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Round the World Flights (~$1600)

1581

Firstly, a big thanks to the folks at Australia Frequent Flyer, particularly wjohn, whose post let me find this.

It's a bit difficult to explain, so bear with me (it's worth it!)

Legs

1 - Into Asia
2 - Asia to Europe
3 - Europe to America
4 - America to Australia

Dates

I've been looking at late November (post uni exams), and early December. However, with a few quick search there seems to be availability in October, March, and April. There's so many different options, so search and try your luck!

Leg 1 - Into Asia ($309)

Book a one-way flight on a budget carrier (e.g. JetStar).

Leg 2 and Leg 4 - Asia to Europe + America to Australia ($734)

There is an amazing deal for leg 2 and 4 on Etihad.
Searching for a multi-city flight on www.skyscanner.com.au:
1) Bangkok (BKK) - London (LHR)
2) New York (JFK) - Melbourne (MEL)

NOTE - These cities may be altered to suit you better!
Instead of Bangkok, another option is Tokyo (similar price). Instead of London, you can pick any European city that Etihad flies to (they are all similarly priced). Instead of New York you can try Los Angeles (similar price). Instead of Melbourne you can pick your Australian city of choice.

Leg 3 - Europe to America ($555)

Find the cheapest flight you can from your European city of choice to your American city of choice.

With my example:

Melbourne - Bangkok - London - New York - Melbourne
MEL - BKK - LHR - JFK - MEL
Total = $1597

P.S. You could potentially throw in a stop-over in Abu Dhabi if you alter the multi-city search :)

More Examples

Bangkok - London + New York - Melbourne (14th October - 28th October): https://imgur.com/zq8fx3o

Tokyo - London + New York - Melbourne (19th November - 8th December): http://imgur.com/3ESHPdE

Bangkok - Amsterdam + New York - Melbourne (9th March - 22nd March):
http://imgur.com/A1z2lF2

Related Stores

Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways

closed Comments

  • +52

    Round the World Flights (~$1600)

    Travel to be completed within 80 days…

    • +24

      jv = Jules Verne?

      • +2

        yes! I was wondering who that guy in jv's photo is.

      • Omg this changes everything

    • +50

      A deal is a deal mate

    • +1

      A round-the-world trip for $1600 airfare is pretty amazing… considering one return trip to Asia could cost you from half to all of the $1600, depending on who you fly with and when you fly.

      I'd call this a really nice deal if you're looking to travel. After all, a deal is a deal.

  • +54

    so bare with me (it's worth it!)

    Hm no thanks.

    • +51

      Lol.. Classic!

      “Bear with me,” the standard expression, is a request for forbearance or patience.

      “Bare with me” would be an invitation to undress.

      • +5

        Noted!

        • Why is user disabled already?

        • +1

          Disabled. Bloody hell that was quick!

  • +4

    Around the world in $1600 only - Come on! How is it not a deal?

    • +7

      3x credit cards with first year annual fee waived and 50k Qantas points each = around the world for free (taxes required?)

      • True, but with a risk of crowding your credit file. Thoughts? (or have I been too coutious unnecessarily?)

        • +8

          I'm not going to be able to afford a (inner suburbs) house in the current economy so why do I care about my credit file? CreditSavvy seem to think I'm okay, but it's missing a couple of recent applications. I don't feel like giving Veda money for a month report yet (ever?), I'd rather save that $80/year.

          As long as you don't go bankrupt or default on a credit card, I really don't think it matters.

        • +1

          @Lukian

          I think credit history last for 5 years so thinkn5 years ahead. You might not be in a situation for home loan right now but might be in the next 5 years.

        • +9

          Best way to have a good credit file…

          Step 1) Make a lot of money.

          Step 2) Make more money.

          Past defaults? Ex-bankrupt? Ex-con? Don't worry. Making even more money will clear everything up.

          Any more questions? Repeat Step 1 + 2

        • +1

          @Son ofa Zombie:
          Should of thought of that … No wonder I'm poor
          Thanks for the idea

        • +3

          @CandyMan: Have you not been paying attention to Joe Hockey? Just find a good paying job! Why the hell are people so poor when all they have to do is simply find a high paying job? Messed up.

