Most efficient & nicest ex-MRU AONEx ?
 

Having hovered here, it's clear that ex-MRU AONErs are the people most likely to go out of their way (most of us have to, literally) for the ultimate travel experience. So I'd like to ask you - what is the ultimate routing for an AONE4 or an AONE5 ex-MRU? As in one that gets you to the nicest* places and all on real F or A seats while maximizing the mileage & TPs? I'm working on my route currently, checking for seasonality on a few segments and will post soon if this gets traction... :)

* Given one has to start from one of the best holiday destinations out there, maybe a tall order to top. Preferably warm.

There has already been a lot of discussion on routes/flights with the best F, and also how to maximize miles and/or tier points (the latter results if completely different routings for QFF vs. BAEC, for example, due to different thresholds). You could just search and find those past discussions; most of the info is still valid. The airline-specific discussions tend to be in the airline-specific forums.

Their isn't much to add for MRU, except that it wastes a continent unless you really wanted to go there (so the pricing comparison is AONE4 elsewhere vs. AONE5 in MRU).

For the ultimate in savings. Most (not all, obviously) AONEers start in MRU because of price.

Nicest is of course very subjective...

If you're talking about warm places with white sands, then perhaps you would be better off looking at a global explorer ticket which could allow for a bit of Island hopping in the South Pacific.

Maximising mileage and time on sunkissed beaches is very difficult...

MRU-LHR-MCT-LHR-EZE-SCL-IPC-SCL-GYE-MIA-BGI-JFK-SFO-HKG-SIN-DPS-HKG-JNB-MRU (~56,000 miles - pretty poor for an *ONE5)

I make that an AONE4 with 6 true F sectors; MRU-LHR-MCT-LHR-EZE, SFO-HKG and JNB-MRU other 3-class sectors include JFK-SFO (with AA on a 762) and HKG-SIN (with CX on a 744).

If you're looking at an AONE5 to include australia instead of say South America then;

MRU-LHR-MCT-LHR-MEX-MIA-ANC-DFW-SFO-JFK-SYD-BNE-PER-HKG-DPS-SIN-NRT-LHR-DAR

Which gives a total of 8 true F sectors; MRU-LHR-MCT-LHR-MEX, JFK-SYD, NRT-LHR-DAR with SFO-JFK and SIN-NRT giving additional 3-class sectors. I make the total mileage roughly 65,000 for that.

I believe MRU-JNB-SYD-AKL-SYD-JFK-DFW-ANC-DFW-JFK-YVR-SFO-LHR-BAH-DOH-BAH-LHR-JNB-CPT-JNB-MRU offers 16 F segments and a heavy helping of tier pts (BAEC) if I understand the BAH-DOH bit correctly.

No great swimming beaches in ANC but good fishing. Plenty of sun in the summer (like, 20 hours/day.)

My AONE6 routing is:

MRU-LHR-DXB-LHR-MEL-CNS-AYQ-SYD-HKG-NRT-HKG-JFK-YVR-DFW-JFK//ORD-HNL//JFK-MIA-EZE-SCL//EZE-LHR-CPT

Combo of maximizing miles and going to places I want/need to go. Also involves a few connecting flights to fill-in the gaps.

Has this ticket been issued yet? In past years the HNL restriction was further interpreted to mean must enter or leave NA at HNL -- which of course was never in the rules, but AA would never issue your routing.

Not with the North American segments beyond JFK-MIA, no.

Not going to do that until I can finish enough segments to keep it an e-ticket. I am not wed to the HNL trip and probably won't argue too much if it is rejected.

Btw, I had to call BA's N. America RTW desk to make sure they could see my new AA ticket number (had it reissued by AA when I changed LHR-SYD to LHR-MEL) and they caught the EZE-LHR-CPT error, but said they would leave it in place as it had been ticketed (most likely because it was now on AA stock and is now AA's problem). AA, obviously, did not see the error. As with HNL, I am not wed to ending in CPT -- if push came to shove, ending in NBO would be just fine.

My AONE6 will be:

MRU-JNB//CPT-xLHR-DXB-LHR//FRA-SCL-CCS-SCL//EZE-UIO//LIM-GRU//GIG-JFK//SJU-LAX//DFW-SJO//JFK-HKG-NRT-HKG-SIN,BOM-xHKG-SYD-xLHR-NBO

I will need some extra connecting flights, but this gives me the most value for the ticket and the places I want to go.

