Hi,

My 70-something parents would really LOVE to visit Australia, but can't fly much more than 6 hours at a time. They've pretty much given up on the idea, but it occurs to me that we could do the trip in shorter segments. I'm thinking something like SEA to HNL to NAN to SYD and back the same way.

Is this something we'd have to book as multiple destinations, or is it possible to do at least part of the trip as layovers? (My primary consideration in wondering about layovers is the cost savings.) I'm thinking we'd only spend a day in HNL and NAN (each way) -- fly on day 1, sightsee day 2, fly day 3, and so on (with 10 days or so in Australia.)

We'd have a similar problem going to Europe --we could stop on the east coast, but it is always cost prohibitive when I look into it as separate fares (SEA to east coast, east coast to Europe.)

I've always booked online -- how do you book a daylong layover? Is it even possible? Do you have to work with an agent, or call the airlines directly? Are certain airlines more accomodating than others?

Many thanks-
-Kat

Augh -- I meant stopover, not layover.

I'd start with a multi-city itinerary. You can do that on travel websites (www.orbitz.com) or if flying one airline on that co. website directly.

For travel to Europe I've routinely done 1 or more day stopovers en-route (within Europe) and the cost was the same as normal same day connections. Not sure if that is the norm or an exception.

If the stopovers are on the normal point A-B route anyway, I'd think chances are greater of no additional fare.

The route you describe is more of a true multi-city trip (Seattle, Hawaii, Fiji, Sydney), and not a normal way to get from Seattle to Sydney, so don't be surprised if the $ is very high.

Use orbitz for window shopping, and if you find one airline (or alliance) that flys all legs, then go to that website to try to book the flight.

It's very possible, but it will be very expensive. In most cases, but not all, you are basically breaking the fare into 3 separate tickets.

There is one other possibility and that's to look into an alliance ticket. OneWorld has a Circle Pacific ticket and I'm sure StarAlliance and the others have their own version. There are certain restrictions, rules that you have to follow, but it will be cheaper when compared to what you want to do. It will still be more expensive than a straight US-AU R/T ticket. You need to call the airline or a good travel agent that specializes in round the world/circle tickets. There are so many rules and terms that it would be impossible for me to list all, but if you are interested in at least researching the basics, here is a good way to start. This is OneWorld Alliance site and they "kinda" explain the possibilities:

http://www.oneworld.com/products/det...fm?ObjectID=28

Thanks. Looks like Australia is a special case.

For places that are more of a true stopover (places where we would have a layover or change places anyway) -- how do I book a stopover or find out whether it is an option? Do you do it when you make the reservation, or afterwards?

Thanks again!

For stopovers en-route, check the multi-city option on the airline website (or use orbitz, etc.)

It will depend on the airline, location, and fare structure. I've done a 3 day stop in Chicago while travelling cross country for no additional $ one time, but could not get the same price when I tried again another time.

For example, if you want to go SEA - JFK with a stop in Chicago, look on AA or UAL website multi-city option and book

1. SEA to ORD day 1
2. ORD to JFK day 2 or 3
3. JFK to SEA retur

gokatgo, it's quite doable but (not surprisingly) will cost a premium compared to a straight SEA-SYD route (through LA, SF or HNL).

Using Qantas (and their "codeshare" flights on Air Pacific) I got HNL - CXI [Christmas Island] - NAN, NAN-SYD, then SYD-NAN, NAN-HNL with stopovers of 1 or 2 days in NAN both ways, for $1261 in coach. Add a separate SEA-HNL-SEA round trip and it comes to around $1900 all in. Comparatively, SEA-HNL-SYD round trips are something like $1200, so the stopovers cost $700 or so.

I also thought of the Circle Pacific products sold by Star Alliance or Oneworld Alliance airlines, and while they're excellent value, they require that one do a "loop" - South Pacific one way, North Pacific the other. Unfortunately there are no Fijis in the North Pacific, so one is left with a long flight from Japan or Hong Kong or Korea to the west coast, which defeats your aims.

Contact Qantas or Air Pacific if interested. This is probably a job for a human agent and not a DIY project.