All,

I am due to finish my AONE4 by flying to DXB shortly. I purchased it in CAI, but I notice (from expertflyer.com) that it is now cheaper to buy a new one in DXB. Has anyone any recent experience of doing that, and any contact details? As always, many thanks in advance!

Best,

Irish lad

I finished an AONE5 in CAI last month and used EK to fly from CAI through DXB on to MRU for about GBP500 (in F). Note that an AONE4 from MRU is about GBP2200 less than from DXB! I purchased the ticket through BA in MRU.

I should have added that because you are adding Africa as a continent in starting from MRU, it may be more appropriate to compare an AONE4 from DXB to an AONE5 from MRU but the latter is still more than GBP1700 cheaper.

Thanks for this. Unfortunately I doubt I can make it down to MRU (lack of time). Does anyone know who can issue an AONE4 in Dubai? Thanks.

Not Dubai, but substantially cheaper is Qatar (Doha, DOH). Daily full-F flight from LHR via BAH.

I am in the process of ticketing through an agent there, but I have just discovered that they want to put an 8% "service charge" on top. I am trying to understand why - a friend in the business suggests that DOH may be a 0% commission place (which is why it is relatively cheap). Does anyone have any inside information on this? (i.e. the commission that BA gives to agents in Qatar).

Yet another suggestion that has little to do with OP's real question, but CMB is another relatively inexpensive starting point and the easiest issue in thw world, given Cathay's staffing there. I didn't check ex-DXB fares; we often fly the route starting from the other end, where the rt is only around USD500 in biz, but folks in the emirates get to pay more.

To me MRU is the rainbow leading to an imaginary pot of gold. Unless you plan to tour Mauritius (ho-hum) connecting through there involves uncomfortable schedules and misconnects to infrequent northbound services (not to mention all the talk about the difficulty in getting A seats). Factor a couple of days of your life with attendant hotel and other costs into the "savings".

In Dubai, don't forget the exotic new indoor ski mountain...

Not really, you can "escape" from MRU using MRU-JNB-HKG and wind up at the end using LHR-CPT. Not bad if you wish to tour South Africa. As I am in India during that time, getting to MRU is pretty easy as well to start off.

Not if the dogs are on your heels. That service is infrequent, so requires as much attention to schedule as the LHR exit. IIRC it does leave late enough in the day to be a usable if not ideal connection from the EK southbound, but leaves you in JNB overnight. I could be happy with a week in Kruger, but a night at the JNB Holiday Inn is a travel interruption, not a delight.

None of that needs to be particularly bad, it's just that anyone planning MRU (as I once was, not having yet done my own homework) needs to not just look at the bargain price, but to consider how the other issues fit into their travel plans.

All very interesting stuff, but not sure it helps me with my quest! Problem is I can only go away for a weekend, so getting to DXB and then somewhere else is quite a hassle. Unfortunately.
So, I can assume that nobody has bought an AONE ex-DXB recently? How about an email address for BA Dubai?!

An update on this... I finally did what should have been obvious all along and contacted CX's GSA in Doha directly (contact details: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...ountryCode=QA). He is very responsive, and although initially unfamiliar with the Oneworld Explorer products he learned quickly. He was also happy (for me as a CX Diamond at least) to arrange everything in advance and then swipe my credit card on arrival at DOH on a same plane turnround. There was no question of an additional commission - just the published fare + taxes.

Unfortunately, due to me losing my passport at a crucial juncture I had to pull out of the arrangement at the last minute, and I am feeling somewhat guilty about that. So I would definitely recommend anyone looking for the best value AONE3 out of Europe/ME to contact Shiadh Abdul Rahman of Trans Orient Travel (CX's GSA) to see what he can do for you.

Christrep

What was the fare for AONE3 ex Doha?

QAR26,000 + taxes

for the lazy (that's me, usually) = about USD7142