Round the world flights
This article is a travel topic.
Rather than buying separate flights from one destination to another, a flexible and sometimes cheaper way of international travel is via Round the world (RTW) tickets. A round the world ticket is a plane ticket allowing you to fly around the world, usually over a period of up to a year and with between three and ten stops at different airports.
Round the world tickets cost far less than the sum of the one-way tickets between each set of individual stops. (One-way tickets are generally a poor value compared to round-trip tickets, and also may be viewed with suspicion by security or immigration personnel.) They are usually slightly more expensive than a return ticket between destinations on opposite sides of the world (London and Sydney for example), but if you were planning two or more stops then you may find that a round the world ticket is the cheapest option, and allows you at least a side trip. Many travellers plan entire holidays using a round the world itinerary.
Ticket types
There are a number of ways to fly round the world. A "real" round the world ticket is issued as a single ticket, and comes with a host of conditions attached. You can also roll your own RTW by combining one-way tickets.
Airline alliance round the world deals
Because few individual airlines offer truly global service, round the world tickets are often associated with an airline alliance and allow you to travel with any airline that is part of the alliance. The major RTW offerings available worldwide are:
- Star Alliance Round the World Fare, [1]. Covering 16 airlines, 139 countries and over 800 destinations, this is the unmatched champion for sheer number of destinations and routing options. The pass is available in 29000 (RWSTAR1), 34000 (RWSTAR2) and 39000 (RWSTAR3) mile versions in Economy, Business and First Class. There is also a special "Starlite" fare for 26000 miles in Economy only, but this is limited to a maximum of 5 stopovers. The price of the ticket varies — sometimes quite significantly — depending on your starting location, but there are no high/low season changes. Backtracking allowed. Land legs count towards your mileage allotment.
- OneWorld Explorer and Global Explorer, [2]. The Oneworld alliance offers two types of RTWs. The OneWorld Explorer is based on the number of continents visited and has no maximum mileage limit. Up to 20 flights can be included over 3, 4, 5 or 6 continents. The Global Explorer, Oneworld's limited-mileage RTW, is similar to the Star Alliance RTW in that mileage is limited (29,000 to 39,000 miles.) Several non-Oneworld Alliance airlines can also be used with the Global Explorer, while the Oneworld Explorer is limited to the full members of Oneworld. For this reason travel to certain regions, e.g. the South Pacific islands, is easier with the Global Explorer than with the Oneworld Explorer. On the other hand, as LAN Chile is a member, this is the only alliance which goes to Easter Island. Oneworld's coverage of the Americas is excellent; however coverage of SE Asia and Africa is comparatively limited.
- SkyTeam Round the World, [3]. A distant third, whose major limitation is the lack of flights in South America and Australia.
- World Journey (aka Flying Dutchman). Northwest, KLM and Malaysian band together a large number of smaller carriers to offer good coverage in Africa, India, South America, and the South Pacific. Available in 25000/30000/35000/40000 mile versions.
- The Great Escapade, [4] 29,000 miles and unlimited stops throughout the Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines/SilkAir network — great coverage in South-East Asia and the Pacific, but spotty elsewhere. Backtracking allowed. The maximum number of stops within mileage is about 10 eg London - Delhi - Bangkok - Bali - Australia Stop - New Zealand Stop - Fiji - Raratonga - Tahiti - Los Angeles - London and prices are good value and start from £825[5]plus tax
- Four Corners. Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air New Zealand, Virgin Atlantic. Similar to Great Escapade, but with better coverage in Europe/Africa and worse coverage in South-East Asia.
- Big Planet Tour. Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand, plus Lufthansa/Austrian if departing in Germany/Benelux.
- Discovery tickets. Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Air Pacific, British Airways, and most Qantas codeshares. This is probably the biggest selling RTW out of the UK, allowing 29000 miles and 6 stops. However an extra 1500 miles can be bought for £100, or 3000 miles for £200. A lot cheaper than the Global Explorer and the One World, with similar routings, including Africa and South America, and from £734 plus tax. [6]
Single/partner airline RTWs
A few airlines, including Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand, offer RTWs valid only on their own flights.
Quite a few more sell two-airline RTWs, with some examples being:
- Air New Zealand and one of Cathay Pacific, El Al, Gulf Air, Lufthansa, KLM, Royal Brunei
- All Nippon Airways and Virgin Atlantic
- El Al and one of Qantas, Korean
- Singapore and one of Continental, LAN Chile, United
- Thai and one of Continental, Virgin Atlantic
- United and one of Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Saudi Arabian, South African
These can be cheaper than full alliance RTWs, but your choice of routing is severely restricted and tickets can only be purchased in certain locations, not across the network. Inquire with the issuing airline for details.
