You have seen tons of posts leading up to ‘D’ day, but I wanted to delve more into the subject of flying. RTW travel is no cheap endeavor. I have done the research on why to or why not to do a RTW ticket with places like Airtrek. For the needs of our trip (12-18 month +, eastward/westward travel), we are planning the more labor intensive, but cheaper (I feel its cheaper) a la carte option. This option consists of a number of strategies including but not limited to:
- using FF miles
- companion vouchers from credit card companies (amex is all over this)
- looking up local discount airlines in other regions of the world
- using the Kayak buzz feature to find the cheapest flight anywhere out of your current city
- inquiring locally with travel agents, lots of hotels get nice airline deals and pass savings to you
- abusing Vayama.com for int’l departures and destinations
- being uber flexible about where you fly
Right now, I am estimating about 6 long flights are needed. This does not include puddle jumpers from one side of the country to the next. I am allocating a budget of $4000. I doubt I will use all of this, but it is nice to have extra just in case.These flights are below and have an estimated cost. Departure Date is May/June 2010.
- US- Ecuador $0* (RT) *using FF miles
- US- Eastern Europe $800 (OW)
- China- Japan $800 (RT)
- China- India $700 (OW)
- India- Thailand $300 (OW)
- SE Asia- US $1200 (OW)
More secrets to flying cheaply?
Pretty good deal actually, although the China/Japan seems high to me, although I guess it depends on where in China.
Much better to overestimate your flights than under…I added about $100 to each flight leg for some wiggle room.
thanks for the comment