Buying a ticket - cheap flights and round the world options

Most travellers set off on a round the world trip (RTW) with just that ticket. What round the world really means is Australia/Europe (depending on where you start) and back with stop-offs and if you break this mould, you pay for it. (If you aren't interested in making such a trip, skip to this section for advice on the many other options available.)

Here are the most popular types of tickets you can get (there are others) based around the major airline alliances - see respective websites to plan where you can stop:

The first is Star Alliance (Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA Asiana, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss, TAP, THAI, Turkish Airlines and United) whose members have really increased over the years, is based on miles. They offer a round the world ticket and Circle Pacific ticket. Other recent members South African and Ethiopian really open Africa to round the worlders. TAM (Brazilian) jumped to One World in 2014.

The other is oneworld (Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, TAM, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Mexicana), Global explorer and oneworld explorer (better) based on continents with varying conditions. This is often the ticket to get for a trip including South America, since LAN Chile and TAM are members it has an excellent South American network and can get you to Easter Island as a stop off.

A third option is the SkyTeam Alliance (Aeroflot, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia , Kenya Airways, klM, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines and Xiamen Airlines).

And finally The Great Escapade (Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic).

The Great Escapade is mileage based (29,000 miles, one Atlantic crossing, one Pacific crossing allowed) with unlimited stopovers (except in New Zealand). South America is not included and South Africa is the only African stop. But if that's not a problem for you and you want a basic ticketing flying from/to London/Manchester, then this option has been recommended.

Please confirm all of this with a travel agent. Things change quickly in this industry.

All of the above RTW options are valid for one year and date changes are free or with a small charge. Changing destinations en route (if possible) will incur a larger charge - if you do this with One World it can actually extend your ticket from that point (but that policy seems to vary office to office). All of these tickets are excellent value for money if you utilise them properly. Cheap or not, such tickets are not the only way to go. Many setting off on a RTW trip are increasingly shunning RTW tickets so as to have more flexibility and not be limited to a year trip. It is hotly debated as to whether buying tickets as you go, or buying one RTW ticket is best.

» Round The World (RTW) ticket -	» Do It Yourself (DIY) ticket -
Pros: Date changes are normally free or pretty cheap. Many feel secure in planning a grand route and knowing a schedule in advance. They normally work out cheaper and from London are bargains especially if on a simple Oz and back route in the low season.	Pros: Not being limited to 12 months. No need to plan in advance without the information you'll discover while on the road. Gain a huge sense of freedom - the major growth in regional budget airlines opens so many doors. Better if doing more interesting routes with lots of over-landing (recommended).
Cons: In most cases you are limited to 12 months to complete your travels. You are going to have to plan your route and lock yourself into it before you go. Route changes on the road will cost you. Best to have Australia as a focus of your trip. You will need to take some one-way local flights anyway and often back track for your next leg. Limited to major hubs, you will have to take internal flights to get to the likes of Nepal, Vietnam (without back-tracking) and notably across the Darien Gap (South to Central America).	Cons: The main disadvantage is not having an onward ticket - which can pick you up a little bureaucratic hassle by not being able to prove onward travel, see below. In practice, it's more an annoyance than a hindrance. The cost of this type of DIY ticket will be more than RTW deals you can find. Requires more time and greater flexibility. It's fairly hard to price your ticket sitting at home as current ticket prices can only really be gauged accurately when you are in the region travelling. You can sometimes have a nasty surprise on the price of a flight if you hit a peak season or a route not being discounted.

Example of a RTW ticket from London using One World: (all prices are approximate and depend on season)

London - Tel Aviv or Dubai - Mumbai - Bangkok (surface) Singapore - Sydney - Auckland - Santiago (surface) Rio - London. See how it is necessary to on the whole stick to major hubs. Say you want to see Nepal from India, that means you have to head all the way back to Mumbai (Bombay) for your next leg - when in fact it would be easier just to fly yourself to Bangkok from Kathmandu. The same goes with exploring the Middle East from Tel Aviv (you have to back track and miss out Syria/Lebanon due to your Israeli passport stamp).

Total cost: £1400 (€1550/US$2300). This ticket would be much cheaper if you just focused on Asia, Australia and the USA (skipping S.America/Africa) and is when it becomes too good a deal to miss - sometimes less than £800 (originating in Europe in low season). In this case the price is greatly increased by including South America; the same is true when including Africa.

Remember oneworld price by continent and many example fares are shown on their website.

Example of a RTW ticket from London using singles: (all prices are approximate and depend greatly on seasons)

Destinations are suggestions, huge scope exists. London - Athens £80 (easy on the internet, could also fly to Rome); (surface) Cairo - Mumbai £180 (easy); (surface) Kathmandu/Calcutta - Bangkok £100-200 (very easy, but cheap flights fill up at the end of the trekking season, this flight would be cheaper out from India or Bangladesh); Bangkok/Hong Kong - Los Angeles £300 (or overland to Bali where you can pick up a budget flight to Australia and fly to LA from Sydney - however many RTWers would like to travel on to NZ and then Chile.

