I'm really new to this but I've been trying to make the most of this forum, which is a great resource. So far I've come up with the following itinerary.

AUG07: YYZ-LHR
FEB08-MAY08: LHR-TLV-MAD-HEL-DXB-HKG-NRT-BKK-BOM-SYD-AYQ-MEL-AKL-LAX-SFO*-SEA*-MIA-YUL
* = stopover

19 segments total. I hope to add one more if JAL becomes a member before I book.

I have a couple questions:
1) Is this a valid, reasonable, itinerary?
1) As I understand it, the locations are locked but the dates are flexibile (except for the first IC flight). What happens if the available routing changes during my travels?
2) Why does the ONE RTW planner show no flights at all for LAX-SFO?
3) Regarding the transcontinental exception, is it possible to fly from Dubai to Perth (DXB-HKG-PER) and then go back into Asia?


Thanks a bunch

We ned to know which ticket type you are trying to use: OneWorld Explorer or Global Explorer? But I'll assume the former. Whether it's "reasonable" is subjective, but will also depend on what class you intend to book in.

1) Nope - no PPT-LAX. That's a non-OW airline operating (Air Tahiti Nui?) so not allowed. xONEn must be OW operated, codeshares not allowed. Similarly SFO-SEA and SEA-MIA are operated by Alaska Airlines, so not valid either.

1bis) If you have confirmed dates in the ticket then you are protected onto a reasonable alternative (even if that alternative causes the rules to be broken, e.g. by going over the segment limit). If no confirmed dates then you need to reroute the ticket (and you might well get hit a rerouting charge to do so).

2) See above for AKL-PPT and the SEA flights. No idea on LAX-SFO; plenty of AA flights there.

3) Yes, provided that the DXB-HKG-PER is a transit at HKG.

Because the planner is a POS and not to be relied upon.

In addition to the earlier comments about validity, there are a couple of other issues.
0) Why buy your ticket starting in YYZ? Canada is an expensive starting point. If you are going to be in London from August until February, during this period, why not pop over to ARN or GIB and start from there. How much you save will depend on the class you plan to fly. In any case, it is likely to more than cover the initial YYZ-LHR segment. Thus you would gain an extra segment - and perhaps more importantly give you an extra 6 months of travel.
1) Currently there is no OW service NRT-BKK but that is one you would be able to add when JAL joins- which should be well before you plan to fly.
2) When you say that the locations are �locked in�, note that they can be changed drastically if you are willing to pay the reissue fee. Many of us change our tickets several times during our travels.

It sure does, lots of them.

I found out about the PPT flights a bit earlier, but that's a real shame about Alaska Airlines. Thanks for the headsup.

I am actually planning to go to Toulouse for those 6 months, but I thought it would be better to save a couple flights on the RTW and fly LGW/LHR-TLS via a discount airliner.

The reason I chose to start in Toronto was that the two stopover rule is a bit limiting in Europe, but then again I guess six stopovers in North America opens a lot of doors as well.

I also wasn't quite sure if it would actually save money. A DONE4 is $3000CAD cheaper in Sweden, but I would need to also buy a one-way YYZ-TLS (high season), a one-way TLS-ARN, and I presume another one-way ARN-YYZ.

Do people actually get away with simply not flying their last leg? What is OneWorld going to do, blacklist me?

Thanks again!


edit: the oneworld rtw planner gives me an error for ARN-MAD-TLV-LHR-DXB. I don't want to stopover in MAD and LHR. Is there a way to fit in both TLV and DXB ex-ARN? (which may not even be a good idea.)

You are limited to 4 segments in Europe and 2 stopovers in continent of origin, with no ability to buy additional segments. So cannot do DXB as you need 1 segment to return to the country of origin (or allowed alternate) in order to have a valid routing.

{edit} number_6 spotted the problem with the ARN start - no intercontinental flights into ARN.

Note also that DXB-HKG currently gets CX's regional business class, not their long-haul one, so I'm not sure I would choose to route that way. (There have been times in the past when some flights got 3-class = long-haul business, but not in the current schedule.)

One thing of course is that nobody knows what the prices in the various countries will be come May or whenever you're buying the ticket. Indeed, once the new members join OW (April? Later?) nobody knows if the OWE will even be the same product.

Adding in the access cost to origin points is part of the equation. I was going to start a trip in ARN in about 6 weeks until I realized it meant (for me) needing to pass through LHR more than I wanted in the course of the trip (once is too many times at the moment) so I checked the exchange rates and found that ZRH is around US$600 more than ARN. Since I was going to be in that area anyway (thanks Alitalia ) a quick train trip or car trip to ZRH, followed by an intercontinental departure, made more sense than flying to ARN and then flying to LHR (or MAD or HEL) just in order to get out of Europe. Mind, that was for me (and she) but YMMV.

In your case if you want to start in Europe and your two desired stopover points in Europe are TLV and DXB (watch the old passport stamps on that one) then you need to start in some city that you can get back to straight from N. America. ZRH-MAD-TLV-LHR-DXB-HKG...JFK-ZRH, for instance.

Thanks for raising the point about starting in ZRH, Gardyloo. I hadn't considered it-- and was planning on starting in ARN later in the spring. For a DONE5, the differential seems even less- on the order of $300.

You're right, I'm jumping the gun. I guess I'll wait until at least May to see what happens.

I just have a couple more questions:
1) Is there any reasonably inexpensive way to fly from YYZ to a major hub in Europe in August '07, and return, say, December '08 (not fixed)? Or is my only option 2xone-way or an unrestricted fare? (Many open-return tickets have a one year limit.)
2) What would happen if I went ZRH-xMAD-TLV-xLHR-DXB-xHKG-PER-...-JFK-ZRH and a delay at one of the transits caused it to become a stopover?
3) What would happen if I had a 20 segment trip, but then one of the routings became invalid because an airliner left the alliance, lack of demand, or it was seasonal? In other words, what would happen if I needed an extra flight to connect to my next destination?
4) Last question, do surface segments count as segments?


Thank you all so much for the help

1)all airline tickets are limited to 1 year validity, this is by IATA agreement and no way around it. So you must have 2 separate (oneway) tickets for Aug 07 and Dec 08 return.
2) delay causing a stopover or involuntary reroute has no effect on your ticket -- only voluntary changes count. The airline involved reaccomodates you as best it can (this varies from very well to abysmal). Best to book a realistic connection schedule.
3)If there is a schedule change and a segment no longer operates, the result differs depending on open-dated or not. If open dated (no set date for the segment), you must reissue the ticket for a valid route, with no accomodation for the missing segment. If dated, then the airline will treat it as an involuntary reroute, which might involve additional segments for travel. Your ticket is not reissued, and you are only considered to have used the originally ticketed segment. So basically with dated segment, risk is the airlines, while with open dated, risk is yours.
4) surface segments do not count in the 20 segment limit. They do count in the stopover limit (important only in the continent of origin, as the other continents have unlimited stopovers). Each end of a surface segment is considered to be a stopover (which is reasonable, imho). Also the first segment on OWE can never be a surface segment (to prevent using fares from countries that have no active flight service, and very low fares which cannot be used).