Features

A world of options

26 Feb 2008 by Alex McWhirter

Round-the-world tickets can be great value, but buying them can be a complex business. Alex McWhirter offers some handy hints.

Global airline Pan Am caused quite a stir 30 years ago when it came up with the idea of a round-the-world (RTW) ticket. Until then, world travel had been the preserve of the rich – the US carrier’s idea that travellers would get a special price if they bought one ticket and toured the globe with the same carrier struck a chord with the ordinary traveller. World travel became affordable for the first time.

Pan Am is no longer around but its concept lives on. The difference today is that instead of being tied to one carrier, you can choose from dozens of airline combinations offering a vast choice of cities and routings. As in the days of Pan Am, these global tickets represent incredible value, especially for the premium class traveller.

Consider that British Airways charges up to £4,589 (including taxes and fees) for a simple London-New York business class ticket, a round-trip distance of almost 7,000 miles. On the other hand, one of BA’s Global Explorer tickets sets you back just £4,549 (plus taxes and fees) and provides 34,000 miles of business class travel. So you can visit New York and have enough mileage to include Toronto, Los Angeles, Sydney, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Naturally, round-the-world tickets come with restrictions, but these are easily surmountable. The main rule is that you must circle the globe in roughly a continual east-west or west-east direction and break your trip no more than 15 times, although the Oneworld Explorer permits 20 stopovers. You can boost the number of cities you cover by simply purchasing extra tickets. There is also a minimum length of time to complete the trip, and this varies between three and ten days.

The most popular tickets are those issued by the three airline alliances: Oneworld, Star Alliance and Skyteam. All are roughly matched on price. The best ticket for your needs will depend on where you are located and whether or not you wish to cross the Pacific via the northern (which includes Japan) or southern (which includes Australasia) routing. Invariably, tickets issued by your home carrier are the most popular.

In the case of the UK, tickets covering Australasia are most in demand because of the country’s cultural links and because business people often combine work and leisure on their global trip. Steve Gadd, business travel manager at Trailfinders, a UK agency specialising in long-haul travel, says: “[For that reason] we are asked for the British Airways and Oneworld alliance options some 75 per cent of the time. Demand for the Star Alliance ticket has fallen back recently because there’s no longer a price advantage over the Oneworld equivalent and the minimum
stay and stopover requirements mean it’s less flexible. The Skyteam ticket is a non-seller for us. It doesn’t feature any of the sought-after business carriers, isn’t any cheaper than Oneworld or Star, and it does not provide any direct transpacific routings between Australasia and the Americas.”

However, it can be a different scenario in Asia, where executives tend to use these tickets more for work purposes. Jina Seung, director of Hana Tour in Jakarta, Indonesia, says: “From here RTW tickets are used mostly by expat business people to attend meetings and conferences in Asia, Europe and North America. They consolidate a number of business trips into one. These tickets are also used by expats when taking holidays of two weeks or more.

“Travellers starting in Jakarta tend to fly through Asia to Europe then the US, before returning via the North Pacific with a stop in, say, Seoul or Hong Kong. Our big seller is the Star Alliance ticket [national airline Garuda has a limited network and isn’t linked with any alliance] with most clients preferring to fly up to Singapore with SIA and then continue on their trip using this carrier as much as possible.”

But not everyone needs the huge choice of options provided by alliance tickets. Some might be happier with simpler tickets featuring fewer carriers in return for a lower fare. These can be booked by specialist travel agents and will vary from country to country. (Prices shown here exclude taxes and fees.)

In Hong Kong there’s a local deal covering Cathay Pacific and United, with tickets costing HK$82,550 (£5,340) for first and HK$58,600 (£3,792) for business class.In the UK, Trailfinders has stitched together a BA/Qantas deal, priced at £5,549 for first and £3,740 for business class travel. This ticket lets you fly London-Singapore-Perth-Sydney-Auckland-Los Angeles-New York-London. Trailfinders also has a “Great Escapade” fare with Virgin Atlantic, SIA and ANZ, priced at £4,398 for business class.

There are two possible niggles with RTW tickets. One is that RTW fares are promotional tariffs, so airlines may restrict availability of first and business class seats at busy times. First class is booked in “A” class while business class is reserved in “D” class. Both are discounted tariff codes and airlines may either wait-list or refuse you a seat should the flight be heavily booked. In the past, readers have reported problems in obtaining seats with carriers like American, BA, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and SIA over a variety of routes.

The other potential problem is that with first class available on fewer routes, travellers are asking whether the extra cost is worth it. Clive Whittall, a Business Traveller reader, says: “For our last trip we used a Oneworld Explorer to cover the circuit via Asia, Australia and Latin America. But this particular route meant we could only take first class on four of the 17 flights we took. With business class getting better it seems crazy spending all the extra money for a first class ticket.”

First class is still the way to travel, but if your routing involves carriers offering mainly business class then I suggest opting for the latter. Business class is getting better year-on-year and only the fussiest of passengers could complain about the fully-flat beds now installed by BA, Air New Zealand and Virgin Atlantic, and being fitted by SIA. What must be stressed is that, unlike a full-fare ticket, passengers using a first class RTW ticket aren’t entitled to a refund should they end up in business class.

Readers planning a trip will find further information on the alliance carriers’ websites. They will also enable you to calculate mileages and the sort of routings you can and can’t do.

ALLIANCE TICKETS

Oneworld (oneworld.com)
Leading members include: BA, Qantas, JAL, American and Cathay Pacific.
Oneworld Explorer (based on number of continents visited).
Price ranges: business class from £3,869 to £5,599, or first from £6,529 to £8,849.
Global Explorer (up to 34,000 miles) costs £4,549 for business or £7,399 for first.

Star Alliance (staralliance.com)
Leading members include: Lufthansa, United, SIA, Thai, ANZ and ANA.
Price ranges: business class from £4,140 to £5,553, or first class from £7,116 to £9,657. (Available for 29,000, 34,000 and 39,000 miles.)

Skyteam (skyteam.com)
Leading members include: Air France, KLM, Northwest and Korean.
Price ranges: business class from £4,140 to £5,553, or first class from £8,084 to £10,971. (Available for 29,000, 34,000 and 39,000 miles.)

Taxes and fees will vary depending on the chosen routing.

ROUND-THE-WORLD TOP TIPS
• No single RTW ticket will entirely meet your routing requirements. Be prepared to compromise.
• First and business class RTW tickets offer the best value (which is why I have featured them here).
• Remember that if you book a first class ticket, you will not be refunded if you are downgraded to business class for any reason.
• Always reconfirm each flight en route as schedules may have changed since you set out.
• Bear in mind that RTW tickets are sold at promotional fares. First class will be booked in “A” class while business class will be in “D” class. Seat availability might be restricted at busy times so allow for alternatives.
• Allow plenty of time when making connections. If you miss a flight or your bags go astray then it could spoil the rest of the trip.
• RTW tickets can be great fun to plan, but unless you are knowledgeable about airline schedules it’s a process which could take days. It’s best to put the trip in the hands of a travel agent, who can also assist with visas and ground arrangements. RTW tickets can’t be booked online and many are still issued as paper tickets, although e-ticketing is taking over.

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