Article: Great Value Round-the-World Tickets with Finnair & Lufthansa

[ozflier]

any reason why?

Relative works there - have to support family!

 

[Bob Joubert]

@AFF Editor : Hi Matt, thanks for this information last year. My wife and I will fly RTW on a Lufthansa package (United: SYD-LAX-IAH-ATL, then SWISS to Zurich, then Lufthansa from Edinburgh via FRA to SIN, then SQ to BNE), business class for AUS18k. Also doing some separate flights using Delta in USA and Air France in Europe. We are FF members with SQ and VA (also Qantas, but ignoring since OneWorld). Please advise best memberships to sign up for, to enable subsequent points usage (or transfer) on Virgin or Singapore Air. TIA!!

 

[AFF Editor]

@AFF Editor : Hi Matt, thanks for this information last year. My wife and I will fly RTW on a Lufthansa package (United: SYD-LAX-IAH-ATL, then SWISS to Zurich, then Lufthansa from Edinburgh via FRA to SIN, then SQ to BNE), business class for AUS18k. Also doing some separate flights using Delta in USA and Air France in Europe. We are FF members with SQ and VA (also Qantas, but ignoring since OneWorld). Please advise best memberships to sign up for, to enable subsequent points usage (or transfer) on Virgin or Singapore Air. TIA!!

It ultimately depends what you want to get out of this - be it redeemable points or status.

If you're collecting KrisFlyer miles with Singapore Airlines, that would seem like a logical place to credit the flights to on the face of it. You should be able to earn KrisFlyer miles for all of those flights.

 

[Bob Joubert]

It ultimately depends what you want to get out of this - be it redeemable points or status.

If you're collecting KrisFlyer miles with Singapore Airlines, that would seem like a logical place to credit the flights to on the face of it. You should be able to earn KrisFlyer miles for all of those flights.

Thanks Matt, we want points most of all – to use on VA and/or SQ. But I guess it's best to quote the SQ Krisflyer numbers on all those bookings? Should be able to transfer Krisflyer point to Velocity at some stage in need

 

[anyonebutqantas]

So did our family friends for September this year. Booked RTW trip for around $7024 each using Qantas and Swiss in Business. They were happy and a good deal considering current pricing.

Also via Roundabout Travel?

 

[prozac]

Depends what you call a deal. At 5-6k? Hell no - that's long gone and hasn't been seen since 2019 basically.

LH Group still offer some fantastic value. AY however is effectively dead. They have priced themselves out of the market for RTW.

I have Asia Miles expiring in June and don't seem to be able to find reward seat availability SYD-Europe on Cathay or partner airlines. It is possible I am not too bright when it comes to booking with AM although I have managed it before. Got me wondering about using some of the AM to book a positioning flight to Asia and then something like an LH deal you mention?
Any ideas?

 

[prozac]

I saw a good deal thru Roundabout Travel but eventually got Flight Centre to book it .

Good luck if anything goes wrong. Against my advice Ms Prozac booked with Flight Centre and then got caught in Europe when covid started. She lost her return ticket because Flight Centre were useless and unresponsive to requests for assistance. She went for 9 weeks but ended up unable to return home for 2.5yrs.

 

[anyonebutqantas]

Good luck if anything goes wrong. Against my advice Ms Prozac booked with Flight Centre and then got caught in Europe when covid started. She lost her return ticket because Flight Centre were useless and unresponsive to requests for assistance. She went for 9 weeks but ended up unable to return home for 2.5yrs.

Have you considered legal action against Flight Centre?

 

[prozac]

Have you considered legal action against Flight Centre?

Hardly worth it. Spent hours and hours on phone trying to get hold of someone because they did not have a number their customers could call from overseas without cost. When you got hold of someone they would tell you they'd look into it and call you back. Yeah right, never did.
Ms Prozac has written off the money, but I don't forget.
Because of covid Ms Prozac has invented a new career for herself and now flies all over the world by invitation, and she NEVER gives a thought to Flight Centre when booking flights. She flew into SYD from Brazil early February, straight onto a connecting flight to Canberra for work, then Melbourne, back to SYD. Today she flew out to Sao Paulo for just a few weeks before heading to Florida.

 

[ozflier]

Good luck if anything goes wrong. Against my advice Ms Prozac booked with Flight Centre and then got caught in Europe when covid started. She lost her return ticket because Flight Centre were useless and unresponsive to requests for assistance. She went for 9 weeks but ended up unable to return home for 2.5yrs.

