fracmeister

Just finished my 4th RTW but the prior ones were all 5+ years ago. They were all RTW 1st class and I didn't fly a single plane with a true 1st class...all "business" 1st. Well, some of them were more business than others (see http://2016spepresident.travellerspoint.com/) for details of the trip.

But the observation I am making is that although I couldn't get the online tool to do just what I wanted, the waiting time for the LH reps doing RTW service was minimal, they made the trip plenty easy and the five changes I made en route were easily handled.

The only complications came when I added an "around the Caspian and the Middle East" loop in the middle----that had to be done with another reservation but ultimately the RTW flight was so much easier than I remember. Am I just lucky? My previous trips all had at least one major calamity involving hours on the phone.

RTW1

The last one I did (two years ago) was also easy. Non critical changes by e-mail and one short call for a change while on route.

avneeshj

Sounds like a great trip. RTWs have always intrigued me. Are they eye gougingly expensive?

JVPhoto

I think it varies on your country of departure and also a few things have extra charges ($300-$500) for certain planes like the new SQ 773 or OZ A380s but in J it is about $10-12K and F $15-17k.

You can go to the *A site and build your trip and play around with it (kinda fun).

Dieuwer

United charges 350,000 miles for a RTW award in business class. Seems expensive to me as you could cobble together several one-ways (let's say 4 x 80,000) and come out ahead.

Unterwegs

It might surprise you but some people here actually pay money for RTWs in premium classes. The RTW awards are usually not a good deal, but the paid RTWs are a great deal if you can make use of the many stops and the very good availability.

JVPhoto

I would book a RTW but with PQDs for UA MP I don't have the flexibility giving away that many dollars not going to status.

Dieuwer

What is the typical fare for a RTW in business departing the USA?

2919scott

SQ had the best value several years ago. They had an RTW F fare (FEZSQ) that priced out at approx. $7300 (SFO777 did a couple of trips reports on his flights). I flew JFK/FRA//MUC/MAN//LHR//SIN/NRT/LAX. Too bad that fare doesn't exist anymore.

JVPhoto

~10k

Unterwegs

The fare varies depending on the country where you start the RTW. Some asian Countries and South Africa are often significantly cheaper, especially when the local currency tanks and the price is in local currency and not in USD.
It is also valid for one year (from first flight) and changes (including routing) are relatively inexpensive. The main limitation is the number of miles total and a limit of 15 coupons.

RTW1

They were.... but a lot less in the last 2 years. Prices have gone up substantially and booking classes (and therefore availability) have gone down. The great thing still is the flexibility, but in a lot of cases when flying fairly straightforward routes paid or award tickets are now an alternative.

DanPoynter

I've made 21 round-the-world itineraries.
The last one was in 2 days: LAX to LAX.
See RTW2D.com

JVPhoto

The person had asked about from the US for a RTW. When I had played around making some trips that was the result I got baring other things like specific aircraft surcharges.

It's a pretty fun and interactive site: http://www.staralliance.com/en/booking/book-and-fly/#

#10

You can call UA and ask for the RTW desk. They can book on 016 ticket stock, and you should get your PDQ's.

Depends on distance, but probably $11-14k. Starting in Japan/Korea would be $8-10k after taxes and airport fees.