Round the world (RTW) tickets can be a convenient way to fly around the world, whether you want to stop in Sweden or Paris or Thailand. They get you where you want to go without you having to worry about booking flights along the way. You pre-book all your tickets in advance and, by purchasing them in one giant bulk package, you can save yourself money off the total price of all the individual tickets. How does one go about selecting the best airline tickets to go round the world?
You will find many pros and cons with different airlines which will make it difficult to pinpoint the best one. To find the tickets that match your requirements perfectly will take a lot of time so look for the best providers and try to ensure that you get the best deal.
Many alliances are formed by airlines today, to ensure that people can take advantage of various flights and routes that are clubbed together, to serve as round the world tickets. You can find type of alliances in varying sizes covering most parts of the globe. Listed below are 3 of the mail alliances.
The largest one is Star Alliance, followed by Sky Team and One World/Global Explorer.
These alliances offer many different destinations to nearly all corners of the globe. You should consider flying one of these if you:
- Plan to fly to remote locations that are not on the normal routes.
- If you prefer to take many flights from the same alliance.
- If you are planning more options available with scheduled flights, with different airlines and routes.
The cost of the tickets can rise to a premium due to the comprehensive nature of these alliances. The itinerary you plan and the mileage involved is taken into account for planning the cost of the ticket. If you are travelling 29000 or fewer miles, take advantage of cheap tickets offered by smaller alliances. The price of a One World ticket is continent based and similar to purchasing tiered tickets with upper mileage.
You can also buy a round the world ticket from single airlines or small alliances. They may not cover as many destinations as the bigger alliances. They offer you lower fares when you wish to take flights to regular tourist routes with broad coverage and lower price.
The disadvantages with smaller alliances are that they have fewer options of scheduled flights, fewer routes to offer and not many airlines.
Tickets that are offered by these small alliances are cheaper than those offered by major alliances that are lowest-tiered. You can avail of these tickets if you have a budget constraint.
Once you are aware of the requirements for purchasing around the world tickets, you can decide on the ticket option.
The criterion is the time frame that you are considering as you will not get a cheaper ticket if you plan to travel for more than a year.
Consider the budget and whether you are able to afford a premium ticket.
If you plan to travel to South America, you may want to travel with a major alliance or supplement with low cost airlines by purchasing additional tickets.
If you are planning to catch up on work during the flight, you could opt for a cheap ticket that does not involve changing too many flights.
It would be advisable to travel around the world in places where there is strong coverage for all practical purposes.
Once you have narrowed down the choice available with tickets, you should contact a travel agent who is experienced in the field who can help you decide on the best round the world travel. There are many good travel agents, such as STA Travel and Air Treks that you can use for getting the best airline tickets.
This is good advice. I’m off to get a ticket now! Any companies you recommend?
Not sure on specifics these days, it has been a while since I booked one.