Around the World ticket help
 

Can anyone offer advice about around the world tickets? I have heard that this can be an economical way to get to NZ, especially since we would like to see some of the South Pacific Islands as well. I have searched the internet, but I have only found one site that offers pricing!
Please help!

Hi there,

I hope i can help...I am a travel agent myself and know quite a bit about fare structures. Yes round the world tickets can be a cheap way of getting to NZ but only depending on where else you want to go.

Air NewZealand fly via the states and then you can fly back via Asia with singapore Airlines and Virgin. This is a Great Escapade ticket which gives you unlimited stops within a permitted milage. (Extra mileage can be bought as well).

Qantas and BA fly the same routes but you will only be able to get Fiji on this ticket out of the islands.

If you particually want to do the islands go with Air NZ, they have the best leg room aswell. You will need to call an agent to discuss prices. The internet hasn't taken that away from us travel agents yet!!! (It can't work out the round the world ones normally).

I hope this helps. Lina

I travelled on a RTW ticket with the OneWorld alliance. At the time there were two major alliances, this one and the Star Alliance, both of whom count big flag carrier names amongst them. Escapade, I believe, is a third, a newer one with people like Virgin & Air New Zealand.

I flew London-Tokyo-(transit to Osaka)-Hong Kong-Bangkok-Singapore-Melbourne-(transit to Sydney)-Christchurch-(transit to Auckland)-Los Angeles-San Francisco-New York-London.

My ticket allowed me four stops in each 'continent', it cost around 1400GBP earlier this year.

To put that into context, I checked the price to fly from London to Tokyo same day, same flight - it was just under 600GBP. Then I checked the following flight, just under 400GBP. The third was the same so after three flights the ticket was saving me money.

I booked through Trailfinders in England (not sure if you're based in England...) and the whole process was relatively painless.

Only thing I'd advise is that if you miss a single flight on a RTW ticket, traditionally they'll cancel ALL subsequent flights and you could end up with big costs to fly you back from where you've got stuck...

Try this site for starters:

http://www.bridgetheworld.com/global/roundtheworld.asp

Good luck, let me know if you need anything more...

Jimbo

www.questtravel.com and www.travelmood.com are good ones too.

With the One world and global allicances if your going all around the world this is a fantastic saving. If it is just the one island, or a few in the South pacific though the return fare with Air NZ may still work out the best.

Thanks

Hi Jonesie,
we did RTW from a travel agent as we couldn't get anything like it on line.
First trip:
London-Hong Kong-Sydney-Brisbane-Cairns-Singapore-London
Second Trip:
London -Tokyo-Melbourne-Brisbane-Sydney-Singapore -London. We were allowed 6 stops but only took 5 on both trips. It was a lot cheaper to do our trip that way.
So do as Lina88 says speak to your agent.

Muck

Thanks for all of your help. Unfortunately, I am in the US, and it is very hard to find info about these tickets here. It seems to be a popular option from Europe, but darn near impossible from the US!!!! So I think this time around we are just going to do New Zealand, and we'll save the islands for the next trip!!!

If you have just 2 or 3 "main stops" then a RTW probably won't be cheaper.

You can price a NZ/Fiji flight on AirNZ's website... maybe other islands as well. It's just a stopover on your journey. Even the great sale fares usually give free or charge $100 or so extra for a stopover.

If you're interested in a multi island chain hop + NZ, then definitely talk with a travel agent.
I haven't worked with this group, but I've used the website for itinerary ideas and the prices look good. They are located near Philly.
swainaustralia.com

Hi jonesie- I remember reading Lonely Planet's Fiji guide where they mention an airfare from the US called "Circle Pacific". (We cannot buy it from Oz).I googled it & came up with a number of sites. Maybe worthwhile checking some of them for deals. Good luck.

Try the Circle Pacific or Around the World flight packages offered at Goway.com. I have the Goway catalogue in front of me, but don't have the prices. The web site may supply more answers.