It’s every traveler’s dream to pack a bag and fly around the world. It’s definitely my dream too! But what if that dream was now more attainable and affordable than ever before? Round-the-world airline tickets have been around for a long time, but with airfares going up, they now often offer better value than repeated single trips for frequent flyers. Here’s what you need to know about round-the-world tickets and why I think they’re a game changer:
### How Do Round The World Tickets Work?
First things first, buying a round-the-world plane ticket is a bit more complicated than buying a regular return flight. You need to research several destinations and ensure you’re taking the most economical route in terms of both time and money. While many airlines offer round-the-world tickets, the two most well-known and highly regarded are Oneworld and Star Alliance. These allow you to fly on any of their member airlines, giving you plenty of options. There are some rules, and these vary by provider. Here’s a breakdown of the round-the-world offerings from these two alliances:
### Star Alliance Round The World Airline Tickets
With the Star Alliance round-the-world ticket, you have to start and end your journey in the same country. You also have to travel in one direction around the world (east or west) and cross both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. You can have up to 15 stops in your itinerary, but you need at least 2 stops. You can extend your travel from 10 days to 1 year. Provided your dream trip meets all these criteria, the world is your oyster! Ticket prices vary by itinerary and travel dates. You can choose your own itinerary or one of the Star Alliance set itineraries. With prices starting at $4,000, you can choose a route that will take you to see all of the 7 wonders of the world, for example.
#### An Example Itinerary
I created a sample itinerary departing from New York JFK airport on September 8th, visiting 5 different destinations with a stay of 5 days in each to get the most accurate example price. The destinations were Rio De Janeiro, Paris, Istanbul, Dubai, Tokyo, and then back to New York. The total price for this journey for one passenger, including all taxes and fees, was $3,532. As a point of comparison, a Delta return flight to Tokyo for the same dates was $1,899 for a refundable economy fare. And a Delta return flight to Dubai from JFK for the same sample dates was $1,638. Meaning that a round-the-world trip to see 5 different destinations would cost the same as return flights to see just 2. Of course, these are just estimates, as prices can vary.
### Oneworld Round The World Airline Tickets
I’m planning to spend 6 weeks traveling the world with my family using the Oneworld round-the-world tickets next summer, so I’ve done a ton of research on how it works! Unfortunately, the Oneworld system is a bit more difficult to understand than the Star Alliance one because they offer 3 different types of round-the-world fare. The good news is that this makes it easier to find the one that best fits your budget! You can choose from Oneworld Explorer, which is a continent-based fare (the more continents you visit, the more you pay), the Global Explorer, which is a distance-based fare, or the Circle Pacific, which is most similar to the round-the-world option offered by Star Alliance.
#### An Example Itinerary
To show how the Oneworld system works, I created another sample itinerary. This time departing from Los Angeles, LAX, and leaving on February 9, 2025, to see if planning a winter itinerary would impact the price. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t make any difference!) This time my preferred imaginary route went to Paris, London, Helsinki, Doha, Seoul, and then back to LAX. The total price including taxes for this ticket was $4,374. It’s worth noting that the more time you have and the more stops you’re able to make, the cheaper your ‘cost per flight’ will be. I added an extra stop in Dubai to this itinerary and the price only went up to $4,555.
I’m not suggesting that flying around the world is cheap, but it’s certainly more affordable than you might expect. If you already take 2 or 3 long-haul vacations per year, then you could maximize the value of your expenditure by taking one round-the-world trip instead. Round-the-world tickets can offer limited flexibility with changing dates and destinations, but if you have a fixed itinerary and dream of exploring the world, then they’re a great choice.