OneWorld to ICN?
 

Can I tap into collective expertise on how best to get to Seoul while accruing Avios and TPs (so a OneWorld airline), in June 2025?

BA not offering any options to SEL at all, and other OneWorld options are uncompetitively expensive.

I note that BA LHR to PVG is cheap (£1300 CW one-way looks a relative bargain), and onward connections via KAL are cheap with 3 flights a day. But I am wary of a split itinerary across airlines, as it would be a real drag to have a BA flight delay or cancellation and it be my problem to resolve, with a jet-lagged family and in Shanghai.

Am I worrying too much about an unlikely problem? It seems BA has no option to Korea - have I missed an obvious option??

I’d go with QR via DOH if within budget.
In Business that’ll net you 280 TP each way.
Booked and flew MAD-DOH-ICN for less than €3k round trip earlier this year.

I'm surprised Finnair is expensive.

Looking for a random date in November, so quite soon, Finnair is competitive with all the other one-stop options that don't require an overnight transfer (LOT, which has a 14h layover, looks pretty good given that WAW is a nice airport and the timings are convenient if you don't mind sleeping in an airport hotel mid-trip).

Going all the way forward to June, Finnair is again competitive on a one-way (LOT is again cheaper, but otherwise you'd have to deal with something like Air Astana).

It's usually a little cheaper to fly Finnair from an EU starting point, but you only get 360 return TPs for that routing (albeit plus positioning flights) whereas UK departures get 440 return. Once you account for APD and Heathrow charges, the difference is minimal and barely worth the cost of a positioning flight, let alone the time, effort, and risk.

If you want to go via Qatar, bear in mind that it's in no way en route between northern Europe and Korea - Finnair is a better, shorter routing as well.

I can see Finnair from ARN (ARN-HEL-ICN) for £1,598 next June. All OW benefits and TP's / Avios earned.

Pilot37

Last weekend I saw a Finnair Business Classic fare from LHR to Seoul via HEL for £2,880 for travel next April which, as others have said, is a good TP run at a total of 440 Tier Points for the round trip between London and Seoul via Helsinki in both directions.

Is any of the passengers younger than 12?

Wow, some great suggestions and clearly I need to look more closely at some of the other airline options! Passengers are Mr and Mrs and a 16-year old.

I was hoping to book through BA for bonus BA Amex Avios, but will look more carefully at options to book directly with other OneWorld partners.

Wikipedia ICN entry lists airlines & routes. Look for the OW airlines. CX AA QR QF MH UL AY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incheo...tional_Airport

We flew AY J LHR-HEL-ICN-HEL-LHR for £1,700 pp in May/June 2023, having booked it in Sept 2022. Approx 2hr layover both ways.

No idea of prices but Sri Lankan might be interesting to try out.