So according to the threads, CAI is now no good for cheap fares IST is a security hazard and someone suggested Iraq (uhmm - which makes IST???)

Want two 4 continent (EUR-ASIA-AUS-NA) tickets starting December. Am London based at the moment & will be in Stockholm & Toulouse before then for sure.

Have 75k miles and voucher for two outbound flights to get the tickets so could go most places to collect

So where's the best deal

Thanks

David

Do what we all have to do too if we wanna look for fares... research this THREAD.

One of the cheapest places is Thailand. But you'd have to get there first.

Thanks and I had already read through all 9 pages of that thread before posting the message - as well as those which it was linked to!

Is there an up to date spreadsheet available now from anyone with the post April fare increases?

Well, it depens on what you personally consider as a "security hazard". There was a thread few weeks ago about IST safety and many FTs find it perfectly safe, including myself (I was there last month). Another thing is that it is no longer attractive regarding the pricing, which you can check from the many pricing threads available in this forum, as was pointed above.

I believe WearyBizTravlr's most excellent Excel spreadsheet is updated with current fares; the only issue is the Romania/Bulgaria pricing, which the Star file shows in USD and British Airways apparently shows in EUR.

As stated, the "best" deal is a relative term. If you want to save the "long-haul" European sectors for something really long (like DXB or TLV) then Serbia/Croatia etc. is out as they have been added to the LON once-only list. So GIB and ARN might be acceptable alternatives, plus there are experienced issuers of RTW tix in both those places. But YMMV big time depending on your particular plans.

Not to stop anyone from searching, but it really would be nice to have a simple answer to a question sometimes.

Just so some of these posts wouldn't get so long without an answer.

There are 12 answers and not just 1 as to what country has the lowest fare ... because each of the xONEx products is priced differently and the lowest fare for DONE4 could be high for AONE4, for example. Surprising differences (even the delta between number of continents various by country of origin -- you'd think it would be a fixed percentage, also you would think the fare difference between D/A would also be a fixed percentage). Not so, and the differences are big enough that there are about 10 different countries which qualify for "best" pricing. Plus the wrinkles in the fare rules -- such as whether DXB is allowed or not -- can greatly affect the relative value of a particular country of origin.

The usual suspects for best fares/rules/schedule/availlability are: BKK, NBO, ARN, GIB, NRT, TPE. Lots more, but the right answer for a specific routing requires research, hence best to look at the spreadsheet.

Not to disparage anyone's excellent effort, but just so as not to mislead anyone is it certainly true that the spreadsheet has current fares? I anxiously downloaded the linked copy and compared it briefly with the old one, and didn't see any differences at all.

And as has been mentioned here several times, the real cost must include the cost of getting to and back from the starting point.

For example we soon end a trip in CMB. MRU is about USD2000 cheaper for an AONE5 and at first glance one can get there from CMB for about USD750+ in biz. But the trip is a nightmare of really bad connections and flight times, and burns 4 days we could otherwise spend sipping drinks on a beach somewhere. Thus we elect to do CMB again.

So to the poster with the grump that no one is giving a simple answer - there isn't one.

AFAIK it's the same one that he posted after the 30 April star file was posted by Kanebear. That's the date it carries on the intro page.

Too bad ExpertFlyer doesn't provide access to the prices.

It hasn't been updated since kanebear posted the fares in April. I'm working on a *A update, but haven't had any further updates on oneworld.

Getting the fares on EF would solve so many problems...

I've emailed a contact in GIB to see what their current base fares and and will post this if they have changed so the spreadsheet can be updated. Will check the ARN costs too.

I agree the cost of getting to the start country has to be taken into account - if we get the tickets via GIB then we'll have to pay for flights & accommodation. If we use ARN, then I am there twice on business this year & have friends to stay with so no cost incurred for this.

Perhaps if more of us requested this feature from them? (I have).

Here's hoping: