If you’re in Australia and want to depart from there for your round-the-world or multi-continental trip, it’s easy to find a good fare – as long as you’re willing to do some searching and some researching. Whichever fare and airline(s) you do settle on, be sure to check the rules as well, to figure out what you can and cannot do.
For starters, booking through an Australian company is going to help your wallet. At present the Australian dollar is weak against currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the British pound; for example, if you purchase a US$1,500 RTW ticket through an American company, you’re going to shell out about A$2,714 – and that’s just painful.
Instead of crippling your wallet, use Australian companies such as The Star Alliance Group, which has an amazing RTW fare using all of their member airlines. There is also the One World Alliance, a globe-spanning cooperation between eight airlines of which Qantas is a member. By using One World’s airlines, you can get more flexibility with your frequent-flyer miles, or have an easier time with transfers between airlines.
Read all of our RTW Plane Ticket Reviews. If you’ve used one of these companies, you can review them, too:
- Star Alliance RTW Plane Ticket Review.
- One World Alliance RTW Plane Ticket Review.
- SkyTeam Alliance RTW Plane Ticket Review.
- AirTreks RTW Plane Ticket Review.
- Round About Travel RTW Plane Ticket Review – An Australian based company.
- STA Travel RTW Plane Ticket Review.
- DIY (do it yourself) Point to Point Plane Tickets using Kayak.
Star Alliance permits two Pacific crossings (one south and one north). One World only permits one Pacific crossing; also, if you fly over a continent but don’t travel through it, then with One World, you also “forget” that continent – you can’t go back.
If you find yourself torn between the two, especially as frequent-flyer points go, this may help you decide: Star Alliance membership is free, whereas Qantas charges a two-year, GST-inclusive membership fee of A$22 (NZ$20) for its frequent-flyer program.
Whichever you choose, read and understand the rules and conditions, as these are always “subject to change” prior to paying in full. Remember too that each individual traveller needs to be a member to redeem points or miles. This can be worth doing if the airlines and destinations offered suit you and your budget, as the flying points your RTW trip will earn should be enough at least for a free domestic flight once you return home.
The Star and Oneworld sites also are good to see what destinations and airlines are offered, but as far as prices go they are expensive. Both alliances also have excellent phone information/services, for price quotes, etc. There are other, cheaper RTW fares, but these two offer a huge choice if you are wanting to cover a lot of countries or “the world.” Travel agencies have brochures on the alliances; they are not on show usually, so you’ll have to ask for one.
Here are some other links to help you search fares from Australia.
Jetset Travel is a big wholesaler (mainly air and accommodation). They get their fares through Concorde International, an organization that works with travel agents through many countries, including Australia. (Concorde only works with travel agents, by the way, not individual travelers; however, their site may be interesting for informational purposes – especially the ‘Travel News’ section.)
When trying to set up an RTW trip online you may also feel that your choices are restricted – and this doesn’t just go for Australians. Online bookings are best for straightforward one-way or return trips, and some sites do have provisions for up to two stopovers.
You also may be limited on the number of passengers allowed in the one booking, say if your travelling in a group. The thing is that “you” may get seats at one price, but if you try to book the rest of the group you may not be able to: when making your booking, they don’t tell you how many seats are left, and fare deals usually are very limited in the seats available in that discounted class. I have even been told by one airline that round-the-world bookings are too complex to set-up on the Internet (a challenge for someone?).
Sometimes it’s also worthwhile to buy a package, depending of course on what’s out there and what you want to do. A good one will give you cheap fares plus cheap accommodation (sometimes a car and ticket passes as well); this can give you time to orient yourself before heading off. Plus, you can always extend the departure date to it’s maximum date (usually a couple of months with packages).