        • +1

          @Munki:
          :(

        • @Munki: Leaners. They just won't help themselves!

      • +3

        Yes, taxes required. And since they decided to introduce fuel surcharges when the oil price soared to over US$100 years ago and failed to reduce or remove those surcharges now with oil prices below US$60 they are really scamming us.

        You'd be looking at > $800 in "taxes". $250 of that are genuine taxes and fees by airports and governments, the remainder is the fuel surcharge by QF. ACCC anyone? Oh, they have no jurisdiction on international flights, surprise surprise…

    • +2

      You can swim and leg it for free.

    • +12

      I'm currently on a 'world' tour also with Etihad, minus the Americas

      Sydney - Kuala Lumpur (Air Asia)
      Kuala Lunpur - Abu Dhabi (Etihad)
      Abu Dhabi - Belgrade (Etihad)
      Belgrade - Istanbul (Air Serbia)
      Berlin - Sydney (Etihad)

      All for $1,250 including checked luggage

      • Is that normal prices or some sort of deal? Did you have to do as many stops?

        • +1

          It was by chance, the Etihad/Air serbia part was so cheap because it's just like one long one-way ticket rather than a return, it was around $900 AUD. We chose to do those stops but just play around with google flights multi city and you will find something

      • +10

        Seems more like a Europe trip than a world tour..

        • +3

          edit - didn't read properly.

        • Europe, plus Asia, plus the Middle East..

      • +2

        This isn't a around the world trip. Check the title

        • 'minus the Americas'

  • What approximate Dec dates and return dates are you searching?

    • +7

      It's a round the world trip. You're going to Asia, Europe, and the US for the price of just a flight to Europe?

      • -7

        Good for uni students and people with long service leave, most people only have time for one destination on a holiday though.

    • +2

      /eyes narrow

      Mister Fox.

  • +1

    yeh it's cheap… but heaps of limitations.

    ideal if you can plan to this

    also… aren't you just booking cheap one way tickets? is this actually an "around the world" ticket?

    oh ic the "hack" happens in leg 2 & 4

    • +2

      Yes, it's not the simplest. But it's not limited.
      Just find the leg 2+4 flights using skyscanner (multi-city), then find the remaining 2 one way flights to suit.
      The difficulty is in the trial and error for the Etihad flight to find what you want. But there's plenty of combos.

    • +1

      A few more searches and I got these too:

      Tokyo - London + New York - Melbourne (19th November - 8th December): http://imgur.com/3ESHPdE

      Bangkok - Amsterdam + New York - Melbourne (9th March - 22nd March):
      http://imgur.com/A1z2lF2

  • +1

    THis is amazing RTW with Emirates plus Air Tahiti

    I have done it.

    It was absolutely amazing!! Emirates service. Got upgraded into business couple of times.

    http://www.emirates.com/fr/english/offers/1176986/round-the-…

  • how is this compare to round the world ticket?

  • +2

    alternate option:
    http://www.statravel.com.au/round-the-world-cheap-as.htm

    but slightly different route if interested

    • +1

      alternate option = the option you select every second time you select an option…

      You mean "alternative option"

  • +1

    do most places offer visas on arrival? (I heard the US were stringeant for example) how do visas work - in general - ?

    • For US, you need to apply for a permit online on their website. It cost me about $20 from memory last time and it lasts 10 years. They will finger print you and all that at the airport. Thanks

      • +4

        For travel to the US you can apply for an ESTA online. It costs US$14 and lasts 2 years. It can be used to "declare" your travel to the US multiple times over that two year period. It is however not a visa as it is issued under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), essentially it's permission to board your plane and whether you can enter the USA (as WT/WB status) or not will be determined by the CBP agent upon landing. The customs agent for whatever reason can still refuse you entry if they don't like you answers and you will have no right of appeal under the VWP. Usually by committing a crime (like minor drug possession) can trip you up in terms of applying for an ESTA, even if it was 10 years ago. In such cases you will need a B-2 visa at an embassy and the process can take around 6 months.

