Round The World (RTW)

[PAXboy]

Before I start on my own plan, I hope that this thread will be filled with other folks interesting RTW info - not just search suggestions. I use 'PE' for Premium Economy, although it has different names in carriers, the term is now well known.

As I am planning one of these for the first time in 20+ years, I have looked for a recent-ish thread and cannot find one. I'm hoping to make a six week trip starting late October 2014, to be done before the xmas prices and rush.

I am NOT looking for the routine 'air scanning', 'mozart' and 'canoe-yaking' and other such search sites because I've tried half a dozen and none can help! Most of them (understandably) have a limit of six sectors and most have difficulty with setting different cabins for each sector. Those that get closest, produce a very considerable number of options!

When I first thought of the route (a couple of years ago) that would link friends and places not travelled - I was pretty darn sure that no alliance group could do this on one 'big ticket'. Correct! If I want this route, I am going to have to do a series of singles (ouchingly expensive) or break it into two separate trips that I do back to back. this increases distance but reduces cost.

My plans are complicated by wanting to do as many long sectors in PE (or equiv) AND use points from VS + BA where possible, both to PE and Biz. Thus some sectors paid in plain cash and some cash+points for upgrades. Simples! :=

I do know that there are travel agents who could make this happen but I don't want their commission. The options are myriad and they would tear their hair out whilst asking me questions, like which specific rotation on a day do I want, due to aircraft / carrier / time of day. THEN what seat do I want on that particular machine? Lastly, the planning of it is a big part of the fun. :8

IDEALLY, I would do this route and if I had lashings of dosh, it would be a doddle. :sad:


LHR
CPT
JNB
PER (Only direct is SAA and they only have Biz not a PE so high cost)
BNE
SYD
AKL
RAR
SFO
(poss YYZ)
LHR

As I said this is IDEAL and the AKL/RAR/etc. legs are a nice to have. The YYZ choice depends on my travelling companion and so I'm pricing both for her. Another option is to drop the RTW return and SYD/HKG/LHR (this was going to be on VS :sad:)

An obvious option is:


Do the ZA trip and return (as I've done dozens of times :bored:)
Take 36 hours at home (I live 45 mins from LHR)
Do the OZ trip. This gives the option to add the NZ sectors or simply return home and not RTW.

Again, my friend is relying on me to provide all the information so that she can make an easy decision! :p

The alliances provide options but (understandably) have huuuuuge dog-legs to stay in the alliance, which makes it unworkable. I have also got a raft of other side-steps that I could add, dependent on the final choice of the main route. To sum up - ideas welcomed but caution on search sites.

I strongly suspect that I have already found the problems in the plan and the options of Two Trips vs One RTW at ghastly cost. I leave this with the esteemed PPRuNers.
:ok:

ps Did I mention that, if she can't make these dates in the order I want them - we might have to reverse the whole sequence? Plus another half dozen Ifs and Buts. :ooh:

[Heathrow Harry]

Doable if you make the SA part of the trip a side round trip from Dubai

Get a decent travel agent - you'll be amazed at what they can do on complex trips like this one

[PAXboy]

Thanks HH, Dubai a good angle.

Amusingly, this article on the exact topic was published today. Calder is not every PPRuNers favourite travel writer but it was worth reading:
Round-the-world adventures - News & Advice - Travel - The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/roundtheworld-adventures-9114188.html)

[mixture]

Hmmmm.....

You don't want to use an experienced travel agent because you're too stingy to pay their commission, you're not willing to use (or learn to use) any of the online tools at your disposal.....

What exactly do you want ? You don't seem to be enjoying the planning process so far ! :confused:

[Tray Surfer]

I have always wanted to do a round the world trip…

I remember planning one on the OneWorld RTW planning tool, all in Business and it worked out to be really cheap if you broke it down per sector… But, I chickened out… :-/

I will do it one day though…!

[PAXboy]

mixtureYou don't want to use an experienced travel agent because you're too stingy to pay their commission, you're not willing to use (or learn to use) any of the online tools at your disposal.....

What exactly do you want ? You don't seem to be enjoying the planning process so far !Sorry I gave that impression, I am enjoying the process and (like so many others) am only limited by money. Fortunately, time is not so critical. To clarify:


I don't want to use an agent because of cost but because I know that I want to organise to a level of detail that will be irritating for them. Further, the time of day when I have time to devote to this project is usually at 03:00 :eek:
I am willing to learn and use ANY online tool that will help. If a search site limits me to six sectors, or only their alliance, it won't help. I have used those sites to see options but it is often faster to look at the web site of the airport you want to use and then see what carriers and destinations they have.

[cavortingcheetah]

ex London.
Air New Zealand.
Keep going East to West.
Relatively friendly ANZ RTW planner website.
Bucket shop Australia returns from New Zealand.
ZA as a separate trip lest you end up with an only exit card of either SAA or Qantas.

