Questions/Advice on OW xONE RTW fare in Y

[casanovawa]

I've got a friend who is planning for her and the hubby plus two kids to take a long working holiday RTW next year, below is the itinerary she is thinking of and a price she has gotten for it...

We've got a quote for Perth - San Fran, NY - London, Rome - Istanbul, Istanbul - Colombo, Colombo - coughet, coughet - Perth for $4998 per adult

Now I'm sure one of the xONE OW fares should be able to cover this and at a lesser price, i just haven't gone and put the route into the Great Circle Mapper to find out which mileage limit it would come under...

Just a couple of quick questions if anyone can offer any advice:

• I think her two kids would be above 12 or so, so I imagine even if there was a child's class on these xONE fares they would be above it or are they all one price?
• She is querying once she leaves Australia, can she change the dates for the legs without charge as it could be about a 6 month to 1 year trip, so can you do that, but probably be charged for changing cities etc?
• Whatever price I look up on the One World site or Qantas etc, is there a significant saving if i tell her about booking it to start and stop in a different country, such as NZ, I've heard people say that there is a savings, but just not sure how much (are we talking a few hundred dollars) and she just needs to call Qantas or is it OW direct somehow and book the fare to start from NZ and probably head through Perth and just not complete the leg to NZ

Any advice I could get would be appreciated, I've done two of these i think but way back in about 2003 and 2004 and didn't know about this site or half the tricks etc back then...

 

[serfty]

For a start, xONEx'a are limited by segments, not mileage.

Normally I'd recommend starting from NZ to save up to $750 per PAX on base fare(NZD3899 v AUD3899), but from PER such benefit is significantly reduced.

I suggest you give this FlyerTalk thread a good read:

The oneworld explorer ticket FAQs

Posted on a wing and a prayer ...

 

[Leumas]

If your friend is in Perth, would starting in South Africa be any better? I know you can save significantly if going business class, but I'm not sure about economy... If you do start elsewhere, you need to get all 4 people to that starting point, even if the savings are there, it's just a lot of hassle (unless you want a holiday there too).