Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Planning a RTW honeymoon trip in May, LHR-NY-LAX-Auckland-fiji-sydney-singapore-LHR in business class. Any advice on how to get good fares, upgrades to first class e.t.c.

Got one quote flying virgin to NY, air new zealand to sysdney and singapore air back to london at �3600. Is this a good fare? Any other advice would be greatlt appreciated.

Cheers

This routing looks like about 26 400 miles (but it's probably not a valid *A routing because I don't think there is direct service from Fiji to SYD). A CRWSTAR1 ex-UK costs GBP3869 (plus tax) and will allow you 29 000.

By the way, is there a particular reason for going to Auckland before Fiji? With Air NZ you could go LAX-NAN-AKL-SYD and it's even shorter, thereby allowing you more options elsewhere. (And since there are no direct *A flights from NAN to SYD, you'll have to go back through AKL anyway.)

cheers,

Henry

Thanks Henry

There was no reason o book it that way, as you can tell i have no idea! does that mean upto 29000 it would be around �3800 for business class? Are there fares for less miles say 26000.

I called 2 agents and they didnt seem that interested in giving any advice! How do the upgrades work? Any benefit of the Amex Platinum CC?

I think there is the RTW Escapade which involves only SQ/NZ/VS, which I think about that much ex-LHR.
But I may be wrong. I am sure the experts will correct this if in error.

This is from the Singapore Airlines website:

Round The World Members
Log In
Escape... Round the World
London-Johannesburg-Singapore-Sydney-Christchurch-Auckland-Rarotonga-Papeete-Los Angeles-London FROM �860*

Imagine: the magical islands in the South Pacific, the exotic tastes of Singapore or the excitement of the USA. You can experience this and more, form an incredible �860*, or travel in style, with superb fares in Business.

Choice, flexibility, quality and unbeatable holiday value :The Great Escapade Round the World. Bookable through your local travel agent or contact UK reservations. The Great Escapade Round the World is valid on all these award airlines: Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand.

Dates of travel valid in 2005/2006 Price
20 Apr to 30 Jun � 860 (Economy Class)
15 Jan to 19 Apr � 890 (Economy Class)
15 Aug to 14 Sep / 01 Nov to 09 Dec / 24 Dec to 31 Dec � 925 (Economy Class)
01 Jan to 14 Jan / 01 Jul to 14 Aug / 15 Sep to 31 Oct � 1045 (Economy Class)
10 Dec to 23 Dec � 1210 (Economy Class)
All Year Round � 3564 (Business Class)


* Conditions


Prices are per person, for travel originating from London-Heathrow and exclude all pre-paid taxes, charges and fees, which will depend upon your chosen itinerary.
For sale in the UK only. Restrictions and conditions apply.
Subject to change or withdrawal without notice.

There is a *A rtw fare which is popularly called the Star-Lite that has a limit of 26 000 miles. The only thing is, it is not available for business class. Travel agents hate RTWs because they are a lot of work. Upgrades, I don't know as I've never done. I should think that if you've got a paid business ticket and enough points to upgrade to first on a flight with three cabin service, then you're probably able to do so, depending on availability. Others will no doubt have details for you regarding that. CGK's suggestion of the Escapade might be good for you (although I think the Escapade also starts at 29 000 miles, same as the xSTAR1); there are a number of other possibilities compiled here a couple of months ago. Search this forum for Alternative RTWs.

Good luck.

cheers,

Henry

First, welcome to FT.

Second, congratulations.

Third, you can save around �1000 each by starting and ending a 29,000 mile Star Alliance RTW in Sweden. RTWs are priced differently according to where the ticket is purchased and where the trip commences and ends, and Sweden is priced around a thousand pounds cheaper than the UK. Presumably you could find an inexpensive "positioning" flight to Sweden for less than a grand.

Your route could be (and there are a great many alternatives) ARN-EWR-LAX-NAN-AKL-SYD-SIN-LHR-ARN or various permutations which would come in at around 26K mi, leaving you with a couple thousand miles that you could use for additional stops - perhaps NYC-Vancouver or SFO before LAX and Fiji.

Remember in May-June you'll be arriving in NZ in winter, so plan accordingly.

There are also flights between NAN and WLG and CHC.

But there is one good reason for flying LAX-AKL-NAN if have sufficient time and mileage. LAX-NAN is 767 = old business class whereas LAX-AKL nonstop is new business class.

How about 2975 quid? Actually it's in EURO 4345. In Business Class. But you have to buy your SQ/OS/NZ ticket in AMS at SQ.

It's called BIG PLANET Round The World
http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_U...ndTheWorld.jsp

You have just got to buy an oneway ticket between JFK and LAX.

Of course. I should have said '...back through NZ'.

cheers,

Henry

This is how I booked mine and it was very straightforward. After a phonecall to SAS in Sweden I sorted it all out through email.

BA fly from LHR to ARN several times a day, so the 'positioning' part is easy. Alternatively, if you live near LTN or STN then you can fly Ryanair and get there for much less (although this does take you to on of the other two Stockholm airports). I guess taking the first part of your honeymoon flight on Ryanair could be a bit of a downer though

When I was looking into it I remember that a couple of people commented that the pricing was very similar from Denmark if you can get to CPH for a cheaper price.

What about ex-ZAG? How does the price compare to ARN or CPH?

Didn't we just talk about this? (Yes.)

(1) Check wbt's handy-dandy spreadsheet. When you find that Sweden and Denmark are there but Croatia isn't, then (2) search this forum for a recent discussion of this very point.

cheers,

Henry

Hi everyone,

I know that someone has created a very helpful Star Alliance Round the World fare comparison chart, to tell us from which countries we should be buying these RTW fares.

I am not able to locate it. Can someone tell me where it is, in this forum?

Sorry about this,

FF

Here's the short cut:

http://www.qsi.cc/users/wbt/

Good luck.

cheers,

Henry