Star Alliance - First RTW trip- am I being too aggressive?

Hi everyone-

I've done a moderate amount of international travel in the past, but am looking to book my first around the world business trip. I have 4 major international offices I need to visit. Ideally I need 2 business days in London, 1 day in Stockholm, 1 day in Mumbai, & 2 days in Hong Kong. Here's the itinerary I'm considering- I'm keeping it rather compressed because it's really taxing on my wife to hold down the fort for more than 7 days at a time. It's not my 'ideal' in that I have 1 extra day in Mumbai and am short 1 day in Hong Kong.


Sat, Sept 1: UA3269 CMH-EWR 5:34pm-7:15pm
Sat, Sept 1: UA8 EWR-LHR 9:10pm-9:25am (-5hr time)
Sun, Sept 2: In London (leisure)
Mon, Sept 3: In London (office)
Mon, Sept 3: SK1524 LHR-ARN 7:05pm-10:30pm (-1hr time)
Tue, Sept 4: In Stockholm (office)
Wed, Sept 5: SK605 ARN-ZRH 6:20am-8:45am
Wed, Sept 5: LX154 ZRH-BOM 9:45am-9:40pm (-3.5hr time)
Thu, Sept 6: In Mumbai (office)
Fri, Sept 7: In Mumbai (office)
Sat, Sept 8: JAI76 BOM-HKG 1:05am-9:25am (-2.5hr time)
Sun, Sept 9: In Hong Kong (leisure)
Mon, Sept 10: In Hong Kong (office)
Tue, Sept 11: UA896 HKG-ORD 11:10am-12:35pm (+12hr time)
Tue, Sept 11: UA324 ORD-CMH 3:51pm-6:07pm


I'm concerned about excessive jet lag, particularly given that I've never been able to sleep on the plane, even in business class (which this tour would be!). I'm thinking a doctor's prescription for Ambien is going to be a must. I'm also thinking I should try my best to keep this a carry-on only trip given so little wiggle room.

Am I crazy for pursuing such an aggressive itinerary? Have others done similar, and if so what tips do you have?!

Thanks.

I've done similar itineraries in Economy, so I reckon you should be fine. Travelling westwards is better in terms of jet lag, but you lose more time because the flights tend to be in the daytime, and anyway we often don't have the luxury of a choice in this regard. If anything, I would look into whether your diary allows you an earlier connection LHR-ARN. Also, the connection time in ZRH looks a tad risky. It's LX, so chances are you'll be OK, but I assume it would be a major problem if you miss that flight.

My concern is that you've booked yourself two days in Mumbai when you want to be in Bangalore!

My concern is that you've booked yourself two days in Mumbai when you want to be in Bangalore!

Hah, Mumbai is the correct location... ended up switching from Bangalore at the last minute; i'll update the OP.

Are you concerned with earning MP toward MM status or using GPU's to upgrade to F? If neither, I would think about choosing alternative carriers for the transoceanic hops.

No, not too aggressive at all!

Aree you trying to book this as a RTW fare? If so, there may be a two week minimum stay requirement as well as requirements of stopovers exceeding 48 hours in regions.

I think it's too tightly packed to allow one to perform well for business. Also, is there an expectation of socializing after hours as part of your business appointments, for example a dinner with people from the office you're visiting?

I have done a number of *A RTWs within the minimum 10 day window that had more "creative" routings than yours, so my answer is no, you are not too aggressive.

Since Jet Airways is not a Star Alliance member, you can't include this flight in a *A RTW ticket, if this what you are aiming at. So you would either need to book the BOM-HKG segment as a separate one-way flight (extra costs) or alternatively use TG via BKK or SQ via SIN to HKG within the *A RTW ticket. On SQ you could try their really nice Business Class on 77W and A380 aircraft but that comes with an extra surcharge.

Otherwise this itinerary meets the minimum duration criteria of 10 days and you also have enough stopovers (24h+) for the *A RTW ticket.

You know the Star Alliance book and fly-tool (http://staralliance.innosked.com), right?

