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DONE4 to DONE5 typically costs an additional $700-$1,000 in business class
From cheaper origins (ex-Japan, ex-CAI), the increment can be as low as ~$900
From expensive origins (ex-US), the increment is $1,200-$1,500+
Reference Pricing (Business Class, approximate)
Continents
Ex-US
Ex-Japan
Ex-Cairo
Ex-South Africa
DONE3
~$9,000
~$5,500
~$3,500+
~$4,000
DONE4
~$10,500
~$6,360
~$4,000+
~$5,000
DONE5
~$12,000
~$7,260
~$4,400+
~$5,700
DONE6
~$14,099
~$8,500
~$5,500+
~$6,662
Note: These are approximate and fluctuate with currency rates and fare filings.
When DONE5 is Worth It
If you're already visiting 4 continents AND your routing naturally touches a 5th
When the incremental cost is small relative to what a separate ticket to that continent would cost
Ex-CAI: The increment from DONE4 to DONE5 is minimal, making DONE5 almost always worth it
Adding South America via DFW-SCL-JFK costs ~$900 extra but saves thousands vs a separate business class ticket to Santiago
When DONE4 is Sufficient
If your itinerary stays within Asia + SWP + NA + EU/ME
If adding a 5th continent requires an awkward routing detour
If you're on a tight budget and the 5th continent can be visited on a separate trip
2. Cheap Origin Cities
Tier 1: Cheapest Known Origins
City
Currency Advantage
Notes
Cairo (CAI)
EGP devaluation (2024: USD/EGP hit 50+)
Historically the killer sweet spot. OW even pulled ex-Egypt fares briefly because they were too cheap. DONE5 ~$4,400 GBP / ~145k EGP
Oslo (OSL)
Norway filing advantage
~$5,794 EUR for DONE5 vs ~$8,099 from Netherlands. Easy positioning from London
Johannesburg (JNB)
ZAR weakness
DONE6 as low as $6,662. Good if Africa is on your route anyway
Tier 2: Moderate Value Origins
City
Notes
Tokyo (NRT/HND)
DONE4 ~$6,360, DONE5 ~$7,260. Higher taxes/YQ than CAI/OSL
Colombo (CMB)
Occasionally mentioned as cheap. SriLankan Airlines is oneworld
Karachi (KHI)
Historically cheap, limited current data
Tier 3: Expensive Origins (Avoid if Possible)
City
Notes
USA origins
DONE5 ~$12,000+, DONE6 ~$14,099
UK origins (LHR)
Higher than OSL/CAI, plus high UK departure taxes
Australia (SYD)
Ex-Japan is roughly half the price for same itinerary
Positioning Strategy
If based in London: Position to CAI or OSL for cheap tickets
CAI positioning: ~$100-200 on budget carrier or Avios
OSL positioning: ~$100-150 from London
The positioning cost is trivial compared to fare savings
3. YQ/YR Surcharge Optimization
Understanding YQ/YR
YQ and YR are carrier-imposed surcharges (fuel surcharges/carrier fees)
These are charged per segment and vary enormously by carrier
On a 16-segment DONE5, YQ can be the difference between $500 and $3,000+
Carrier Surcharge Rankings (Approximate)
Carrier
YQ Level
Notes
Japan Airlines (JL)
LOW
Recommended to minimize surcharges
American Airlines (AA)
LOW-MED
Generally reasonable
Fiji Airways (FJ)
LOW
New member, limited data
Qatar Airways (QR)
MEDIUM
Significant fuel surcharges
Qantas (QF)
MEDIUM-HIGH
Cathay Pacific (CX)
MEDIUM
Better than BA
British Airways (BA)
VERY HIGH
Notorious for massive fuel surcharges, especially on premium cabins
Iberia (IB)
VERY HIGH
~$850 one-way surcharges on business class
Optimization Strategies
Avoid BA long-haul segments where possible - or use BA only for short-haul EU legs where YQ is lower
