In my experience this is just an issue with EF and the GDS it pulls from. As has been discussed in other threads, if you input an airline (AA, BA, CX, etc) then the missing fares show up.

I know the rules prohibit it, but couldn't a three-continent ex-Africa be Africa-Europe-Asia, such as JNB-LHR-HKG-JNB? All direct flights, no extra continent "touching."

Sure it is 3 continents but how are you going around the world with that routing? TC2-TC2-TC3-TC2
Looks to me that you are just circling, and not crossing both oceans and proceeding TC1-TC2-TC3 in a continuous forward direction.

Right, only one ocean. Brain fade.

There is a ticket for that - it's a 3-continent Circle Trip Explorer (xONEWCn - where x = L, D or A and n= 3 or 4; the fourth continent is South West Pacific)
These tickets have very similar rules and very similar prices to the Oneworld Explorer tickets

In good old days, there was ONE big difference.
XONEWCn didn't have the upper limit of the number of segments.
So, I planned 30+ segments DONEWC3 ex-Japan.

No segment limit? Did they issue multiple ticket books? How does that work?

Well, back in the days of paper tickets, there were lots of multiple ticket itineraries. The largest paper ticket booklet accommodated four flight segments.

Each "ticket" can accommodate up to 4 sectors.
http://www.jaunted.com/files/3873/Plane_Ticket.jpg
The old paper tickets had a page in a booklet for each sector.
That 4 sector ticket is assigned a single ticket number, eg 001-*97992*342
Tickets can be linked together into a single booking, leading to ticket numbers such as 001-*97992*342-43.
Current IATA e-ticket rules limit it to 4 linked tickets - ie, 16 sectors. (eg 081-4*6850*3443-46)
Paper tickets had no such official limit.

Yes, OK, I understand that

but what did the DONEWC3 fare rules allow back then?
there would be three inter-continental flights
and what - no limit on intra-continent flights?
sounds like you had 27+ such flights spread between three continents

I have come across information these original *O fare products had no segment limitation.

By the time I booked my first in 2005, the limit was 20 and I received 5 booklets stapled together from CX in CMB.

There was no overall defined segment limit but there was a limit of ? 4-5 free segments per continent (? 6 in North America) and possibility of purchasing ? 2 extra segments ? per continent meaning an xONE6 had an effective limit of somewhere around 32- 36 segments plus extra purchased segments.

An interesting thread from the early days of Flyertalk with a 35 segment itinerary listed on page 3 -

Those were the days my friend,
I wished they'd never end ,
We'd fly and stay forever and a day,
We'd fly the flights we choose,
So much our butts would bruise,
We were young and sure to fly our way

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...orer-fare.html

In old days XONEWCn, unlimited segments per continent.
You didn't have to purchase extra segments.
Only limiting factors were flying only once between a pair of airports per direction, and 2 STOPOVERS per continent (e.g. loophole).

In my old DONEWC3(ex-NRT), European part consisted of 7 segments like
JNB-xLHR-xAMS-xLHR-FRA-xLHR-xHEL-xLHR-CDG-HKG
O.K, I didn't have enough time to add xLHR-xDXB-xLHR-xFCO-xLHR.

Furthermore, in that time, there was no fuel surcharge.
So, XONEWCn was the best mileage run ticket.

The only reference from the early days that I can find is one in whom I have 100% confidence - me :p and my former self suggests otherwise (unless you have a reference pre-1999):

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...rer-fares.html

Abridged version:

FARE: RTW QF/ONEW4

GENERAL CONDITION: RWQF1W4


Code Description
Departure City ADELAIDE BRISBANE CAIRNS MELBOURNE PERTH SYDNEY


Airline QANTAS AIRWAYS/BRITISH AIRWAYS/AMERICAN AIRLINES
/CANADIAN AIRLINES/CATHAY PACIFIC/FINNAIR/IBERIA
*THIS IS THE ONEWORLD EXPLORER-4 CONTINENTS FARE


Fares Updated 31 AUGUST 1999 (SM)






