jerry a.laska's posts bring up a suggestion I like to make to others standing at the deep end of the RTW pool. Probably obvious to regular FTers but maybe worth repeating.

Between the great flexibility and versatility of the RTW products, and (in premium classes) their ability to allow amassing quite a lot of redeemable miles/points (as well as elite qualification points) it can be useful to develop a multi-year travel "master plan" that puts these tools to use most effectively.

A few years ago, my late wife and I started combining our travel bucket lists with what I'll call "necessary" travel - business travel, seeing relatives, etc. - and applying them to a calendar over a two- to three-year period, at least to the extent that was possible with business and family travel. What we did was book a business class RTW in year one, then use the miles accumulated for travel in year two, then repeat. Counting the "off-year" (mileage-redemption) trips, we averaged around 20 business- or first class flights over the two years using this approach. Since our RTW tickets cost around six grand (all in) that worked out to around $300 per flight, which is good value for SEA-ORD but fabulous for JNB-SYD or HKG-JFK.

To be sure, we had to top up the budget from time to time - unplanned domestic travel, or detours off the RTW route for some bucket list place not available using the ticket, but even so, the total cost for all that flying in the pointy end was pretty darned decent. Having the "master plan" really helped; it allowed us not only to plan where to go, but also when, so as to avoid monsoons or hurricanes or the f'ing flies at Uluru.

So if you're contemplating something like counter-rotating RTWs, or Amazon cruises, whatever, developing a master plan might be a decent approach to take, if for nothing else to keep your head from exploding. It was in our case, anyway.

As above LATAM is not allowed since they are no longer part of Oneworld or an affiliate. Cannot use a OW codeshare on an non OW airline (other than QF-JQ).
To me LATAM was big loss for OW RTW tickets.

QF fly SYD-SCL

*ONE* Rule 3015

This is addictive, my second round the world in development. I think this is a DONE4, starting in Madrid (to save a Europe segment).

Starting with South America in January, where we will stop for a trip. Then to New Zealand for the main part of our holiday (and possibly a side trip over to French Polynesia (we may abandon a South Pacific Island in our other trip and return via Hawaii, we have visited several times and happy to return)), a train trip across Australia, and finally Africa for a short visit (possibly a safari). A break in London then continuing in November for a holiday we have planned to Egypt and Jordan. I have not been able to use all the segments but this will be a long trip and the two short flights to/from Jordan at the end are expensive (both Avios or with cash). This only yields 1100 TPs... Hopefully complies with the oneworld Explorer rules...

EDIT: I assume there is not much I can do internally in Africa with oneworld?

GCMapper
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...32aa569543.jpg

QF no longer fly SCL-AKL; there's a QF codeshare on LA, but that's not eligible for DONEx itineraries. QF do fly SCL-SYD, so if you want to backtrack to NZ you'll be spending 2 of your 4 Southwest Pacific segments to do so. Assuming I'm reading your table correctly, you'd be taking the train from Sydney to Perth, so you wouldn't be violating the one-transcon rule for Australia thus you'd have enough segments for the NZ shuttle.

Surface segments count against the total of 16, but not against the per-continent limit, so your Southwest Pacific "continent" flights would be SYD-AKL-SYD and PER-SYD, or 3 of the four available. You'd also have enough segments that if you wanted to do an open-jaw in South America, you could, e.g. MAD-EZE//SCL-SYD. So the plan looks okay to me.

The difference in prices for starting in Spain as opposed to Norway is substantial.
Ex-MAD DONE4 BA $7792.89 £6043
EX-OSL DONE4 BA $5774.39 £4478

I can’t remember Spain xonex prices being among the cheapest and therefore being a place I would want to start.

I have made the changes following Gardyloo pointing out that QF no longer fly SCL-AKL. Given that Madrid is not the best place to start (cost), any suggestions for a start/finish city) in Europe to get the itinerary below to work (with max 4 flight segments in Europe/Middle East) and that is less expensive than Madrid? Am looking for a city that you can fly to London from directly and from Cairo (preferably, or Amman) directly and that is serviced by oneworld...

EDIT: Destination of first flight could be London or Madrid depending on where we decide to go to in South America.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5558e5bb35.jpg

Well, there’s OSL. :)
You could look at CAI, but this would involve a long unpleasant expensive flight in CE or ET from LHR. A benefit of CAI is that you can end your ticket anywhere in the ME, no need to return to your country of origin.
BUD is about $700 base fare higher than OSL. AMM is ~ $7200 base.


An expertflyer subscription allows you to search fares without limitation.

I could not find direct flights from Cairo to either Oslo or Budapest. Rome, Paris, Athens, Zurich, Amsterdam and Frankfurt seem to work with Royal Jordanian. I don’t have an expertflyer subscription (yet), but are any of these cities know for an inexpensive base fare?

? I’m not sure why you would be looking at a flight CAI-OSL?

You would purchase a DONE4 departing CAI then your first segment with BA would be to LHR and then off to SA or on QR CAI-DOH-MAD.

I gave you the base fare for ex-BUD about $700 higher than OSL. A lot of the EU countries have the same base fare and traditionally are a lot more that ex-OSL and so people don’t often start from those cities unless they need to or are not particularly bothered by higher prices.

Long flight to Cairo :(, any of the other European cities above a good option?

Not usually. OSL and BUD have traditionally been a little better.; as I said most EU cities share the same base fares that are considerably more than OSL.

AA still shows a DONE4 base fare for CAI of $4570, although there have been reports on the board that AA isn’t issuing ex-CAI anymore.

Maybe an EF subscription would be useful for you.

The addiction can be tempered by booking *ONE*. Are endless possibilities. Can't do it all.

In addition to expert flyer the wikipedia entries for airports tend to have routes/airlines, in a simple uncomplicated format.
As some find this web site useful--> https://www.flightconnections.com/

For the AU train trips can have a different number of nights on the train depending on the direction. Are now sold as "train trip with off train excursions", Not just a simple train tickets as in times past. Beware of resellers.
Official site https://www.journeybeyondrail.com.au/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_Beyond
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Pacific
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghan
.

I have been in touch with journeybeyondrail.com and planning on booking the Red Centre Spectacular from Adelaide to Darwin on one of our trips and just the train trip on the Indian Pacific on the other trip. They look amazing train journeys. We will not be rushing our round the world trip…

If you want a starting city in Europe with nonstop service to South America, so that you can save all four Europe/Middle East segments for the end, then MAD, LHR and DOH are it, all with prices well above Oslo's.

If you have to settle for three European segments (after burning one to get from Oslo to MAD) the $400 for a one way J seat from CAI to AMM seems like a bargain by comparison.

If you can find someone to issue an ex-CAI DONE4, then you could fly RJ CAI-AMM-MAD-SoAmer-...-DOH-LHR-AMM. This would use two of your EUR/ME segments and you would still have two segments and two stopovers left upon you return to EUR/ME. As you would be starting in the ME you do not have to return to CAI (the country you started from) as you are starting in the ME and there is an exception that allows you to not have to use a segment to return to your starting point.

But as noted above direct flights from EUR to South America you are limited to DOH (only GRU now I think), MAD, and LHR.