RTW tickets can be bought in Bangkok for okay prices and are an excellent way of continuing your trip. Regional South East Asian flights are however cheap and easy (see links) and connecting from Singapore or Bali to Darwin is great value. Oz to NZ is easy enough, but getting on to South America is pricey and a flight via LA or heading south on an epic overland trip is the most effective means.

If heading for the USA buying a return ticket might be wise and you will probably be able to have a third of the price refunded to your credit card for not using the return bit.); LA/ Las Vegas - Lima £200-300 (like most countries Peru makes noises about requiring a return ticket, but here as in most developing countries there is rarely a problem on a one way ticket, especially if you have a credit card.); (surface) Rio - London £400-£750! (getting home from somewhere like South America will always be expensive and you would be better to finish your trip in North America. Buenos Aires or Sao Paulo to Madrid/Milan or similar will be a bit cheaper. Much cheaper will be a flight from Quito or Bogotá (£250) to Spain. With this flight and all of them you might need to book a few weeks in advance and not during the European summer and avoid all travel during peak holiday periods.

Total: around £1500 (€1650/US$2450 - this prices about the same starting and finishing in New York) to as little as £1200. See RTW alternatives below.

Worth noting is you'll probably pick up a little bureaucratic hassle from not having return tickets which can be quite frustrating. Most countries say they require travellers to have a return or onward ticket before letting them in, but only a few rigorously enforce this. It may even be that you do have a return ticket, but not from the immediate country you wish to fly into. If you are having problems buying a single ticket try the airline office direct or better still use their website to book online. It's generally travel agencies and check-in staff that give you grief about booking returns (see example). Don't let them panic you. It is extremely uncommon to have onward travel checked and if you do, fabricating a story, showing your funds and a credit card will smooth your passage. The one major exception is the Caribbean, where if you don't have a way to prove a means to exit most countries you enter, you run a real chance of having to buy a exiting plane ticket on the spot (even if you plan to leave by ferry/cruise). In this case forge a flight confirmation or letter showing you are meeting a yacht/cruise.

Remember no one important (immigration) cares if you have an onward ticket - only that you don't overstay a visa. You'll need patience at times particularly when crossing borders via airports (land crossing never a problem).

» Away from Round the Word (RTW) travel and tickets:

Remember not all trips have to be RTW trips. Regional or bi-regional trips for a few months are much more practical, cheaper and just as good (if not better). It's the feelings of more than a few, that a year is too long to travel for unless working en route, and that a few weeks or one, two, three, four month individual trips are more profitable and practical.

Getting a good deal and the cheapest flight possible normally means picking up a promotional fair or special offer - this means booking early. While it's lovely to believe you can leave it to the last moment and snap up a bargain hours/days/weeks before you leave, this is just not the reality. Generally speaking there are two basic types of fares: published/standard fares which are an airlines 'list price' for set numbers of seats at each price tier and unpublished and/or promotional fares.

Young person's discounts

If you are a full time student or under 26 , you may not realise it but you are already getting a great deal as these tickets are heavily discounted. Not only is the price reduced, but so are restrictions on tickets. At age 25 and 11 months you could fly London - México City - OVERLAND - Panama - London with American Airlines off-season for £425 with a $25 date change charge.

At age 26 the same ticket would cost £550 with a date change four times inflated. STA and other agencies specialise in these discounted fares. Under 26 is also the magic age for many discounted rail (particularly European) and flight passes. So what better reason is there travel before you turn 26?

Tucan

Unpublished fares are sold by consolidators (travel agents, some flight booking agents) rather than airlines and are often lower priced. Promotional fares are normally the best deal, but you need to book very early and get in quick. This means signing on airlines websites to get e-mail notifications of offers when they are released. The cheapest seat normally equates to planning far ahead, being flexible on dates/routes and getting in there early before all the cheap tickets are snapped up!

Timing your journey carefully is essential, especially on long flights. Fares will probably go up sharply on July 1st and cheap Christmas flights just don't happen (although travelling a little earlier or just after Christmas gives considerable savings: you can find okay prices in the window between Christmas day and New Year's Eve if you book far ahead). Likewise going anywhere in August will be expensive. Be as flexible as possible with your dates. Flying on the wrong day of the week can put an extra hundred bucks on the ticket price. Weekend travel is normally more expensive for long flights. The fare tariff applies to the date of the outbound flight and the tariffs change on the first day of the month or in the peak season in the middle of the month. If you were planning to depart in the last few days of the month, check to see if the fares drop the following month. In the peak season the reverse applies - going a week earlier may save you a good deal. Most flights are generally cheaper Monday to Thursday. Find a flight booking site that shows you a matrix of +/- up to to five days so you can compare prices if you are flexible.

Remember a cheaper priced ticket is often endorsed non-refundable and non-transferable. Most cut price tickets can have the return date changed for a fee but only after the outward journey has been completed. Not all cheap price tickets have the same restrictions so it is important to read the terms and conditions of the ticket and understand what you are buying. You could spend your life waiting for the ultra wonderful deals you hear about, which are normally a few special offer seats or charter flight seats which depend on you being incredibly flexible, (flexible like coming back the very next week or going to package holiday type destinations). More about charter flights later.

