I just received an e-mail from someone who had bought my book . He wanted some advice on tickets saying, “I’ve been informed from other people that it is more cost effective to purchase tickets separately once you get to your destination, point by point. But, I’m not sure if that same logic applies to my situation…”
It’s a common question for many people setting off for an around-the-world trip and one in which the answer depends a lot on the itinerary and where the person lives. There are essentially four ways to do it:
1) Buy a round-the-world ticket from an organization of airlines, such as the Star Alliance .
2) Buy a pieced-together RTW ticket from a “bucket shop” who will use a wide variety of different airlines. You can find these in newspaper travel sections in big cities or in the US, try AirTreks or Around the World Tickets .
3) If you fit the criteria to get a student price, you can get a pieced-together RTW ticket made up of student-priced fares from STA Travel .
4) Just buy your initial one-way ticket from your own country (try a bucket shop/consolidator for the cheapest one-way deals) and then buy the rest of the tickets locally as you go.
I’ve used options #2 and #4 myself and talked with plenty of people who have used the others. Here’s when each option makes sense.
Star Alliance and the like
This is usually the most expensive option from the US, where the price is about double what it is in the rest of the world. Figure on several thousand dollars for the least number of stops. If you can buy this (and leave from) Canada or elsewhere, the price is more reasonable. Advantages include being on known airlines, getting frequent flier miles on one system, and always having an onward ticket to show immigration folks. Disadvantages, besides price, are that you’re locked into a set itinerary, they’re only good for one year, and your choices are limited to where those partners fly.
Consolidater Tickets
These are usually far cheaper than the formal alliance deals and offer more flexibility since they can in theory use any airline. You still usually only have a year to use the whole series, but there’s some wiggle room in there sometimes with the last leg. Advantages are price and the ole “onward ticket” advantage. Disadvantages are that you’re still locked into an itinerary and you can end up on some odd airlines you’ve never hear of (Tarom, Biman Bangladesh, Air Jordan, etc.) You may not get frequent flier mileage on some or all legs of the trip.
STA Travel and the like
Kind of the middle ground between the first two options if you qualify. Cheaper than what non-students pay, with a mix of airlines and options. Service can vary drastically between offices and again, you’ll pay more in the US than elsewhere.
Buy as You Go
I did my last two circle-the-globe trips this way and came out way ahead both times. It depends on where you’re going though. The dirty secret of airlines (and bucket shops) is that prices vary quite a bit depending on where you buy your ticket. Buying a flight in London, Delhi, Singapore, or Bangkok will cost you far less than buying it in Chicago or Tokyo. Most consolidators buy a lot of their RTW ticket legs from Bangkok agents and have them shipped to them in the US. Advantages, besides price, are that you can adjust your itinerary as you go and you don’t have to worry about being somewhere by a certain date or having only a year before you have to head home. You could get a job somewhere overseas and not have to worry about losing the use of a ticket. Disadvantages include the need to have a disciplined budget, not knowing what the whole trip will cost, and not having an onward ticket if you get hassled by an immigration official (rare outside rich countries, but it happens).
So what about the reader I mentioned above? He was living in Tongo, South Pacific and was not going to Southeast Asia or India. The Star Alliance ticket there was half the price it is in the US. In his case, that was the best option.
