germanblonde

I am currently planning a trip RTW, I will definitely go to Japan on this trip, I'd like to visit Europe (Germany and some of the former communist states in Eastern Europe) and Africa (Egypt, and possiblity a safari destination).

My dates are flexible. I'll start the trip between August to October next year and will travel for about two months.

I know if I travel eastbound time zones will be in my favour. I have done a RTW trip eastbound before, and therefore I am tempted to travel westbound instead. What are the pros and cons of eastbound/westbound RTW itineraries?

One world vs Star Alliance. I know much of this will depend on where I travel to, I was looking at One World since there is a Eastern European carrier (ie, an Eastern European hub) and a small BA network some parts of Africa. However, I will visit Egypt and the One World flights from Egypt to other parts of Africa require a connection in Europe (or Amman on RJ).

If I take Star Alliance airlines, LH and OS would serve my needs within Europe, however, Egypt Air is the only carrier I can use to travel within Africa, which again, limits the destinations on the African Continent I can fly to without needing a connection in Europe.

Any suggestions will be appreciated, thanks in advance.

DonTopaz

EB vs WB: I've done both, and I've always made the decision based on convenience of arrival and departure time. I've heard some people claim that WB is easier because you're doing more daytime travel (e.g., WB flights from Europe to N America are all daytime flights, but most EB flights are overnights), but I find that the long (30+ hour) days are just as miserable as overnight flights. If you travel EB, your total flying time will be several hours less than if traveling WB.

As for Star vs OneWorld: Again, it depends on specific destinations. Hpwever, if you're planning on Egypt, Star seems a slam-dunk. BA's Comair affiliate does have some intra-Africa flights, but do not forget about South African Airlines -- they've got far more intra-Africa flights than do BA. However, read the fine print -- the flight exclusions -- carefully: some of the SAA Express flights to some of the safari destinations (e.g., to MalaMala camp) cannot be used on RTW tickets.

Gardyloo

I've also done both; I usually do one a year. As <b>rizzuto</b> says, in general westbound circles add around 10% - 20% to total butt-in-seat hours, because you're generally fighting headwinds (depends on time of year and latitude too). For example I flew Sydney - Johannesburg a couple of years ago and it took something like 16 1/2 hours. Flying Joburg - Sydney last year, it took more like 13 1/2. It can really add up.

As for Star v. Oneworld, Africa is the key. Apart from regional coverage by Comair (a BA franchisee) in South Africa (also flights to Namibia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and Livingstone in Zambia) Oneworld has no intra-Africa coverage, while Star has SAA and Egyptian, so much better coverage.

The downside is that all of Star's RTW products are mileage-based, while Oneworld has the Oneworld Explorer, which is continent-based with unlimited mileage.

Part of it also depends on the class of service (economy, business, first) and where you plan to start and end the trip. As you may know, prices for RTW tickets vary (wildly) depending on the country of origin. Your route might qualify for the "cheapest" of the Star RTW mileage tiers (26K miles if flown in economy or 29K miles if in business or above) while it would need a minimum of 4 continents with Oneworld. However, Oneworld can be cheaper on a mile-for-mile basis from some (not all) origin points.

With the Oneworld fare, yes, you'd have to route to Egypt through Europe (London or Madrid) but since the miles aren't counted, it's not a deal-breaker.

You might also pay a little attention to the frequent flyer mileage benefits a RTW can provide. Usually they can offer a pretty rich harvest of miles and elite status, if you spend a little time premeditating your flights and strategy.

Post your planned route and we can give better feedback.

germanblonde

Thanks rizzuto and Gardyloo.

At this stage, I am unsure if I will comence the trip from Canada, the US or Germany. I currently reside in Canada and I will be taking a year off work starting next year. The dates are slowly been worked out, ie when to take time off, when to travel, etc. If the begining of my time off is close to the start of the trip, I'll start the trip from Canada or the US (a border town), if not, I'll go to Germany and then start the trip from FRA. I need to price RTW tickets from Canada/US/Germany.

I know I can travel to Germany as the first sector on a RTW ticket, spend sometime there and then continue travelling, which means that I would have to travel WB. I may do that, or I may just use miles to travel to Germany.

It sounds like Star Alliance would be better, LH is a member. The Star Allaince network in Afirica is more extensive. Africa is a prority since I've never been there.
However, flying north to south or vice versa which Africa quickly used up alot of the 26,000/29,000 miles.

