Nearly a week had passed, and still no tickets in the mail. I was mildly concerned: I knew significant OneWorld fare changes went into effect June 1 and I didn’t want any snafus.

When I called the OneWorld round-the-world desk the ticket agent assured me all was in order: “These tickets take time,” she said. “They have to be handwritten.”

Made sense to me. Certainly no two are alike. Still I assumed she meant they had to be individually assembled.

But no, she meant they needed to be handwritten. I hadn’t seen an airline ticket like this in 25 years!

In addition to changing fare rules, as of June 1 OneWorld is moving to e-tickets for its round-the-world tickets. More convenient to be sure, but somehow not quite as romantic.