My first part flown last year was MRU-LHR-DXB-LHR//CDG-HKG-DPS-HKG-NRT-HKG-LAX-LIM-EZE.
For the second part I did a rerouting: GRU-SCL-EZE-JFK//HNL-ORD-SJU-JFK-LAX-LHR-ACC.
BA did the reticketing and made it an E-ticket, but didn't mention anything about the HNL restriction.

I interpret OP's question to be "what wonderful destinations do keen-on-seeing-the-world travelers" recommend? Agree with the comment that ex-MRU implies thrifty rather than worldly, but the two aren't mutually exclusive. Also agree that no one should ever give a friend, let alone a stranger, travel advice.

But going ahead and ignoring my own advice, I suggest that a certain set of folks - you know who you are - who find themselves at JNB with a little time on their hands should realize that the world's finest do-it-yourself wild-game-viewing adventure is just four hours down the road, at Kruger National Park. The Kruger experience will be light on the boy scout live-in-a-tent-in-the-wilderness part, although there are now private camps in the park that can provide that. Otherwise, by day you drive yourself around in hundreds of sq miles or km as you choose, mingling up close and personal with hordes of beasties of all kinds. With poaching well controlled and plenty of humans coming and going the animals are quite approachable (in your vehicle). Contrasted with guided tours on foot, where the animals are keen to give us a wide berth.

By dusk, you must have made your way to a pre-reserved accommodation in one of 13 primary camps (or an alternate) where you'll be reasonably well fed and housed, typically in a thatched-roofed hut with facilities and air-con.

Don't take my 'four hours' to suggest a day trip - plan five days or so.

Other popular "sun and sea" destinations that can be included on an AONE ticket without having to buy an extra ticket for a connecting flight (but may require surface transport beyond the city served by the airport) include, but are not necessariliy limited to, the following:

Bali (Asia)
Dubai (Europe/Middle East)
Cairns (Oceania)
Sydney (Oceania)
Hamilton Island (Oceania)
Vina del Mar (South America -- fly to Santiago)
Punta del Este (South America -- fly to Montevideo)
Miami/Ft. Myers/Tampa/Ft. Lauderdale (North America)
Oahu or Maui (North America)
San Diego (North America)
Malta (Europe/Middle East)
Rio de Janiero (South America)
Canary Islands (Europe/Middle East)
The Caribbean (North America -- lots of service ex-MIA or JFK on AA)
Jersey Shore/Long Island/Cape Cod (North America -- fly into NYC or BOS)

Of course - I was thinking in terms of efficiency, i.e. bang for buck, so yeah it is about savings. I would've ticketed one closer to home already if I wasn't this cheap.

JonhAx - I immensely appreciate all advice I can get, even if it is travel advice between strangers. It's the taker's responsibility to interpret the advice and put it into their own context - and of course giving advice is nice, that's why we have places like FT. Besides, you can recommend Kruger to just about anyone and not go wrong :) A longer re-visit there is on my list, top 3.

That's a good one with 16F, leaves some room to add a few legs in Oceania... I'll grab a couple of segments from that one :)

A quick question.

I am looking at an AONEx. I didn't realise that you are able to fly through LHR to and from J'burg or MRU. Are you able to stopover both directions.

No way.

You can stopover in Europe once on the itinerary. The published rule is that you can connect through LHR a second time if you are traveling to one of a handful of cities that are are only served by BA from LHR and that cannot be reached another way with Oneworld. Those cities include Nairobi (NBO), Dar es Salaam (DAR) and Accra (ACC). There are a few more, IIRC. A connection is a stop of less than 24 hours.

If you originate in MRU and chose to fly direct to LHR (your other choice being to JNB, which is only offered on limited days of the week), you will not be allowed to return to MRU via LHR. You would to route via JNB either from HKG (on CX) or SYD (on QF). Otherwise, you can fly to JNB from MRU and continue to SYD or HKG (with or without a stopover and/or additional flights within Africa) and then stopover in LHR on the way back.

Some of us (or maybe just me), has been allowed to connect through LHR after stopping over there on the outbound from MRU to a city in Africa other than those listed in the rules. This was almsot certainly a mistake, but one that was not caught by either BA or AA's rate desk. If/when I make future itinerary changes to my AONE6, I risk being forced to give-up the routing.