Ahh. The joys of being single! Just picked up BOM-LHR return in biz on AZ for US $233 (see MR forum) as a mileage run in the middle of my AONE5. No way the GF would let me get away with that if she was along for the ride!

Hi Viajero I am yet to find my better half, and when I do Then rtw will be replaced with I want kids

Hi Gardyloo can you please veryfy ,if this rtw is okayValidator says it is okay ,but I am not so sure and if not can you refine it for me . The other problem is I cannot seem to get a dme to lhr then dxb ,however I can get hel-lhr-dxb .Confused I think I am My It. is as follows cai-lhr-cpt,jnb-hkg-per-adl-drw-cns,syd-chc,akl-scl-lim-eze-gru-dfw-lax-sju-jfk-hel-dme-lhr-dxb if all is okay is there still another way to maximise miles
Thanks ELO

We are back to square one: you cannot have three 'restricted' longhaul segments from the UK: cai-lhr, dme-lhr, lhr-dxb.

Edited to add: what you have to keep in mind is that if you start in CAI, and want to transit through LHR on the outbound and the inbound, then you simply have to forget the idea of going to Russia or any other country in the 'restricted' list, because the two trips you make to/from CAI, are the only two you are allowed to make; that's it; maximum two.

It seems to me that the easiest fix is to substitute MAD for LHR on either the initial flight (i.e. CAI-MAD) or on returning from Russia (i.e. DME-MAD.) In order to keep Cape Town on the itinerary and stay at 20 segments, you'd still need to do a surface segment somewhere, either JNB-CPT-JNB since IB doesn't go to CPT, or DME-MAD/LHR-DXB since IB don't go to Dubai.

Just a couple of thoughts. It looks like HKG is your only Asia stop, adding a lot of cost, whereas you could go JNB-SYD, save some money, and use the ticket somewhere else, maybe in North America.

If one of your aims is maximum miles or BA tier points, consider reversing the order of N. America and S. America so as to benefit from the long through-flights offered. For example, the following itinerary is somewhat similar to yours (no HKG, GRU or CHC) but adds in some serious mileage like SYD-JFK:
CAI-LHR-CPT/JNB-SYD-DRW-PER-CNS-SYD-JFK-DFW-SJU-LAX-SCL-IPC-SCL-LIM-EZE-MAD-DME-MAD/LHR-DXB

I think it's legal and it adds something like 11,000 miles and around 400 BA points to your itinerary. Skipping Asia makes the ticket cheaper, too.

The segments in bold would be a problem.

(I cleaned up the line breaks)
9N . 2. FREE FLIGHT SEGMENTS WITHIN EACH CONTINENT ARE
10N . LIMITED AS FOLLOWS:
11N .
12N . ---------------------------------------
13N . I CONTINENT I NUMBER OF FREE I
14N . I I FLIGHT SEGMENTS I
15N . ---------------------------------------
16N . I AFRICA I 4 I
17N . ---------------------------------------
18N . I ASIA I 4 I
19N . ---------------------------------------
20N . I NORTH AMERICA I 6 I
21N . ---------------------------------------
22N . I SOUTH AMERICA I 4 I
23N . ---------------------------------------
24N . I SOUTH WEST I 4 I
25N . I PACIFIC I I
26N . ---------------------------------------
27N . I EUROPE/MIDDLE I 4 /SEE NOTE 1./ I
28N . I EAST I I
29N . ---------------------------------------
30N NOTE 1: NO MORE THAN 2 FREE SEGMENTS BETWEEN THE U.K.
31N AND:
32N .
33N .
34N . ALGERIA ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN BAHRAIN BULGARIA CYPRUS
35N .
36N .
37N . EGYPT GEORGIA GREECE IRAN ISRAEL JORDAN
38N .
39N . KUWAIT LEBANON MACEDONIA MALTA MOROCCO OMAN
40N .
41N .
42N . FUNCHAL, PORTUGAL QATAR ROMANIA RUSSIA SAUDIA ARABIA SYRIA
43N .
44N .
45N .
46N . TUNISIA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UKRAINE YUGOSLAVIA

So the 2 segments involving London are CAI-LHR and LHR-DXB. Spain (MAD-DME-MAD) isn't mentioned.

Or I could be wrong - that would be a first.

No, not wrong, just a misunderstanding on my part. When I saw MAD/LHR (one slash) I took it to mean MAD or LHR, now I see you meant it as MAD//LHR (two slashes, for a surface segment). Sorry.

Ahhh. I was confused. What I meant to say is that I have been told that a surface segment will force the issue of a paper ticket instead of an e-ticket.

I could not find the prices either for Star Alliamce or One world RTW tickets. I need to make a trip soon and would greatly appreciate how to go about and buy these tickets. Are there any discounts off the published fares ? ANy travel agent that you recommend ? Thanks.

Welcome to FT. Consult the top two "sticky" threads on this forum.

Hi Viajero I have finally reached my completed itinerary. I am going from cai through Mrs Sobhi , who has been very helpful, but with your vast experience can you veryfy that this itinerary is a one5 cai-lhr-per-syd,mel-chc,akl-mel,adl-bne,syd-jfk-scl-lim-eze-gru-dfw-anc-dfw-yvr-dfw-mia-lax-lhr-cai . The validator says it is okay thou confusingly it says cai is europe , but I am more than sure it is the middle east Cheers

Yep, that's a one5, all right. You are not stopping in Asia, but the rules say that because of the segment lhr-per, you have to 'pay' for that continent anyway. Nothing you can do about that.

And yes, you are both right. It is 'Europe' AND it is 'Middle East', because in the rules the area you are starting your trip from is actually callled 'Europe/Middle East'.

Hi Viajero .Thank you for that ,enjoy the rest of the evening or morning wherever you are at this present time Elo

Hi Viajero I have changed my itinerary nearly as many times as I have had hot dinners ,maybe an over exageration? However here it goes cai-lhr-per-mel-chc-mel,per-syd-jfk-scl-lim-eze-gru-jfk-dfw-anc-dfw-jfk,bos-mia-lax-lhr-cai One other point was that mrs Sobhi said there was no oneworld flight service from eze-gru , but there is BA0246, and according to the ba website its still flying? Thanks ELO