Not quite round-the-world
If you want to do a long, circular itinerary that isn't quite all the way around the world, there are a number of interesting alternative options also available:
- OneWorld Circle Explorer, [7]. A do-it-yourself kind of fare where you pay for the number of continents visited (minimum three, maximum four). Note that a stop in Africa is obligatory.
- OneWorld Circle Pacific, [8]. 22,000 to 29,000 miles around the Pacific Rim, covering Asia, Oceania, North America and South America.
- Star Alliance Circle Pacific, [9]. Allows you to loop around the Pacific Rim, for a total trip of 22,000-26,000 miles. Excellent coverage in Asia, but in North America you are limited to four West Coast gateways plus Honolulu.
- Star Alliance Circle Asia, [10]. 15,000 or 18,000 miles all around Asia. Your journey must cover all three regions, defined as "South-West Pacific", "North Asia" and "South-East Asia".
Circle Atlantic and Circle Pacific fares are also offered by some individual airlines, such as United and Malaysian.
If you book an intercontinental round trip flight on an alliance airline you are eligible for passes that give discount flights in the destination continent.
- Sky Team offer passes [11] for Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
- Star Alliance have passes [12] for Europe, North America, Brazil, Asia, Japan, the South Pacific, and sub-saharan Africa.
Specialist travel agents
It is possible to put together a round-the-world route by combining one-way tickets on various airlines. This is more flexible than restricting yourself to what an alliance offers and, if you get good discounts on some hops, pricing can be competitive. The only practical way to do this — since it requires both knowledge and contacts — is to go to a travel agent who specialises in round-the-world itineraries. These can be found in major cities that are transit hubs — London [13],Bangkok, New York, San Francisco [14], [15] etc. Expect the process to take several weeks; these agents will get parts of your ticket issued by their contacts in other countries and couriered to them. This can save you money, but it takes time.
Discount airlines
It's now possible to fly entirely around the world on discount airlines (low cost carriers), although the routings possible are restricted. Your tickets will, in general, be completely inflexible, with steep fees for making any changes (if allowed at all), but for the frugal traveler this is still the cheapest option. See Discount airlines for some options and sample itineraries.
Conditions
Conditions for round the world tickets often include:
- a strict mileage limit. Typical limits range from 26 000 to 40 000 miles, depending on the ticket price. "Land legs" -- travelling between two airports without using the ticket -- will typically count towards the mileage limit, so you cannot have a longer trip by doing this. (Note the Oneworld Explorer has no mileage limit but is based on the number of continents included.)
- a time limit in which to make the journey. This is usually the same as an open-ended return ticket, that is, 12 months after your date of departure.
- a minimum number of stops (including your return home): often three.
- a maximum number of stops: five and up, depending on the ticket price.
- returning to your departure point (or, at least the country of origin) on the last leg of the trip.
- travelling in one direction (east or west) only, usually interpreted per continent (ie. you can't cross the Atlantic or Pacific more than once).
- a fixed series of stops determined at the time the ticket is booked (date alterations are usually allowed). Changes in itinerary (routing, stopover points) may require that tickets be re-issued, usually at a cost of USD 100 - 150 plus additional taxes and fuel surcharges if applicable.
Planning your trip
Planning for a RTW trip requires quite a bit of preparation.
Some ways to get the maximum value from your ticket are:
- Use a mileage calculator to maximize your route. The Great Circle Mapper is an excellent tool, but be sure to set the display to "mi" (miles), not "nm" (nautical miles).
- Use direct flights whenever possible. Be flexible with dates; routes off the beaten track are often not flown daily.
- Start your trip from a low-cost country. RTW pricing depends on where you issue the ticket, so you can achieve significant savings by starting from places like Bulgaria, Sri Lanka or Thailand. As an example, in April 2005, a Star Alliance RTW3 in First would have cost you $16,509 if purchased in the United Kingdom, but only $7,929 (a savings of 52%) if purchased in Tonga.
- The famous Canadian exception means that RTWs sold in Canada cost the same as at the point where the trip begins. For example, that means you can buy a ticket in Canada for an RTW beginning in Thailand and pay the much cheaper Thai price. Of course, you have to get to Thailand in order to start the RTW but the extra ticket you need will probably cost less than the difference in the RTW fares; in other words, you still save money.
- Start your trip in low season; in some cases this lowers the overall fare drastically.
- Consider flying business class (or, for a real splurge, first). Yes, you'll pay about twice as much for the ticket — but business class usually costs 4-7x more than economy, so it's a comparative steal, and it makes all that sitting around in planes so much more tolerable.