The cheapest flights are also normally the least convenient - non-direct (e.g. Europe to Asia routed through Gulf States), long connection times, out of or to major hubs and with less well-known airlines. A third option for travel to some destinations is low cost, no frill airlines (aka. budget airlines). As a general rule, tickets are only available from the airline in question and you won't get too far from your home country unless making a few precarious connections, but they can be useful to get to or from a major hub to make cheaper long-haul flight. For example, say want to visit somewhere like the Philippines. In most cases, there will be no cheap direct flights and a ticket is going to be pretty expensive. However, picking up a good deal from a major hub, to say Hong Kong/Singapore (which is a regular and competitive route) and adding a low cost carrier flight at one (or both) end(s), could save you hundreds of Euros/Francs/Dollars/etc.. You have to be willing to spend more time travelling, but sometimes (not always) the savings can be too great to ignore, especially if you want to get to a less visited country and are flying to or from a region with a good cheap budget airline network. More about budget flights later.

If you do have the time and flexibility, buying a one way ticket and then travelling as far as you like (taking cheap regional flights when you can't use or have had enough of buses/trains) is an excellent idea (as discussed above). If you do this make sure you will end up in a good place to fly home from, e.g. Hong Kong, Tel Aviv or Bangkok and not somewhere like Latin America where it will cost you a fortune to get anywhere but America - the same goes with most of Africa. Good value one-way tickets are a difficult thing to arrange away from budget airlines. They can often be the same price as a full fare and rarely 50%. Charter flights (with the exception of to The Gambia), are very rarely one-way. When you can find well priced one-way tickets this opens up the most useful type of ticket... the open jaw.

Airplane An open-jaw ticket as you probably know is flying into one destination and out of another. This of course has huge advantages in saving back-tracking and allowing you to see more. This type of tickets works in two ways. The first, most common is with the same airline, i.e. Delta for Central America, BA/Qatar for Asia or klM for Africa. The second way is when one-way tickets are available at the right price and you simply just strap two good fares (different airlines - normally code sharing) together.

Locating these flights (the one-way type and 50% of return) is tricky as internet searches are generally not geared up for finding them. A knowledgeable travel agent is the biggest help (normally they will try and sell you a package with the same airline or alliance airlines - since they know they cover that route and it's easiest for them to look up). Return flights are almost always better value. The best tip is to find a cheap airline (i.e. Gulf state carrier or developing nation's national carrier) and find which destinations they serve within the region you are looking at, then search sites like Expedia or Opodo on the multi-stop search option for these destinations - trying as many combinations of dates as you can.

It's not really appropriate to recommend physical places to buy tickets, only to say that the general feeling is some bad experiences with the call centre type agencies and good experiences/advice with student agencies like STA and web only based discounters like Opodo. STA (walk-in) and Opodo (web) rated highly. You might experience searching around for flights on one site and getting results of say US$1000 and seeing only one airline. Then upon searching the next day or a different site the following day, finding totally different ticket at a totally different price. It all depends on the tickets released and the agencies relationships/coverage with airlines. With phoning around it all depend on who you get on the end of the phone or in the agency and how rushed/knowledgeable they are. Either way shop around!

Better still, do all the work yourself on the web. Take an established discounting agent (e.g. Expedia or Opodo). Such web agents can send you out news of promotions on routes you are interested in. Don't be put off if the first prices you get back are high. Book early (take advantage of limited promotional fares) and be very flexible with your dates (avoid Friday/Saturday/Sunday, stay over at least one weekend and keep trying different options) and try searching destinations/dates served by cheaper airlines such as Qatar Air and routes that perhaps aren't direct but you can make the connection easily yourself (see budget flights, right). Kayak Buzz (UK, US, DE) comes recommended for finding the cheapest way to any given region.

All this takes time, but is your best bet for finding low prices. Promotional fares, flights originating in London (or other major hubs) or non-direct flights on lesser known airlines or new low-cost start-ups, individually or in a combination, will normally give the best deal. Remember away from the big international carriers there are many airlines that operate regional that these guys can't sell tickets for. Equally always bear in mind that logic generally doesn't apply to ticket pricing and a route from say London to Entebbe via Amsterdam can come out cheaper than direct Amsterdam - Entebbe (even those the distance is less and there is no connection).

Charter flights

Charter flights are almost always return, returning normally 7 or 14 days after arrival and always from the same place. Charter flights generally fly from destinations in Europe to other European destinations. Long haul charter destinations are: Kenya, Cancún, The Gambia (good value and unusually on offer one-way), Israel, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Thailand (Islands), Sri Lanka, Goa, the Caribbean (sometimes Cuba) and sometimes Brazil, UAE and Canada.

These are useful to look into especially if you want a cheap short independent break, although prices are never that wonderful unless you are leaving at very short notice (cheap last minute fights to Goa or Cancun are particularly famous)