Stopovers 1)THREE FREE STOPOVERS ARE PERMITTED IN EACH OF
THE MAXIMUM F O U R CONTINENTS VISITED
OTHER THAN THAT OF COMMENCEMENT OF TRAVEL.
2)ONE FREE STOPOVER IS PERMITTED AT INTERCONT'L
DEPARTURE AND ARRIVAL GATEWAY IN THE CONTINENT
OF COMMENCEMENT OF TRAVEL.
3)UNLIMITED ADDITIONAL FLIGHT SEGMENTS(EXCEPT IN
CONTINENT OF COMMENCEMENT) MAY BE PURCHASED TO
ALLOW ADDITIONAL STOPOVERS WITHIN A CONTINENT
AT AUD160/ECONOMY CLASS P E R FLIGHT SEGMENT


Notes * THIS IS THE QANTAS AIRWAYS"ONEWORLD F O U R
CONTINENTS" PUBLISHED FARE -





Routings A)RTW/CIRCLE TRIPS/OJ - VIA QF/BA/AA/AY/CX/CP/IB
/DI/IJ O P E R A T E D SERVICES ONLY.
B)TRANSFERS: UNLIMITED ONLINE/INTERLINE BETWEEN
QF/BA/AA/AY/CP/CX/DI/IB/IJ IS PERMITTED
SUBJECT TO A L L SECTOR/ROUTING RESTRICTIONS.
C)MAXIMUM F O U R CONTINENTS MAY BE VISITED
- WITH ONLY O N E INTERCONTINENTAL DEPARTURE
AND ARRIVAL PERMITTED FROM/IN EACH CONTINENT.
*NOTE: CIRCLE PACIFIC TRIP COMPRISING TWO
TRANSPACIFIC FLTS ARE N O T PERMITTED.
D)FREE SECTORS ARE LIMITED WITHIN EACH CONTINENT
AS FOLLOWS AND ARE SUBJECT TO THE MAXIMUM
STOPOVER ALLOWANCES. WHEN THE STOPOVER MAXIMUM
HAS BEEN REACHED ANY REMAINING USED FLIGHT
SEGMENTS SHALL BE FORFEITED -
1)4 SECTORS: EUROPE AND MIDDLE EAST WITH N O
MORE THAN 2 OF WHICH MAY BE TO/FROM MID.EAST
2)4 SECTORS: AFRICA/STH.WEST PACIFIC/STH.AMER.
3)6 SECTORS: NORTH AMERICA.
4)5 SECTORS: ASIA.
E)UNLIMITED ADDITIONAL FLIGHT SEGMENTS MAY BE
PURCHASED AT AUD160 EACH


Suggested Route 4 CONTINENTS: SYD/JNB/LON/YYZ/CHI/LAX/SYD





Fare Basis ECONOMY: M*ONEW4 (* = ADD SEASONALITY)





Rules copied from www.travel.com.au website

Your reference describes about XONEX, not XONEWCX.

See
http://www.jeah.net/~markdu/OWFiles/....09052002.html
(not pre-1999, but 2002).

I could obfuscate and point out that this thread is about xONEx fares but will instead yield and claim confusion caused by Xs and asterixes! :eek: At least I was motivated to review some of the threads from the early days of Flyertalk and still submit that those were the days

drifting ... FT taught me that it is perfectly normal to go to work in SYD on Monday morning, leave early and catch the arvo flight to BKK, buy a cheap RTW and hop on the Tuesday evening flight back to SYD - ready to start work again on Wednesday morning (all be it somewhat tired). Made for interesting times in the tea room when people asked "where were you yesterday?"

Is that your ticket? Recent? I don't see an issue date (year). Is it still possible to get paper tickets?? I've always preferred them; find them much easier to use.

Top Right: 13DEC06

Also, bottom centre "421" indicates issued by S7 (Siberia Airlines)

I too preferred paper tickets
(Ah - nostalgia isn't what it used to be;))

Now I wonder - just what did Himeno get up to when had his mid-winter break from Novosibirsk in Bangkok back in '06?

Paper tickets were great until you got 4 books of tickets (or more) as part of a huge trip. Their bulk and security was painful.

Even more painful was my experience after keeping my tickets and passport in the Oz Govt supplied plastic wallet on a trip in hot and humid Asia - only to discover a pulpy mess where rain, sweat and heat had made the tickets unreadable and impossible to open up.

E tickets are far more convenient but I miss the paper books as they were great souvenirs.

No. Just an image I found online.

her. :(

The last paper ticket I had was in 2008 when I'd booked a 16 sector LONE4 prior to QF canning NRT-MEL. I was rerouted via SYD creating a 17 sector trip and the e-ticket was reissued on paper. (of course that was later again reissued as a e-ticket midway through the trip due to the issues in BKK and being rerouted around it and the travel agent had said to keep the remaining paper coupons to return at the end. Of course, try explain that to BA at FCO and LHR...)