NH is based in Japan, Japan is a definite must on this trip.

I will read the terms and conditions of the RTW ticket (ie, 26,000 miles/29,000 miles, FF miles accrual, etc) and then plan my safari destination. I'd like to add some destinations in Asia (espacially Vietnam and Cambodia) too, but I will only do this if I'm within my mileage requirements. I know SQ and TG are also part of Star Alliance.

Gardyloo, which countries have good prices for RTW tickets?

germanblonde

rizzuto, I just read about BA 002, on your profile. Please tell me more about it. Did you see the curvature of the earth? Service? Food? etc. I'd been on BA 002 a year later, shortly after the announcement to retire the equipment was made, I'm so glad I went. BTW, I was in 5A, I still have the boarding pass. Saw the curvature of the earth, the sky was blackish/blueish, above the aircraft. I travelled just after the blackout in NYC, so the regualar meals were not offered, food was okay, service could have been better. Got a flight deck visit on arrival at LHR and a sign certificate from the Captain. Overall, this remains one of my best travel experiences.

Gardyloo

<b>germanblonde</b> - Economy or up front? Makes a huge difference in where the best prices are.

germanblonde

Gardyloo, I'd prefer business class. However, I do have a budget for the entire trip (ie, the land portion and the airfare) therefore, if economy doesn't break the budget and business does, I'll sit in the back. I'll price both economy and business.

I figure the longest flight segment I'll have will be Africa to Asia or vv sector. I'm looking at schedules, and it looks like SQ or SAA will be best for this sector. For the transpacific sector, I'd break journey in HI (maybe NRT - HNL - LAX or vv), so I will not be flying 12 to 14 hours on transpacific flight.

Gardyloo

Re prices, Oneworld just raised its prices two days ago, so some of the formerly "cheap" origin points (especially for business class) have gone up significantly. The cheapest countries for economy class at the moment (measured in USD terms, of course "cheap" in another currency might be a different thing) are the UK and some middle eastern countries (Israel & Jordan) all of which are around US$1000 cheaper than the US.

In business class for Oneworld, South Africa is back in the lead; again Israel and Jordan are close behind. (For example, a 4-continent business class ticket bought in the US is now $9100 plus tax; in South Africa it's $6350; in Germany $9650 and in Israel/Jordan $7200.

With Star Alliance, assuming you could fit your itinerary into their 29,000 mile tier, economy is cheapest in Fiji ($2250) or else Israel or Jordan, or again, the UK is around $1000 less than the US or Canada, with Germany/Euro Zone a little higher than the UK.

In business with Star, South Africa is the price leader (29K miles for $5400 vs. $6100 in Japan, $6700 in Israel/Jordan, $8100 - $8300 in UK/Germany, and $9500 in the US.

Of course, starting somewhere else you need to factor in the access cost, but usually, especially for business class, the savings can be significant. If you have FF miles, using them to get to the start/finish line is the way to go.

DonTopaz

GB,
More than happy to reminisce about BA002!

I looked for the curvature, but I can’t honestly say that I saw it. The windows were so tiny! I did enjoy the experience, and enjoyed being a bit naughty with one of the flight attendants. Non, not doing that, but standing about 4 feet away from her and asking, “If this plane is really traveling at twice the speed of sound, how can you hear me? Why don’t my voice’s sound waves just go to the back of the plane?”

I flew in spring 2002, about 6 months after the planes came back into service after Gonesse. It cost me 110k BA miles, which included a return in Club. Easily the most beautiful looking plane I’ve ever seen, but unfortunately not very practical, in terms of capacity, fuel consumption, and range.

germanblonde

Once again, thank you rizzuto and Gardyloo.

rizzuto, great story! I too was a little naughty onboard, I had told the passenger seated next to me that the window was hot (the plane expands in flight and the windows are hot to touch), the passenger didn't believe me, he felt the window and called the flight attendent thinking something was wrong (first with me, and then with the plane. lol.) The passenger asked the fa why the sun had heated the windows. The fa stood there and explained why the windows were hot and that there was nothing wrong with the plane. This worked in my favour, because the flight attendent, who the passenger called, later arranged a visit to the flight deck for me, since she could see I was interested in the plane. I'm smiling as I type this, I have great memories from BA 002, thanks BA!

Gardyloo, thank you for pointing me in the right direction, I need to work out an itinerary and start pricing various options.