- Join a frequent flyer program before you fly. With all the miles you rack up from your RTW, you'll earn enough to make another trip for free when you get back.
- Watch out for taxes and surcharges. These are not included in the base cost of the RTW, but can easily add up to hundreds of dollars, and some countries (e.g., much of Europe) are much more expensive than others (e.g., most of Asia).
When choosing your destinations, consider whether an RTW is the best solution for visiting them. As a very rough rule of thumb for gauging costs, assuming a 29,000-mile ticket for $3000, one mile of an Economy RTW costs (on average) around $0.10.
- Consider some offbeat, once-in-a-lifetime destinations. For example, regular flights to Svalbard, Easter Island, or much of Oceania and Africa are horrifically expensive, but virtually free (only miles needed) when using a RTW ticket.
- Consider taking non-alliance airlines for routes less travelled. As an example, suppose you'd like to fly from Dubai to Athens. You'd be hard-pressed to find a good route with most RTW tickets, as neither Emirates nor Olympic participate in the major programs, and would have to detour through a hub like Frankfurt, racking up over 4000 miles (~$400). On the other hand, direct flights on non-allied airlines cost as little as $196.
- Consider taking discount airlines for return excursions. For example, Bangkok-Singapore return would set you back 2000 miles (~$200), but on this heavily competed sector full-service carriers regularly offers fares under $100 and low-cost carriers promotions can be under $10.
Some tips to consider if you need to squeeze in a few more miles:
- Use citywide airport codes instead of airport-specific ones. For London, LON covers Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City, while for Tokyo, TYO covers both Narita and Haneda. SIN-TYO clocks in at 3294 mi while SIN-NRT is 3324 m — a difference of 30 miles.
- Stops on the same flight don't count. If ticketed so that Tromso doesn't show on the ticket, a flight from Oslo to Longyearbyen is 1255 mi, not 1292 mi, even though there is a stop at Tromso. (Note that the Star Alliance mileage calculator does not handle this correctly.)
- You (usually) don't need to start and end your journey in the same city, as long as you end up in the same country. For example, starting in NYC and ending in LAX, then using a cheap, separately purchased one-way ticket to get back to NYC would free up a few thousand miles.
Southern Hemisphere
If you want to fly around the world completely in the Southern Hemisphere, the choice of flights and destinations is limited due to the lack of transoceanic routes. No airline alliance presently covers all three ocean crossings in the Southern Hemisphere (and SkyTeam covers none of the crossings).
However, if you're starting in North America, Air New Zealand (Star Alliance) has flights from Los Angeles to Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Tonga, and Auckland. Note that Star Alliance has no South Pacific east of Tahiti or trans-South American crossing as such (Varig Airlines is no longer a member), but is the only alliance that covers both of the other oceans. For North American Star Alliance members, getting in and out via Tahiti may be the best route.
Your options for each ocean crossing are:
South Pacific
- LAN Chile: Santiago - Auckland (Some flights stop at Easter Island and Tahiti en route. Also flies to Brazil and Argentina which is needed to connect with a South Atlantic flight.) (Oneworld)
- Aerolineas Argentinas: Buenos Aires - Auckland - Sydney (unaffiliated)
- Air New Zealand: (partial crossing with connecting flights) Tahiti - Cook Islands - Fiji (optional) - Auckland - Perth (Star Alliance)
Indian Ocean
- South African Airways: Perth - Johannesburg (Star Alliance)
- Qantas: Sydney - Johannesburg or (codeshare w/South African) Perth - Johannesburg (Oneworld)
- Air Mauritius has flights from Australia to Mauritius, and from there to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Nairobi and other African cities. (This is the most direct option if you want to stop in Madagascar or Kenya en route.) (unaffiliated)
- You can also transit through Singapore, but this is slightly north of the equator. (Star Alliance if via Singapore Air)
South Atlantic
- Malaysia Airlines: Kuala Lumpur - Johannesburg - Cape Town - Buenos Aires (unaffiliated)
- TAAG Air Angola: Luanda - Rio de Janeiro (unaffiliated)
- South African Airways: Johannesburg - Buenos Aires or Johannesburg - São Paulo (There are many 1hr. connecting flights to Rio available.) (Star Alliance)
On the road
Even for alliancewide RTWs, the ticket will be issued by one airline. If you need to change a flight leg, it is best to contact first the carrier you will be flying with, and if they can't help, then consult the issuing airline.
After your ticket has been issued, you are typically allowed to change the dates of your flights for free (except the first international leg), but changing the destinations will require a hefty reissuing fee (US$125 for Star Alliance). Flying the same route on another carrier covered by the pass may or may not be possible.
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