Star Alliance 'round The World Fares

[BoeingBoy]

I noticed this *Alliance press release from Australia. Around the world fares on Alliance airlines -

"There are four Star Alliance Round the World fares to choose from, priced from A$2903.40 including taxes*. Three of the fares allow between three and 15 stopovers, while a Special Economy Round the World Fare offers between three and five stopovers:"

Note: A$2903 = approximately $2200 US.

Press Release

If you follow the link to the *Alliance website, there are other offers - Asian Airpass, European Airpass, North American Airpass, etc.

*Alliance Site

You'll find taylored versions for different regions of the world, but for North America there's only a Mexican version.

Comments, anyone?

Jim

 

[BoeingBoy]

OK, I've been advised these are available here :blush:

Jim

 

[whlinder]

Interesting you brought it up B.B. Yes RTW fares are available from pretty much every city UA flies to in North America. I count nearly 200 markets where UA has filed Star round the world fares.

Taking a quick look, every single Star carrier has filed RTW in at least a couple of U.S. cities except for the 3 'regional members'. Even Spanair has a couple. Except for one airline. One Star international airline has no RTW fares filed, anywhere. That airline? Why US Airways of course.

Now US can still provide travel on a RTW itinerary and can also ticket the fares published by their partners, so it really isn't a big deal. However, the cities where US is the only airline providing service don't have any RTW fares in them, so if you want to start a Star RTW in Hagerstown or Altoona, you can't. You have to drive somewhere that UA flies.

No comment.

 

[tadjr]

They have a hard enough time trying to get the fares right in domestic US markets, let alone trying to do global. 😉
My friend had to get an emergency flight back from vacation from Lisbon to Newark. The flight across the Atlantic one way walkup on TAP was cheaper than on a domestic flight from Tampa to New York! Go figure.

 

[whlinder]

LOL, that is true, but creating RTW fares isn't hard, since they don't autoprice it is all free text. All the fares and rules are the same for all the alliance carriers, US just has to copy them and then create fares for the cities where they are the only Star carrier providing service.

 

[FWAAA]

I'm not familiar with how *A runs its RTW system, as I'm a OneWorld customer. Over here OneWorld publishes a price list that covers entire countries and in some cases, entire continents, regardless of the city of origin. For example, tickets purchased in South America for SA origin cost the same no matter which airline sells them and no matter which airport is the originating airport.

The difficulties and confusions arise because there are still RTW fares that are not alliance-specific; instead, they are holdovers from pre-alliance days when pax could buy RTW fares on several airlines - those can be difficult. But if you stay within one of the two main alliances (don't know if Skyteam even counts), pricing is a snap.

 

[BoeingBoy]

The *Alliance site has a downloadable "Around the World Mileage Calculator" that apparently let's you plan & price your own iternerary.

"The Round the World Mileage Calculator (RTWMC) puts you in control of the route planning process. With the latest schedules at your fingertips you can plan your round the world trip at your own pace. Try ‘what if’ trips, see which routes fit the standard rules. Once you have successfully completed a valid trip you can send it to your favourite Star Alliance member carrier for re-confirmation and further handling."

Jim