Inexpensive Route to Cairo?
 

Mrs. BdaDiver and I have a DONE5 ticketed for departure from Cairo on Sep 5 '05, and we are looking to finish back in Cairo at the end of April '06. Can anyone suggest inexpensive methods of getting to Cairo or Sharm (from anywhere in Europe (pref would be Paris or London, but would consider any central western European gateway city) in mid August and leaving in late April '06. Charters are apparently unwilling to book outbound flights in Aug with a return in April of next year. The legacy carriers seem to be quoting fares that are quite a bit higher than I was expecting to see for one way tickets.

Can I get suggestions from others?

Thanks

BdaDiver

Depends on your definition of 'inexpensive'! Wanting to stay away from Cairo for more than three months puts you into the more expensive fare bracket. Have a play about with the 'flexible dates' option in the UK Travelocity site to see how your options change. I think this link will take you there

If you were away for less than three months you could buy a return LON-CAI for as little as £184+taxes; but raise it to six months and it's £300+ (these are economy fares).

How important is it to get back to CAI at the end? Alternatively, you could do your sightseeing at the start of the trip and forget to use the last coupons from your cheapie-return to CAI from LON, and your DONE. We've all done it.

It's not imperative that I get back to Cairo. I had contemplated just trashing our last flight, but I am concerned about the possible ramifications. I have heard from one person via PM who has done this on a couple of occasions. If I were to do this, what is the downside, and what is the probability that it would be caught by any of 1-the carrier who issued the ticket, 2-the carrier of the last flight, or 3-One World?

It is very common not using the last leg(s) of a ticket. I have done it many times, friends of mine have done it.....
So don't worry.

Gardyloo is suggesting you look at the LCCs, which will sell you a 1-way for zero-premium. www.whichbudget.com will give you the options. Also try airmalta.com which will do a decent 1-way fare (via malta though).

If you have any orphan miles sometimes miles+cash are decent value as the don't penalise 1way (eg BA would be 15k miles and £40ish+tax, except that they have no availability in August :td: ).

I don't suppose the airlines are going to send their bean counters and their lawyers after you, but my understanding is that you have broken the contract and the airline could charge you point to point fares for the part of the trip you completed. And since they're all so poor they're even cutting back on peanuts these days, it almost makes no sense that they don't.

What about redemption ticket?
 

I'm in planning to buy a DONE4 ex-Cairo and I have thought about this and I decided to burn some miles for a one way LHR-CAI.
Is that an option for you?

1-way on Lufthansa is also an option; it's how I started my very first DONE 4 back a few years ago. An altogether pleasant flight experience too.

I'd either burn current miles to get to CAI or use a one-way LCC.

If getting cheap return from CAI is a problem, you could always book another one-way LCC flight when you arrive back in Europe in April 06, or use some of the miles from the ONE.

Thanks for the help everyone. As of today, it looks like we will burn miles (I have plenty to spare in a non-OW carrier.) Most of the LCCs or charter airlines that I contacted wouldn't sell a one way ticket.

FWIW, last time I checked, BA's return fares LHR-TLV were considerably cheaper than to CAI. You can go one-way on LY TLV-CAI for under £100 a couple of times a week. Remember you can end the RTW in TLV with no penalty if you start in CAI.

I picked some random days in August and Swiss will sell you a oneway ticket LHR-CAI for 180 pounds or so. Last summer I bought a oneway ticket on swiss to start my last rtw in Cairo and paid about 115 pounds.

I did the same, with Swiss. Security at Zurich a bit of a pain but the connection was very quick. Worth looking at traveljungle.co.uk as they can deliver lowest fares. Although I booked my ticket direct with the airline.

One way BA in WT or WT Plus with a flexible ticket is possible ...
Please send me a PM if interested.

H