For your information... My contact in JNB tells me that the OWE prices will be going up VERY shortly.. I will keep everyone informed as I am informed...

Could you be a little more specific about how shortly? Is that in a week(or on Nov 1), come Monday, in a month...?

I'm looking at booking a ticket but would like to take care of some details first before I finalize the plans(need to know if certain people will be around at some of the destinations when I might be there) so would just like to know how time pressed I should feel.

Yeah.. I'm hoping to submit a DONE4/DONE5 itin ex-JNB tomorrow.

You can bet that BA is monitoring these boards !

The last currency decreases caused a spike of nearly 80%. But when the currency levelled off did the price come down? No.

So expect the same to happen anytime soon..

Except that the SA govt must approve the change in fare and last time (circa 2002?) they delayed the increase for a year. For local (SA citizen) purchase the Rand price is already high, so the government isn't too sympathetic to such increases. Who knows how long it will take this time? More likely BA will limit A and D inventory to eliminate sales. QF already severely limits A/D availability on their route to JNB.

One of the great advantages of the xONEx products is their incredible flexibility once you have taken at least your first international flight. The whole thing can be replanned for a measly US$125. If you know the route but not the dates, just go for Open dates & you don't even pay the $125. Even if prices rise after your ticket has been issued, you retain the right to fly 16 segments according to the rules originally in place and for the price you originally paid. IMHO, at the current prices, it's well worth getting yourself a ticket now if you can commence at some point in the next 12 months (& are willing to position in S Africa by some means or other, such as a mileage award).

NB: A re-issue can involve costs other than the $125 fee, such as revised taxes, but this doesn't really change the concept.

D - yes, although sometimes available at short notice if they can't sell the seats.

A - disagree; there is normally availability for all dates, though First itself isn't always offered. (It's a bit seasonal, IIRC.)

Thanks for the tip and further info. Actually its not a matter of repositioning, I live in Korea and would like to take advantage of the sudden fall of the won. Bought a round the world ticket last year - business class - and it was about $6000, which I considered a pretty good deal at the time. With the fall of the won, its now about $4500 and I definitely don't want to miss that price, so I'll book now and if need be change later. Its nice to be paid in $ when it strengthens like this(though the last few years haven't exactly been kind).

Am sitting in the BA lounge at JNB..(great lounge actually ), and have talked to friends down here...Here is an update. There WILL be a very significant change in OWE fares ( especially first class) in a very short time... My contact down here clearly said that MINDPEARL has been overwhelmed with OWE requests... To my friends at FT.. get the JNB NOW while they last.. My contact especially states that the AONE fares will increase dramatically.....

Your contact wouldn't happen to be on commission?

(Sorry - the cynic in me has to ask...)

i guess this question is somewhat not to be asked and the answer seems obvious but just to make sure:we are just talking about a south africa xONEx fare hike here, right?
i am to finally book my first LONE4 ex LHR by the middle of next week but i won't be affected, will i?

So this means that they have had quite a few completed/approved OWE itineraries queued to them to ticket relative to their normal business. What is their normal threshold? 5/week? and now they have gone to 15/week? That is not a real big increase.

I appreciate your insight and heads up on this and I hope I'm just being ignorant to a future increase. But all the historical pieces are not falling into place quite yet. Again, I hope I am wrong as I'm a few weeks shy of ready to ticket my next OWE.

If you use a credit card, you will be charged in ZAR. It will be converted to your home currency when the transaction is processed by Visa/MC/Amex which can be several weeks later. I had once received a charge over one month later. The exchange rate one month later may or may not be close to what it is now. @:-) You lock in the fare in ZAR by purchasing now, but you cannot lock in the exchange rate unless you pay cash.

My experience purchasing earlier this year from MindPearl, using a US Visa card, was that there was only one day difference between charge date & post date. Of course, Visa take their 1% currency conversion fee, but that's actually a bargain compared with, say, Swiss banks!

Guess we will all see in Nov 1. (given the first seems to be the usual date for these changes).
Wonder if we will also see a Nth American reduction, given it is now the most expensive point. Australia is also rapidly heading towards the cheaper end of the table.