The only other paper ticket I've had since I started traveling on my own was a Oneworld Global Explorer ticket in 2006. I used JL for KIX-LHR when JL was on the xGLOBnn but before they joined oneworld and the xONEx. As JL had not completed ticketing links with all the carriers I was using, it was issued on paper.

I preferred paper tix, particularly on xONEx tix because it made changing carriers easier. You didn't have to go back to the issuing carrier to have anything "sent" electronically to the new carrier if you changed flights on the go, as you might (and I did from time to time) if the original carrier suffered an equipment delay or similar.

I booked a 20 segment DONE4 ex CMB with in 2005 and received 5 coupon books filled out by hand and stapled together.

When I made some date changes in 2006 I had to mail the remain coupons books back - in return I received a stapled wad on computer printed ATB2 stock for the remaining flights.

I'm currently planning a DONE3 (ex-TYO). It would have been planned months ago, but the changes QF has been making (QF9/10 retiming, program adjustments, etc...) has caused some delays.

Last night, I was trying to change a date for the LHR-DXB-LHR part only to find that QF9/10 wasn't operating that day (which made a slight problem with having a QF10>QF1 connection ;))
Today, the oneworld downloaded timetable updated and I went back to the RTW planner.
It's now showing QF coded EK flights. (eg, QF8002)
Haven't checked if it's on more then the LHR-DXB flights.

bug, or upcoming rule change to allow QF coded EK like QF coded JQ?

What happens now if you have a 16-segment RTW and one of the airlines stops flying one of the segments and you need 2 (or more) flights where it was previously 1?

Does someone give you a separate e-ticket? Do you get a paper ticket with 17 or 18 segments?

They will replace the segment with what is needed. For example I had SAN-JFK-BGI-JFK-HKG ticketed for travel this year but AA cancelled the JFK-BGI direct flights and automatically rebooked me to SAN-MIA-BGI-MIA-JFK-HKG. My 16 segment ticket became 17 segments. The problem is I didn't want those flights, but they couldn't change it since it was 17 segments. I needed to fly at least one segment to get it back to 16 before they could change it.

I'm on a DONE3 at the moment that was impacted by the withdrawal of a service. My booking was split into two separate itineraries with two separate ticket numbers.

Wow - that's incredible - I can't stop thinking of all the possibilities had I known about this!

I can understand why they did this - I had a DONE5 that succeeded in making 5 of the 6 intercontinental USA flights into flights > 2000 miles by pivoting around PHX and CLT. Unfortunately won't be able to book that again.

New Version 1-Aug-2014
 

Nothing significant that I can spot.

The changes I have spotted are:

• Under the heading "FARES" it now states "Refer GDS"; it used to state "Refer end of sheet" (and it had been some years since the fares were listed at the end of the sheet)
• Some changes in Section 5 to the ticketing deadlines
• Also in Section 5 a new sentence "OSI YY OW RTW to be inserted into PNR to avoid reservation cancellation." (anyone understand this?)
• In 16(b)(1) there's now a 1000RUB cancellation fee on sales in Russia

I understand base fares have remained rather unchanged over the years? With some regions providing a better value than others?

Working on a post and wondering if anybody remember specific increases in their go-to XONEX?

South Korea (ICN) used to be really cheap, but got rerated upwards. As did Sudan (KTM).

KRT. KTM is Kathmandu, Nepal. ;)

When did that happen? South Korea was similar to Japan prices last time I looked.

Current base fares from Sth Korea are unchanged from the fare list I have dated March-2012

Sudan, sadly, is a different matter. For example the DONE4 used to be SDG14700 (approx USD3300 at the then exchange rate) and now it is published in USD and is much, much higher

Last year ex-South Africa went up about $1k. Year or so before that, ex-Israel/Egypt went up $2k or so if I recall correctly. About 8 or so years ago, ex-North America started going up every year until it had pretty much doubled.

What about ex-MLE, now that UL and CX have flights to the Maldives? I don't recall any published fares on Expert Flyer.

Thy're there now, nothing worth commenting on - CMB is cheaper by a couple percent, for example.

CX has published some:
Results from ExpertFlyer.com

Yes, my mistake - KTM was in my mind as I've been recently looking at MH flights there. My apologies.