Use JL or AA for Pacific crossings - much lower surcharges than QF or CX
Route through DOH instead of LHR - QR QSuite is better product AND lower surcharges than BA
Validating carrier matters: The validating (issuing) carrier affects how surcharges are calculated. QR, JL, or QF are often preferred over BA
UK Tax Optimization
UK has zero landing fees but very high departure taxes (especially premium cabin long-haul)
Strategy: Fly INTO the UK but depart from elsewhere if possible
For ex-CAI routing returning via LHR-CAI: the LHR departure is short-haul to CAI which has lower UK APD
4. Segment Optimization Strategy
Core Principle
Every segment on a 16-segment ticket is worth the same to you regardless of flight length. Therefore:
Use DONE segments for long-haul, expensive flights
Buy short, cheap flights separately as side trips
What Should Be ON the DONE Ticket
Long-haul intercontinental flights (6+ hours) - these are very expensive in business class
Remote Pacific island flights (NAN-TRW, NAN-FUN, NAN-APW) - expensive and infrequent
Any flight where business class one-way would cost $500+
What Should Be Side Trips
Flights under 2 hours where economy is cheap: SYD-MEL ($50-80 RT), HNL-LIH ($80-100 RT)
Japan domestic (use Shinkansen for Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka)
Mainland China side trips from HKG/TPE
Short intra-Australia hops
Budget carrier routes in SE Asia
The "Leftover Segments" Trick
If you have unused segments after building your core routing:
From a northern hemisphere origin, you can take free/cheap US round trips using remaining NA segments
Example: If returning via JFK-LHR-CAI and you have 2 spare NA segments, add JFK-MIA-JFK for free
5. Amadeus Pricing Guide (For Your Travel Agent)
Step 0: Pre-Price Without PNR (FQP)
FQPLON/ABA/VRW CHI HNL SYD BKK LON
Prices a routing without creating a PNR - useful for testing multiple routings quickly
Replace cities with your planned itinerary
Step 1: Display RTW Fare Table
FQDCAICAI/VRW/15MAR
Note: Same city must appear twice (CAICAI, not just CAI)
Replace CAI with origin city, 15MAR with travel date
This shows all available xONEx fare bases (DONE3-6, LONE3-6, AONE3-6)
Filter by carrier: FQDCAICAI/VRW/AAA (AA fares), FQDCAICAI/VRW/ABA (BA fares)
Scroll: MD (down), MU (up)
View fare notes: FQN3 (for line 3); fare rules: FRN3; routing: FQR3
Step 2: Verify DONE5 Exists for Your Origin
Look for DONE5 in the fare display results. If it's not there, the fare may not be filed for that origin/date/carrier.
Step 3: Build the PNR
Ensure all segments booked in correct booking classes:
Business: D class (most carriers), B class (all except AA), H class (AA only)
Economy: L class (most carriers), I class (some carriers)
Ensure all carriers are oneworld members/affiliates
Insert OSI YY OW RTW into the PNR to prevent cancellation
Step 4: Force DONE5 Pricing
FXP/S2RW/A-DONE5
FXP = Price PNR and create TST
/S2 = Start RTW pricing from segment 2 (adjust number to match first RTW segment)
RW = Force Round-the-World pricing
/A-DONE5 = Validated fare basis override (gives FCMI=0 automatic TST)
CRITICAL: Always use /A-DONE5 (validated), NOT /L-DONE5 (manual override). The /L- version bypasses validation, creates a manual TST (FCMI=M) that airlines may reject at audit.