        • Thank you both,

          I remember having to pay 80€ and having an interview at the embassy for this (the trip fell through so i never found out) - I have never commited any crimes what so ever, it was just the procedure. This was quite a few years ago maybe explaining that.

    • esta 10 minutes for internet time, 3 day wait

  • What dates are you getting those cheap flights form america to aus?

  • +1

    And the user's goone

  • That 28h home stretch though…

  • Thats Brilliant

  • Is there any alternatives going the other way round(Australia>America> Europe> Asia>Australia)?

    • +1

      Best I found is via Luftansa for $2100- $2300 depending on the route.

    • +1

      Horrendous jetlag going in that direction. Always best to go the other way.

  • Pretty good price for Legs 2 & 4. Nice one OP

  • +2

    DisabledUser79248
    Disabled Account
    Member Since
    12/07/2012
    Last Login
    43 min ago

  • Au$ does not get you as far these day.

  • +7

    There was an error in routing/pricing in Etihad booking system since 20.07.15 (concerning multi-city tickets with leg Australia-Asia). There are a lot of people in Russia booked round-trip tickets Moscow - Bangkok - Melbourne - Wellington - Melbourne - Moscow for as low as $250.
    But, eventually, Etihad found out about this problem and sent email to agencies screenshot in russian to cancel those bookings, some people already got their tickets cancelled.
    As reported on russian traveller forum, for this moment, some of those cheap tickets are searchable, but error message displayed after entering payment info.

    • +1

      So, I think there might be problems with leg 2/4 in that example.

      PS: yep, can confirm that - after choosing payment method on Etihad site I got an error:

      We are sorry, we could not complete your booking.
      The system to process your payment is currently unavailable due to maintenance. (pe5)
      What you can do:
      Please contact our call centre on 02 599 0000 from within the UAE or 00971 2 599 0000 from outside the UAE to complete your booking. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.
      [Ref#:GYHDQB_201507221822000]

  • -5

    Too complicated.

  • -4

    Nothing for India?

  • +8

    This has been around for at least 3 or 4 years, and I've done the same trip myself twice, with another one coming up later this year. Fwiw, it can be done much cheaper.

    1) AU-Asia if you're based in Sydney can be ridiculously cheap with Cebu Pacific ($99-199 one way during the regular sales to MNL, might need an extra intra-Asia flight depending on next step).

    2) Next up Asia-EU/US-AU pricing is usually all over the place, you'll need trial and error with dates and city pairs, but mine was ~$550.

    3) EU-US pricing you got there is expensive and is on an absolute crap airline, also why are you flying from London? Departure taxes are ridiculous - check Oslo, Copenhagen, Dublin, Milan, anywhere but the UK. Norwegian are extremely cheap (mine was ~$250 Oslo-NYC).

    Also don't forget the truckload of points on Etihad :)

    • Does France, Germany or Netherlands have departure tax? And do you know if you can get Asia-EU/EU(different country)-Asia for similar prices? Trying to find something even remotely cheap towards the end of year and not having much luck. :(

      • flight to Canberra

      • +1

        A couple of other countries do, but they're all cheap compared to UK's APD. Asia-EU/EU-Asia shouldn't be too hard to find if you're travelling before peak season (Dec 9 onwards I believe?), just muck around in Kayak's multi city search with city pairs, I find SIN and HKG are the cheapest starting points usually, and departure anywhere outside the UK should be fine. On your route you might find Qatar are also similarly priced, I've done SIN-LHR/OSL-HKG (via Doha) before for around $500 in the past. Turkish, Aeroflot pop up occasionally too with good deals.

        • Thanks heaps! Unfortunately I have to travel from mid-December because of work so looks like I'll struggle to find anything cheap. I'll have a play around on Kayak anyway.

    • +1

      Could you pls offer more tips?
      Like which website you use?

      • +1

        I've always used Kayak for the Etihad flights, AU-Asia depends on who has a sale (OzB favourite iwantthatflight I find generally has everyone), for EU-US I just used Norwegian's site, though Google Flights is pretty handy with their map approach.

