Oneworld Explorer RTW 'Plan & book online' frustration! | Gap Year & Round the World Travel - Lonely Planet Forum

ONLINE

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 04:18:18 +0000

I have wasted a week doing battle with the Oneworld Explorer RTW 'Plan & book online' system!

On the net I have found reports from people who love it and hate it but none that report the frustrating errors that I have confronted.

For instance it will allow you add Australian regional airports as the start or end of your itinerary [as allowed by item 7 of the the explorer terms and conditions] but the flight search consistently reports 'We couldn't find any flights that match, try expanding your criteria.' !

Conversely it allowed me to 'book' seats to and from Easter Island only to be told soon after by a travel agent, and confirm by LAN Chile, that such seats had been fully booked for weeks!

And when I do finally achieve an 'allowed' itinerary, paying via the 'online booking' system consistently fails to complete due to an 'error' and I have to speak with a 'local representative' to continue!

This is when the 'local representative' insists that the seats that were available to the oneworld system an hour earlier have not been available for weeks!

And then they advise that the total price quoted by the explorer system has omitted swathes of extra taxes/surcharges/fees and this element of the price jumps by $900+ [from AUD614 to AUD1543]!

I cannot believe that I am the only one suffering these frustrations with the inadequacies of the Oneworld system. Do you know of others? Is there a forum about these issues? Or a support group for those who are teetering on the edge of sanity as a result?

Do Oneworld know of these issues? Do they care? It has the potential to be a fantastic tool allowing travellers to plan complex itineraries at their leisure saving airlines hours of telephone sales time. As it stands it is wasting everybody's time!

Am I alone in this nightmare? Please share your experiences with the Oneworld Explorer 'Plan & book online' system here, positive or negative, and we may prompt Oneworld to make it work...

ONLINE

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:09:21 +0000

You are far from alone.

I serve as the volunteer "moderator" for the Oneworld board on Flyertalk, and we have a "sticky" thread devoted to this issue - http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld/913287-xonex-online-tool-bugs-thread.html . It's very frustrating because Oneworld shields itself against direct contact from the public and makes people go through the individual airlines, most of whom are clueless in the ins and outs of the various RTW and multi-continent tickets. I have spoken on several occasions to Oneworld personnel on the matter of the tool. They are aware of the issues, but seem unwilling or unable to do much about it in the short term, although, in fairness, some of the early problems have been resolved. Unfortunately, as new airlines join the alliance or new routes are created, it seems like new problems jump up to take the place of those that have been resolved previously.

I'd recommend registering at FT and posting your proposed itinerary there. There are workarounds possible - I and many others have used the online booking tool to get the trips we wanted - but it often requires some specialized "know-how" to get it to work, e.g., which airlines to use for which segments, etc. Don't give up.

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ONLINE

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 21:32:15 +0000

Travel can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it tracypearl. Here on the TT, RTW tickets are generally the province of newbie independent travellers. You find few here who buy a RTW a second time. That's because they discover the limitations not just of the booking system but of tying yourself in to a schedule and itinerary. Yes I know you can change dates and even your route for a price but the reality is most tend to just follow their itinerary.

Travel is about freedom from everyday schedules and responsibilities. To be able to get up each morning and ask yourself, 'so what do I want to do today' not, 'so what am I scheduled to do today'. Why people want to immediately throw that freedom away by self-imposing an itinerary of pre-booked tickets never fails to amaze me.

Here is how I suggest you solve your problem. Buy a ticket to A, when you are ready and not before, decide where to go next. Spend as much time as you need to in each place to see/do what you want to see/do, without throwing your money away. Repeat until either the funds available or time available runs out. Go home.

There is no need to spend time and energy stressing over budgets and itineraries unless you choose to self-impose that on yourself.

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