Distance-wise you are under 21,000 miles whereas the fare allows up to 29,000 miles so could add a number of destinations - however, I understand that time constraints do not allow for extra detours to pick up some extra frequent flyer miles.

With some little tweaks you could still earn some more miles:

UA 3269 does not have First Class, you could take an earlier flight or connect in ORD/IAD/DEN instead with a flight that offers First Class. Plus DEN or ORD is further away from LHR than EWR and should allow for a longer sleep on the red-eye flight.

SK 1528 LHR-ARN is sold out in Z class, if you can take SK 528 departing an hour earlier you can sit upfront. I know it's not a big deal for these short flights but if you pay for Business Class you should sit there and not in the back.

Sine 9W isn't a *A member, like ACFlyerDE mentioned, you will have to fly a one-stop with either TG or SQ. Both SQ and TG have late evening/early morning flights like you want ^

I would personally have a bit more time in each place, but that's my personal preference.

You didn't say whether you are flying F or J on your trips. I'm guessing J since I don't believe F is on all your routes.

If you're flying F, it's like sitting in your living room and much more comfortable. J - well, at least you'll be able to get some sleep along the way on your longer segments.

You didn't say whether you are flying F or J on your trips. I'm guessing J since I don't believe F is on all your routes.

Actually the OP did:

"I've never been able to sleep on the plane, even in business class (which this tour would be!)."

Thanks everyone for the responses, and sorry for the delayed follow-up!

Are you concerned with earning MP toward MM status or using GPU's to upgrade to F? If neither, I would think about choosing alternative carriers for the transoceanic hops.

No, not too aggressive at all!

I'm certainly trying to leverage the trip to get whatever miles make sense. I am concerned that there aren't as many miles as I would have hoped for this flight... by my count:

UA3269: 462 (150%- Y)
UA8: 3,466 (150%- C)
SK1524: ?? (doesn't show up on UA's site)
LX154: ?? (doesn't show up on UA's site)
JAI76: 0??- Not Star Alliance
UA896: 7,787 (150%- C)
UA324: 296 (150%- F)

Total: 12,011 + SK/LX/JAI miles however these get fit in..

Aree you trying to book this as a RTW fare? If so, there may be a two week minimum stay requirement as well as requirements of stopovers exceeding 48 hours in regions.

I think it's too tightly packed to allow one to perform well for business. Also, is there an expectation of socializing after hours as part of your business appointments, for example a dinner with people from the office you're visiting?
I should have clarified up-front- didn't realize there is such a thing as a RTW-Ticket (proper). This is an itinerary that happens to circumnavigate.

Excellent point on the expectation for socialization afterwards-- this is a concern. I ended up adding an extra day in Hong Kong to facilitate the after-hours socialization.

I have done a number of *A RTWs within the minimum 10 day window that had more "creative" routings than yours, so my answer is no, you are not too aggressive.

Since Jet Airways is not a Star Alliance member, you can't include this flight in a *A RTW ticket, if this what you are aiming at. So you would either need to book the BOM-HKG segment as a separate one-way flight (extra costs) or alternatively use TG via BKK or SQ via SIN to HKG within the *A RTW ticket. On SQ you could try their really nice Business Class on 77W and A380 aircraft but that comes with an extra surcharge.

Ooh excellent point. My TA said that it should be ok. TG=Thai Airlines, SQ=Singapore Airlines? I wonder if I could get a stayover or something like that in BKK or SIN since I'll be there over the weekend.... VERY interesting idea!


With some little tweaks you could still earn some more miles:

UA 3269 does not have First Class, you could take an earlier flight or connect in ORD/IAD/DEN instead with a flight that offers First Class. Plus DEN or ORD is further away from LHR than EWR and should allow for a longer sleep on the red-eye flight.

SK 1528 LHR-ARN is sold out in Z class, if you can take SK 528 departing an hour earlier you can sit upfront. I know it's not a big deal for these short flights but if you pay for Business Class you should sit there and not in the back.
I'll have to look into both of these. I definitely want to look at getting decent miles out of this trip.