Flight Arrangements for a Trip Around the World
Which Airlines & Routes to Use if Planning a Round the World Voyage
Oct 7, 2008
A round the world trip is a once in a lifetime experience, and these days it can be done reasonably easily and economically. But arranging the airline flights is a complex business. Here are some hints and tips.
Which Route for a Round the World Trip?
There are a number of different airline groups supplying round the world tickets. The main ones are as follows:
- The World Discovery Ticket - British Airways/Qantas/Cathay Pacific/Air Pacific
- The Global Explorer – BA/Qantas/Air Pacific/Cathay Pacific/American Airlines/Iberia/Gulf Air/Lan Chile
- The World Journey – Continental/Northwest/KLM/Air Pacific/Alaskan Airlines/COPA/ Emirates/Malaysian/South African/Jet Airways/Braathens
- The World Navigator – KLM/Emirates/Air New Zealand/South Africa Airways/NorthWest/Air UK/ Kenyan Airlines
- The OneWorld – BA/Qantas/Cathay Pacific/American Airlines/Lan Chile/Lan Peru/Iberia/Finnair
- The Escapade – Singapore Airlines/Air New Zealand/Virgin/Silk Air
- The Star Alliance – Singapore Airlines/Air New Zealand/United Airlines/Thai Airways/Lufthansa/Air Canada/Varig/All Nippon/Mexicana/Austrian Airlines/Scandinavian Airlines
The traveler can also organize his or her own custom multi-destination ticket, using any combination of airlines.
Planning the Route
It is best to start with a list of one’s dream destinations – the places the traveler must go to! They then need to be put in some kind of sensible order. It is more economical to go in one direction all the time, without any backtracking. However, contrary to what the traveler may hear, backtracking is allowed if required, but only on certain tickets.
Many tickets have a mileage limit or a certain permitted number of stops. As already stated, the rules are complex, but the traveler needs a basic plan to take to the travel agent, even though the details will probably change, perhaps many times.
Keeping Down the Cost
The main point is to make sure the trip goes in one continuous direction. Other than that the number of stops and total mileage are usually what determine the price. However some tickets such as the ONEWorld are now based on regions. Time of year can also make a difference, although for round the world tickets this is not so important as when booking flights to holiday destinations with a definite high and low season.
A Good Travel Agent for a Round the World Trip
It will now be obvious that booking flights with multi-stopovers is not a simple business. So when deciding which travel agent to book with, if the prices they quote are similar, it is advisable to use the one who appears most efficient. Round the world tickets are quite complicated and require lots of organization by the agent. The traveler needs someone who will know how to do this.
And now….go out there and plan for the trip of a lifetime!
Source
The Travellers' Lounge: Round the World
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