RTW pointers please
 

I expect that I will be purchasing a Star Round-the-World fare this fall. I can combine a meeting in Europe with one in Asia.

I have studied Dorian's charts on fares and rules and I am omly left with a couple of questions:

1. Do these fares fluctuate very much?

2. Does one just phone AC reservations and book over the phone?

3. Dorians chart shows an RWLite, but for economy only. Would there be a business fare also?

4. I have calculated my mileage needed from a Great Circle chart. Would this be much different if done when booking? [I would be 19,964 miles without any add-ons]

5. Any other tips from people who have used these fares?

Many Thanks

There's this fare you might consider but you have to buy by end of this month:

CX/KL/(NW). Not sure what it is in Y but it's C$4,974 in D (discounted business) and C$6,180 in A (discounted F/P). Looks like JohnAx and I will be using this. You're allowed 23k miles and only need to stop once in Europe and Asia.

I haven't found a place other than Dorian's that quotes RTW fares. Have I missed it on Expedia, ITN or airline sites??

1. Fare seem to go up about $50 every few months.

2. Yes...but they send it away for a fare quote (to add mileage).

3. Y only.

4. Not much different.

5. Try to max your miles for the ticket you are buying. Don't forget the Star Alliance Waiver. For more tips go to the Star forum and search on RTW.

You haven't missed it on other sites...that is why I maintain that page. There are some sites that list specialty fares, such as: www.around-the-world.com

Dorian

Thank you again Dorian. I looked at the Star forum, but found the most andbest intro on your charts.

What is the Star alliance waiver? I think that I missed that part.

Star alliance waiver -> If you are flying on full fare ticket, then you can simply take the ticket to any other Star Alliance airline and they accept it and put you on their flight. You don't have to go to the ticketed airline to get endorsement.

Just curious exAC, since you used to work with AC and retired, don't you still get certain travel benefits or is that only good for pilots and execs?

FYI. I purchased an RTW1 in J class a few months ago. MY TA informs me that the price is now a couple of hundred dollars more. I made the right decision to lock in the price to avoid fare increases and fuel surcharges.

We all get lifetime passes for personal use after we have attained 25 years of service. So, yes I have passes. However, you are forbidden from using them when you are going on a trip and receive compensation from another company. Thus when I am travelling for business now, I pay [a new experience and it is taking some getting used to].

There was a case recently where perportedly and retired employee who was now an executive with another carrier was caught using their personal pass to attend a meeting of a number of airlines. As of this last week, "If the former employee now works for another carrier in Canada, then even their personal passes are suspended until they no longer work for that carrier"