Great. Thanks!

Departing on 28Feb2014, departure of your last segment has to be on 28Feb2015 or before.
You may arrive on 1Mar2015.

If you purchase on 1st March 2015, and depart on 29th Feb 2016, your last segment has to be on/before 28th Feb 2017.

Lazy Sunday here in PER, and have been pondering this

Leave LAX on 28Feb2015 and arrive in SYD on 2Mar2015, having crossed the dateline in flight. ;)


The rule actually states:So, there could be a number of transits between the last stopover point and the final destination. Each transit could be up to 24hours long.

The rule on stopovers states:So if you had an itinerary with two stopovers followed by 13 transits, with 24hrs at each transit point plus a westbound crossing of the dateline, that's two weeks (plus actual flying time) between departing from the last stopover point and reaching the final destination.:D

I expect you will run into difficulties trying to get such on an e-ticket.

IMHO, still general IATA ticketing rule is applied.

For example, according to expertflyer, normal Y fare rule shows

MINIMUM STAY NO MINIMUM STAY REQUIREMENT APPLY.
MAXIMUM STAY NO MAXIMUM STAY REQUIREMENT APPLY.

However, validity of normal fare is still 1 year from the departure.

I'm not aware that even true airline taxes can be deducted.

Are you sure this applies to xONEx (as opposed to xCIRxx)? I recall that on Circle Pacific trips the number of stopovers is limited, and changing transit to stops has implications, but I thought that wasn't the case with xONEx, and I have switched transits to stops without penalty.

I have no first hand experience either way (changing a transit to a stopover and either being charged the change fee or not being charged it).
But it is my belief that the change fee is charged, because it requires a re-issue and is therefore considered a re-route.

Searching for evidence, I see a discussion on this in the FAQ Thread around post 280, dated Dec-11 (some of the posts are by jerry a.laska and therefore IMHO carry some authority:))
However, if you are sure you have changed Oneworld Explorer transits to stopovers without a change fee, then that is definitive evidence.

In my experience, using the AA RTW desk, even date and time changes require a re-issue (except in cases where only AA flights are changed and the agent does a re-validation). Re-issues don't mean it's considered a re-route nor a fee charged.

The fact that I've been able to do it without the agent even suggesting it would be a re-route isn't conclusive, since it's possible the agent was mistaken.

I don't see any mention in the rules that to me covers this. The rules do say:
Also
...To me, this seems clear that if a connection is changed to a stopover, that is only a date/time change, not a change to a "ticketed point."

My recollection (could easily be wrong of course) is that the xONEx fares don't care about stopovers versus connections (aside from taxes), while the Circle Pacific fares most definitely do care. Here is the text about stopovers in the Circle Pacific rules:

I'm two-thirds the way through a lengthy oneworld Explorer where the final sector is LHR-JED. Only now, however, have I discovered that Saudi Arabia does not have a tourism industry. To get a visa you must be on business or visiting family; there's no such thing as a tourist visa. Serves me right for only looking for the best mileage!

So I'll have to incur the USD125 re-route fee which is fine. But where to go to.

I expect it will be DOH, DXB or AUH, only AUH of which I have not been to.

Will I have taxes reassessed on the entirety of the remaining itinerary (about six flights) or just the LHR-wherever? Is my understanding correct that QF and BA to DXB, BA to AUH or QR to DOH will all see me hit with a fair bit of tax (upwards of USD100), in addition to the USD125?

I think they also grant visas for visits to Mecca. But perhaps you don't qualify?

Since you must have started in the Middle East (in order to be ending at JED) - you can finish anywhere in the Middle East; so in addition to DOH, DXB and AUH there are AMM, CAI, BAH, KWI, MCT, BEY and possibly TLV (this perhaps depending on where you originated). This assumes you have only one segment left to get from LHR to the Middle East; if you have more, then there would be more options - fancy a trip to KRT perhaps?:)
My understanding is that only the changed segments are re-assessed.
Your departure taxes from LHR should be the same (the APD tax is distance-based, but I expect all the Middle Eastern destinations will fall into the same distance band. And the BA fuel fines will be similar.
So the difference will be in the arrival taxes at your destination. (According to itasoftware JED has no arrival taxes)

Many thanks for all that.