I understand what you are saying - as I said, I used FC because of a family connection and i had his number !

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Was thinking of organising a multi-country trip (may be Finland, Italy, Japan) - then happened to come across these options.

Would the Finnair and Lufthansa RTW option:
1. require a stop in North/South America?
2. require the same (East/West) direction? For example, I understand the OW RTW tickets requires to keep going in the same direction [when flying between continents??].
(Also is Asia/Japan considered East or West of Australia? West of Sydney and East of Perth for RTW ticketing purposes?)

If a stop in one of the Americas is required, then probably preferring Vancouver so then wondering if the following order would work?
SYD-YVR-FCO-HEL-NRT/HND-SYD (if Finnair deal - using HEL as hub to FCO, if Lufthansa deal - using MUC as hub for HEL and FCO, assuming these deals do not have an issue flying into one of the Tokyo airports and out of the other)

 

[Mattg]

These are not traditional round-the-world tickets so you don't need to travel in a continuous east/west direction. You can travel via Asia both ways if you want.

 

[prozac]

Was thinking of organising a multi-country trip (may be Finland, Italy, Japan) - then happened to come across these options.

Would the Finnair and Lufthansa RTW option:
1. require a stop in North/South America?
2. require the same (East/West) direction? For example, I understand the OW RTW tickets requires to keep going in the same direction [when flying between continents??].
(Also is Asia/Japan considered East or West of Australia? West of Sydney and East of Perth for RTW ticketing purposes?)

If a stop in one of the Americas is required, then probably preferring Vancouver so then wondering if the following order would work?
SYD-YVR-FCO-HEL-NRT/HND-SYD (if Finnair deal - using HEL as hub to FCO, if Lufthansa deal - using MUC as hub for HEL and FCO, assuming these deals do not have an issue flying into one of the Tokyo airports and out of the other)

Out if interest are you booking direct or through an TA?

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Out if interest are you booking direct or through an TA?

I understood these deals were through a TA.

Was just writing notes on what is a possible itinerary, booking classes, list of TAs to approach.

I did try to use the OW beta booking - hence the East/West question

 

[ozflier]

Hi,
If travelling Au to Europe via USA on a LH RTW, does the business class fare include a connection in the USA on United eg arrive in LAX ( stopover) and connect via UA to New York and continue onto Frankfurt without extra charges?

 

[Mattg]

Hi,
If travelling Au to Europe via USA on a LH RTW, does the business class fare include a connection in the USA on United eg arrive in LAX ( stopover) and connect via UA to New York and continue onto Frankfurt without extra charges?

Yes, that should be fine.

 

[ozflier]

As always, thanks Matt.

 

[winfred]

I'm wondering if I can start from a city not in Australia and get a much cheaper deal.

I normally buy a cheap economy ticket to Jakarta or KL or Hanoi then get a business class ticket to the US or Europe. A lot cheaper that way. Does the same apply to RTW fare or the Finnair/Lufthansa fare?

 

[Mattg]

I'm wondering if I can start from a city not in Australia and get a much cheaper deal.

I normally buy a cheap economy ticket to Jakarta or KL or Hanoi then get a business class ticket to the US or Europe. A lot cheaper that way. Does the same apply to RTW fare or the Finnair/Lufthansa fare?

The Finnair & Lufthansa fares are not technically round-the-world tickets. They are return tickets from Australia to Europe that you can use travelling in any direction.

You could probably get a cheaper J fare from Asia to Europe on Lufthansa or Finnair than you could from Australia (e.g. Bangkok to Europe via HEL for approx. $3k return on Finnair) but this fare wouldn't touch Australia.

If you're looking at a traditional RTW ticket like the Oneworld Explorer, which is a totally separate product, the price does indeed vary based on your starting point and can be particularly good value ex Japan.

 

[winfred]

The Finnair & Lufthansa fares are not technically round-the-world tickets. They are return tickets from Australia to Europe that you can use travelling in any direction.

You could probably get a cheaper J fare from Asia to Europe on Lufthansa or Finnair than you could from Australia (e.g. Bangkok to Europe via HEL for approx. $3k return on Finnair) but this fare wouldn't touch Australia.

If you're looking at a traditional RTW ticket like the Oneworld Explorer, which is a totally separate product, the price does indeed vary based on your starting point and can be particularly good value ex Japan.

I'm after a ticket that will get me from any Asian city to North America and Europe and back. Australia is not required.

Thanks for the tip re RTW ex-Japan. Will have a look at it.