Force Validating Carrier
FXP/S2RW/A-DONE5/R,VC-AA
/R,VC-AA = Force American Airlines as validating carrier (lowest YQ)
Common Problems
System defaults to LONE5: Agent ran FXP without the /SxRW/A-DONE5 modifiers
Wrong fare basis selected: Delete old TSTs with TTE/ALL and re-price from scratch
Economy classes booked on some segments: System will pick LONE5 if any segment is in L-class
AA H-class mismatch: AA uses H class for business, not D or B - #1 cause of DONE pricing failures
If /A- fails but /L- works: You have a booking class mismatch that needs fixing, not overriding
Troubleshooting Workflow
TQT -- Check existing TSTs
TTE/ALL -- Delete ALL old TSTs
-- Fix booking classes if needed --
FXP/S2RW/A-DONE5 -- Re-price
FXP/S2RW/A-DONE5/R,VC-AA -- Try forcing AA as validating carrier
What to Tell Your Travel Agent
"Please price this as a oneworld Explorer DONE5 in Amadeus, not LONE5.
Use the RW table: FQDCAICAI/VRW/[date] to confirm DONE5 is filed.
With the itinerary in business booking codes, run:
FXP/SxRW/A-DONE5/R,VC-AA
where Sx is the first RTW sector. Use AA as validating carrier for lowest surcharges.
Make sure AA segments are booked in H class (not D).
Insert OSI YY OW RTW into the PNR."
6. Validating Carrier Selection
The validating carrier (who issues the ticket) matters for:
Surcharge levels (YQ/YR)
Customer service for changes
Lounge access policies
Mileage earning rules
Recommended Validating Carriers
Carrier
Pros
Cons
Qatar Airways (QR)
Good service, reasonable YQ, files fares from many origins
Can't originate from DOH on oneworld Explorer
Japan Airlines (JL)
Low surcharges, excellent service
Best from ex-Japan origins
Qantas (QF)
Good for ex-SYD/MEL, extensive rules knowledge
Higher YQ than JL
British Airways (BA)
Easy for UK-based travelers, files from many origins
HIGH surcharges
Important Note
Doha (DOH) cannot be used as the origin city for oneworld Explorer/Global Explorer tickets
The online booking tool typically issues through the first-segment airline (not always QR)
Best practice: Call the airline RTW desk directly rather than using the online tool
7. Side Trip Economics (For Your Specific Trip)
Flights That Should Be ON the DONE5 Ticket
Route
One-way J estimate
Why on ticket
CAI-DOH
$800+
Long-haul intercontinental
DOH-JNB or DOH-NRT
$2,000+
Ultra long-haul
JNB-SYD or NRT-NAN
$1,500+
Major intercontinental
NAN-NOU/AKL
$400-600+
Expensive regional
AKL-NRT / SYD-HKG
$1,500+
Major intercontinental
NRT-HNL
$1,200+
Trans-Pacific
HNL-LAX
$500+
Domestic long-haul
LAX-MEX
$400+
International
MEX-JFK or DFW-JFK
$400+
Domestic
JFK-LHR
$2,000+
Transatlantic
LHR-CAI
$300+
Short international
Flights Better as Side Trips
Route
Economy RT estimate
Flight time
Cabin
HNL-LIH (Kauai)
~$100
44 min
Economy
SYD-MEL
~$60-80
1h30
Economy
NAN-TRW (Kiribati)
~$530
3h+
Economy (if not on ticket)
NAN-FUN (Tuvalu)
~$550
3h
Economy
NAN-APW (Samoa)
~$350
3h
Economy
NRT-TPE (if not on ticket)
~$150-200
4h
Economy
Tokyo-Kyoto
~$130 (Shinkansen)
2h15
Train
8. Booking Timeline Tips
American Airlines only allows 330-day advance bookings (vs ~360 for most others)
Book by mid-February at latest for dummy bookings on far-out flights
Date changes are free and don't trigger re-pricing after first flight
Strategy: Use dummy dates for distant flights, change dates later for free
Have all flight numbers, dates, and airport codes ready before calling the airline RTW desk
9. Mileage Earning Optimization
Business class oneworld Explorer earns significant frequent flyer miles
With Platinum status + 100% business class bonus, expect 100,000+ miles on a DONE4
Choose your earning program strategically:
BAEC (British Airways): Good for Avios earning, tier points
QR Privilege Club: Good for earning on QR flights
AA AAdvantage: Good for status credits on AA segments