Cowboy1968

Still being a bit jet-lagged after my flight from the US yesterday, I cannot fall asleep and keep playing around with Google's airfare search box.
I always wanted to see Hawaii, but from where I live, in Berlin, you hardly see any airfares of less than € 1,100 return (in economy). € = $ these days, more or less.

More for fun than for any serious planning purposes, I started to configure an itinerary to get to Hawaii the other way around - and see some places on my way.

Berlin-Kuala Lumpur (2 stops, with Qatar, probably the least convenient leg for €310)
3-5 days Kuala Lumpur / and what can be explored of Malaysia on land from there

Kuala Lumpur - Sydney (nonstop with Air Asia X - for only € 90, maybe because of winter down under and fewer tourists going there?)
1 wk SE Australia; in Sydney, out Melbourne, overland / rental car in between

Melbourne - Honolulu (nonstop with Jetstar for €220)
Ta-daa.. x days to explore the island(s)

Honolulu - Vancouver (nonstop with AC Rouge for €180)
explore Pacific Northwest for a couple of days to one week

Vancouver - London (nonstop with Westjet for €260)
technical stopover on way back to Berlin, extra safety buffer to catch last flight

London - Berlin (nonstop with Easyjet for - relatively expensive €90)

Total airfare: € 1,150

I know that there are some taxes, fees, cc charges, fees for using the loo and breathing air on board to be added, but I still find it remarkably inexpensive to fly around the world. And that it took only an hour or so to match the dates for the cheapest options to fly. If I added €200 or so, I'd be able to add another 2 night stopover in one of the Gulf states. Which would make the first leg to SE Asia more pleasant.

I know that several Fodorites have used (or think about using) the airline alliances' schemes for RTW trips. But has anyone (well, anyone here on Fodor's) done it by mixing and matching one-way fares like in my sample itinerary?

Gardyloo

It's entirely possible to do as you describe, especially with an increasing number of budget carriers and (sometimes seasonal) one-way fares proliferating.

Comparing such trips with the alliance products is a bit of apples and oranges, however. Both approaches are certainly valid, and if you do it I'm sure you'll have a terrific time.

The comparison would be a 4-continent RTW ticket using the Oneworld alliance.

Starting in the Euro zone, the base price is €2500, so more than double what you'd pay for your proposed trip. However, that would give you a ticket that's good for a year, easily changeable, and includes up to 16 flights compared to your 6. It includes baggage, for which you'd pay extra (sometimes a lot) using the LCC approach, and you'd have real-time access to airline personnel throughout the trip, which can be useful if things were to go pear-shaped at some point.

Here's your route - http://tinyurl.com/kkld6s3

And here's what it <i>could be</i> using the Oneworld product - http://tinyurl.com/mhzela9 . Or you could travel to Australia via Africa, thus - http://tinyurl.com/nxnavss

The point being, it depends on your destinations and number of stops. For limited trips, RTW tickets can be overkill; for extensive trips or visits to off-the-beaten path places (where cheap fares are uncommon due to lack of demand) they can be the most cost-effective means.

Gardyloo

Meant to add, you'd also earn ~45,000 frequent flyer miles, good for a couple of free flights going forward, and you'd probably attain elite status with some member airline, good for various perks.

thursdaysd

I did three RTW's on OneWorld FF miles (in biz class, lovely). The fourth was a combo FF flights and point-to-point tickets, since the OneWorld award no longer existed, and wouldn't have got me to Tashkent in any case.

Have you looked at airtreks? They specialize in RTWs, but the one time I seriously thought of using them for a multi-stop non-RTW I could beat their price.

Cowboy1968

Thanks for your input.
I must admit that I have never given RTW trips any real consideration as I thought them to be too costly for my budget.

@gardyloo: After reading what you wrote on real RTW tickets I agree that it's really apples and oranges compared with the low cost version. If these first wild thoughts materialize into somewhat more solid planning, I will check out both options thoroughly.

@thursdaysd: Using FF miles is one option I had not even thought of yet. I could get a RTW ticket with Star Alliance in biz - or fly in eco and leave more miles in my FF account.. another food for thought.