Airline alliance Oneworld has introduced a new version of its round-the-world Explorer fare, but with a new catch – all travel must take place solely within the southern hemisphere.
The new version of the fare comes following the recent introduction of Latam Airlines’ new Sao Paolo-Johannesburg service. Prior to the launch of the route, no Oneworld members operated flights providing a southern-hemisphere connection across the Atlantic Ocean, making a southern-hemisphere round-the-world Explorer trip impossible.
Meanwhile, the South Africa to Australasia leg of the route is covered by Qantas’s existing Johannesburg-Sydney service. Both Latam and Qantas connect Sydney with Santiago, with an optional stop in New Zealand.
The new three-continent, round-the-world Explorer ticket is available for sale from select southern-hemisphere countries, notably Australia, Brazil, Chile, South Africa and New Zealand. Flights within each continent are also included, with travel able to take place in an eastwards or westwards direction.
Pricing is based upon the number of continents visited as opposed to distance flown. Fares for the new Explorer ticket start from the following:
- Starting in Australia and the Southwest Pacific: A$3,299 (US$2,449) economy; A$10,499 (US$7,793) business.
- Starting in South Africa: R21,560 (US$1,530) economy; R80,460 (US$5,710) business.
- Starting in South America, excluding Brazil: US$3,200 economy; US$8,600 business.
- Starting in Brazil: US$3,300 economy, US$8,100 business.