[Trinity 09L]

What is RTW - distance, countries visited, or circumference of the earth ???
In April I am going LHR - LAX - Osaka - DBX - LHR, (however I am cheating, a cruise between LAX - Osaka, but we visit Hawaii, Guam, Taiwan, China & Japan :oh: )
Good luck with your RTW

[barry lloyd]

Here's one I did a few years ago:

MAN/AMS/BKK (KL using points – booked Y, upgraded to C :))
BKK/SIN (SQ C using points)
SIN/AKL (EK Y using money)
AKL/PPT (TH Y using money)
PPT/IPC (LA C using points + money)
IPC/SCL (LA C using points)
PUQ/MPA (LA Y using money)
MPA/ASI (using money – no option!)*
ASI-BZZ (as above)*

*For those not familiar with the codes/routing this is the Falklands Air Bridge.

All of this was done with the help of the internet and some phone calls, but not travel agents. The routing was made on the basis of places I wanted to visit, or had visited previously, but had not spent much time there.

[PAXboy]

Definition: I think it true that a 'true' RTW should take in both hemispheres but there is no doubt that (for us in the UK) a Northern circle is still very much RTW. Crossing the Date Line is probably the clincher.

[John Hill]

Are these endurance marathon tests or will there be significant stop overs?

[PAXboy]

I think some people try to cram in too much (been there and done that!) so I expect stopping points to be never less than three days and up to 10 days in one area. That will involve travelling within the area but 10 days before the next flight.

I am interested to learn from the article in The Indy that VS + SQ + NZ have formed to make an RTW product and it looks remarkably flexible and 21st Century. However, whilst I have a reasonable stash of VS points, I have far more in BA/One World. This plan has always relied upon using points to upgrade the long sectors, which is why I expect to stitch it together manually.

I do not expect to have any connections, all single sectors with gaps of days between.

[Metro man]

These guys are based in Bangkok but specialise in RTW tickets.

Chawla Travel 66 81 8106500 Rani Chawla Bangkok Thailand Around the World airline tickets First Class, Business Class and Economy Class. (http://www.chawlatravel.com/home.html)

Best deals seem to be through sticking with one alliance for the whole journey. Star are the biggest but any of them should be able to do the whole thing. Open jaw tickets may be worth considering as well.

Put your own package together and take it to an agent and see if they can do any better. Agents have access to fares not available to the public and may be willing to shave their commission a bit if the deal is big enough.

[llondel]

Definition: I think it true that a 'true' RTW should take in both hemispheres but there is no doubt that (for us in the UK) a Northern circle is still very much RTW. Crossing the Date Line is probably the clincher.

I've managed trips between LHR, TPE and SFO so that's technically all the way round, albeit not in a short timescale (about 5 months). I don't really count it because they're all quite far north and so nowhere near the equator. I don't know how close to 22,000 miles you have to get, but that lot probably isn't much over 18,000 miles so is that far enough?

[PAXboy]

I think the Date Line is enough but here is one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-the-world_ticket (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-the-world_ticket) But this is heavily reliant on the airline's definition!

This is more detailed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-the-world

[Mr Mac]

Paxboy
I agree with you I think crossing the date line is the clincher. Surprisingly I have only once had to do the RTW trip once in all my years tramping around, and that was in 1990 and was not planned. On business in Seattle and was told by home office that I was required in Bahrain, and they booked me on to Tokyo flight and then onto HK and then Bahrain and back to Manchester via London. The Big problem was this was all done in 7 days I was wrecked for a week afterwards, also we did not get the Bahrain gig either, as we would not buy the present - a Sunseaker day boat I think !!.


Have fun planning your trip and of course undertaking it.

[Haven't a clue]

All my RTW trips were westbound typically LHR-EZE-JFK-SFO-TPE-HKG-LHR with side trips and were booked in very comfy class through an agent. West is easier to deal with jet lag wise. But as you say flights from ZA are hard to fit into an alliance offer.

But there is new one world alliance member Qatar to consider who fly from CPT/JNB to PER via Doha. Bit of a slog, I know, and sadly no PE.....

I completely understand your reluctance to use an agent who cannot or will not deal with the detail. I need to know if I have lounge access and if it is airside or landside, I want to select the perfect seat. I like to organise transfers etc. More importantly in this internet age I want access to and control of my bookings. And online checkin!

Have a great trip.

[Hartington]

Alliance based RTW can be very good value. Apart from the Australian domestics and maybe RAR I reckon you can do the whole trip on Star. Look at the Business price and you might get a nice surpise.

[Heathrow Harry]

used to do fairly regular (maybe twice a year) RTW trips

It cuts down on the jet lag a bit as you are always adjusting in the same direction time-wise but even in Business or First (great days!) it's a long way

A colleague did it once a month for 18 months and he was getting quite strange by the end of it - it ain't normal :uhoh::uhoh:

[L'aviateur]

A few years ago I did a RTW in the space of 4 days, unintentionally. Flew MIA-JFK-ICN-CEB-DVO-SIN-LHR-MIA-BGI .
I was living in CEB at the time and arrived home with a text to get on the next flight out and back to work...

I would love to do a RTW in Business for leisure at a slower pace, and hope to do so one day with the family.