late March 2024 for a wedding but other than that we are completely flexible my only other aim is to pack as many miles and sectors into our itinerary as I can. We plan to take 4-5 months on the first half, taking a big break back in Sydney before completing it with the Noumea/Bangkok sectors. I plan to buy a flexible return ticket SYD-NRT-SYD as starting in NRT vs SYD is a substantial saving only just a little more than starting in OSL (which is a much expensive positioning flight for us).

We plan to start the trip in late February/early March 2024, thus book every flight after GRU with dummy dates and rebook them as they become available.

Ive checked the flights in Expert Flyer with QR flights for all three 14hr long haul flights (their business class product is so good) and JAL for most of the rest except for QF short hauls back in Aus. Once I know if this itinerary is going to work, I hope to price the surcharges out on ITA Matrix to add to the $AUD9,836 individual DONE5 fare that Expert Flyer gave as a base fare.

Question 1: Is it viable or have I made a really stupid stuff-up? I have plugged it into the Oneworld trip planner which says its viable until Im halfway through pricing the itinerary and for some reason it just keeps hanging.

Question 2: I think I can fly into SYD for a 6 month stopover and then transit back through between NOU and BKK?
Question 3: I couldn't find a better way other than the CDG-LHR-ATH other than Iberia CDG-MAD-ATH(which has no business class on this route)- is this one a problem?

Question 4: If the itinerary works, I count 14 sectors? Any suggestions to squeeze one more stop somewhere?

Thank you in advance for anyone who has the time and patience to read through my overly long entry and who might offer some suggestions.
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