Around The World Ticket
RTW in Brief
People usually travel round the world for quite different reasons, with many different
interests, and in many different ways. Round the world travel holds different meanings
for different people. Some people consider this an opportunity to expand their knowledge
of people, places, cultures, and other related things. For some people it may be
gathering material for a book or article, or photography, or seeing museums and
art galleries in preferred cities, or simply pursuing adventure activities in exotic
foreign destinations. There are some people who prepare an exhaustive tour itinerary
spanning a couple of months to visit different cities around the world. And, for
such an exhaustive round the world itinerary the best thing for travelers are round
the world tickets (RTW tickets). This is undoubtedly a flexible and cheaper way
of international travel in which the passengers don’t have to buy tickets for separate
flights from one destination to another. For round the world flights, the passengers
planning to travel globally are required to buy around the world tickets. The RTW
ticket is in fact a plane ticket that allows the passengers to fly around the world,
usually over a period of up to a year and with between three and 20 stops at different
airports. The RTW tickets are often somewhat more expensive than a return ticket
between destinations on opposite sides of the world. However, the RTW ticket is
the cheapest option if the passengers are planning two or more stops, and allows
them at least a side trip. There are many travelers that plan their entire holidays
using around the world trips itinerary.
RTW Offerings
A RTW ticket is issued as a single ticket and comes attached with a host of conditions.
The RTW tickets are often associated with an airline alliance such as Star Alliance,
oneworld and SkyTeam. The specialist travel agents are of great help in booking
the round the world flights as well as providing alternative deals.
(a.) Star Alliance RTW offerings:
The Star Alliance is considered the biggest among all the other alliances in terms
of the number of destinations and easy routing. It has 28 member airlines in its
network, covering over 162 countries and 975 destinations. The Star Alliance RTW
Pass is available in 29,000, 34,000 and 39,000 mile versions in either Economy (Coach),
Business or First Class, with each up to 15 stopovers. The alliance also provides
a special “Starlite” Economy-only fare for 26,000 miles, which is limited to a maximum
of five stopovers. Besides, the Star Alliance also provides Circle Pacific and Circle
Asia RTWs.
(b.) Oneworld alliance RTW offerings:
Oneworld is the third largest global airline alliance in the world. The alliance
has 12 member airlines, besides affiliate airlines bringing the total strength to
20. With a combined fleet of over 2,500 aircraft, the member airlines in the network
serve more than 900 destinations in nearly 150 countries. The Oneworld alliance
offers two types of RTWs – Oneworld Explorer and Global Explorer. The Oneworld Explorer
is based on the number of continents visited (from three to six) and has no maximum
mileage limit. In this plan, up to 16 segments, as opposed to stopovers, can be
included in any class of service. The passengers are free to change the dates on
their ticket at no extra charge. Global Explorer is mileage-based RTW (26,000, 29,000
or 39,000 in Economy class only; 34,000 in Economy, Business or First Class). Besides,
Oneworld alliance also provides other options such as Oneworld Circle Trip Explorer,
Oneworld Circle Pacific, Oneworld Circle Atlantic, and Oneworld Circle Asia & South
West Pacific.
(c.) SkyTeam RTW offerings:
SkyTeam is the second largest airline alliance in the world, with its 13 member
airlines having a combined fleet of 3,400 aircraft (including associate carriers)
and flying to 898 airports in 169 countries. SkyTeam RTW’s mileage and rules are
similar to Star Alliance’s RTW.
Besides these three alliances, other RTWs available include The Great Escapade,
Four Corners, Discovery Tickets, World Walkabout Plus tickets, and many others.
Round the world airline tickets are indeed one of the best options as it enable
the passengers to fly around the world at a relatively low price.