  • since when has sky scanner been multi city… have i been blind to this all my life

  • -7

    This isn't a deal. If this was for under 1k and booked as a single ticket then yes. This is purely a travel hack that produces a seemingly low cost for a RTW itinerary.

    At 1.6k, multiple booking sites (not to mention payment fees), and 2 long hauls in a LCC (JQ Jetstar) and KU (Kuwait Airways), it's NO deal.

    I'll neg this but appreciate the effort.

    Note to the OP: try harder and look at OTAs that are based in the other countries where the flights depart from -you will find options that are cheaper.

    • +3

      Link to a better deal please

    • -5

      design me a trip as per previous comment

      • +1

        Puhlease!

        Same dates, including a layover in Abu Dhabi for a day:
        MEL-KUL-DMK on D7 ~278AUD http://goo.gl/uRxdd0
        BKK-AUH-LHR//JFK-AUH//AUH-MEL on EY 681AUD http://goo.gl/tGDo8h
        LGW-JFK on DY ~500AUD http://goo.gl/R40d6p

        Total 1459AUD

      • -1

        why was this down voted, im asking for a "pro" to help me find good flights…. genuinely…

  • +6

    Damn,,! Cheaper than Brownwyn Bishop's helicopter ride!

  • I haven't tried em all, but in skyscanner, the best rate you can get for the US-AU is $1200+!?

  • +1

    How come everytime I post a comment, my comment is blocked???

  • +4

    This isn't a particularly good deal. You can book similar "round the world" fares starting at $1800 or so with taxes, without resorting to low cost carriers and multiple tickets. Many travel agencies market these fares. You need a travel agent to book them, as there are many (complex) routing options that websites typically cannot handle. The tickets are issued on Swiss, Lufthansa or Finnair. Those airlines don't fly to Australia, so you get connecting flights to Asia, South Africa or North/South America on other airlines.

    I usually use these guys.
    http://www.roundabouttravel.com.au/home/round_the_world_with…

  • +1

    Puhlease!

    Same dates, including a layover in Abu Dhabi for a day:
    MEL-KUL-DMK on D7 ~278AUD http://goo.gl/uRxdd0
    BKK-AUH-LHR//JFK-AUH//AUH-MEL on EY 681AUD http://goo.gl/tGDo8h
    LGW-JFK on DY ~500AUD http://goo.gl/R40d6p

    Total 1459AUD

    For extra 10 dollars a flight to SYD can be added at the end of the trip. And if going from AMS/CDG/FRA to the US, it will even be cheaper.

  • +3

    Yep not a good deal really. There is fares on Etihad Airways that that allow stops in Middle East, Europe and USA from $1499 inc tax. from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and $1399 from Perth. All on one ticket on a great airline and including baggage etc.

    http://www.flightplanet.com.au/airfare/EYRTW

    http://www.flightplanet.com.au/airfares/Round+the+World+Airf…

  • I suggest this thread gets moved to the forum, it's NOT a deal.

    • +2

      doesn't even go around the world…

  • What are people using to search these legs? just skyscanner?

  • in all honesty why not just book one return flight aus - lax for $1000 return 365 days apart

    book another flight on vietnam airlines for $1200 return from germany to oz etc 4 weeks inside these dates or how ever long ur trip is, and have 2 actual RTW the world trips 2 years in a row.

    fly aus - lax … ur own way .. germany - vietnam - aus

    one year later

    aus - vietnam - germany — one way — lax - aus

    • Cos that cost $2200+.. chances are ull end up fluing the 2nd time are?.. but I like how you think.

      • if u plan to do two rtw trips in consecutive years, this is a better deal… as they are actual rtw trips.. and may cost 1500 each all up and u dont need to fly garbage airlines like air asia where the pilots pay to fly. and risk late connections and hanging around awful cities…

        if course if u dont have definate plans to go 2 years in a row its not a good idea

        i wouldn't buy a second can of baked beans for a discount if i was not going to use it. thats common sense.

        id rather do this and do do this than fly all individual tickets and risk missing connections..

        but what do i know

        • +1

          null

    • Note that normally you can't book a ticket covering 365 days. The most is around 11 - 11.5 months I beleive.

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