I will look into the Mecca idea but I doubt I would qualify.

Yes, I did begin in the Middle East (SSH). BEY is out as I have been to TLV with this passport and they don't admit people with Israeli stamps. KWI and BAH are options but both seem really quite expensive accommodation wise. I have been to AMM and CAI on this trip so real desire to go back there just yet. MCT was an option I looked at but ruled it out for some reason. From memory, I think it was also the Israeli thing that would prevent a visa.

I indeed only have one more segment remaining.

My view towards DOH, DXB and AUH was principally because I have an AA award JED-xAUH-PEK already booked and ticketed. However, EY has made a schedule change delaying what would have been my departure from JED by 24 hours. Being such a significant change I'm reasonably confident that I will have a bit of leverage in changing the JED-xAUH to X-xAUH, possibly moreso from DOH being so close. (I'm aware EY doesn't fly from DXB.) And of course if it's just AUH-PEK well that's a whole lot easier but not maximising my AA award value. So ideally I'd like a destination that EY services (to simply substitute for JED-xAUH) but that's not overly critical. On top of that, this is for travel between Christmas and new year so award space is likely gone, hence my desire to leverage the significant EY schedule change.

I'll report back on the tax situation when I finally get in a time zone that will allow me to call the AA RTW desk.

This is incorrect. You cannot visit as a tourist on your own, but a local tourism company can arrange the paperwork for you. You will need to be on an "approved" tour, and there used to be some rule about travelling in groups of four, but I imagine that is up to the tour company to set up.

http://www.samallaghi.com/index.php?lng=en has a good reputation
http://sauditourism.sa/en/Pages/default.aspx I found on Google

If you are not a woman (we all have our faults), you can also obtain a three day transit visa that would permit you to go out and wonder around by yourself. If you look in the Trip Reports forums several people have had success with this process. NB., this advice is quite dependent on the passport you hold.

An Israeli stamp or two is not a problem for Oman. In fact evidence of visiting Israel is much more likely to be a problem in Saudi Arabia. If you do decide to visit Saudi Arabia as a tourist, I suggest replacing your passport before you go or travelling on a second passport, if your government will issue a second one to you.

As for the taxes, they are simply recalculated on any unflown sectors. If there are more taxes (or fees) to pay, you will be charged. If taxes have gone down, you might get the money back. You are not going to be taxed twice.

(my emphasis)
I was unaware of this - I believed re-calculation was only for the changed segments; in other words you get back the taxes and charges on segments you are dropping and you pay taxes and charges on segments you are adding, but that segments that are unchanged (and not yet flown) are not recalculated (which would mean additional payments if any of their taxes and charges have increased since you paid for the ticket).

My apologies. I am aware of visas available to tourist groups, just not as an individual. But my post was misleading; poor form on my part.

Indeed, that is one fault I will carry to my grave.

The only information I could find on Saudi transit visas was for a maximum of eight hours. But I'll check out the trip report forum and see what information I can find. The Saudi Embassy in Canberra has been completely and totally unhelpful, ignoring my email for well over a month.

Buggered again. I do indeed have an Israeli stamp.

Well that doesn't sound so great. It would mean I'd have to wait until four days before departure - the date of arrival into LHR - before booking the new sector. I'll have to really suss the AA RTW desk out on this one, particularly considering it will be Christmas when I travel.

Thank you for the info. More research for me, it seems.

Perhaps my post was too sharp. My understanding is that the tour companies can help you "find a group" and then set up the visa for you. If you still want to visit. :)

There is definitely a 72 hour transit visa available, which permits you to leave the airport. An Australian shouldn't have any problem getting such a visa, at least no more than anyone else (except for the Israeli stamp—don't they do those on detachable paper now?).

Look it might be a problem, or it might not. However, Oman is also a great place to visit and it won't be a problem there.

I'm not sure what you mean. You can change the ticket at any time, you don't have to wait in between flown sectors. Unless you paid UK Air Passenger Duty or airport service fees before they went up last year and you want to avoid paying the difference?

However, others here think that only the changed coupons—not the entire fare component—will be recalculated, so I might be wrong on that score anyway.