Who to fly with for a multi-stop trip?

[slodki]

Hi folks!!

Im having a bit of trouble deciding what i should do with my upcoming trip. Here is what i am planning:

Basically i would like to do something along these lines:
Melbourne - LAX - JFK - London - make my own way to Frankfurt - possibly Hong Kong - Melbourne.

I was looking at flying out mid-late June 2009, arriving in London 30th July and leaving Frankfurt sometime in October.

Should i be booking a mini RTW ticket? Or should i book directly with an airline seeing as there are some specials around? I noticed Lufthansa has some RTW special which would price the above itinerary around $2800 which includes taxes i believe. However i would also have to make my own way from LA-JFK which would increase cost some more.

Should i go with the likes of a star alliance RTW fare? I would like to be able to earn FF points on this trip, and seeing as i dont have any current memberships i would like to choose a good one from the beginning.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


slodki

 

[samh004]

Just to start with a general question. Where are you based out of (live) and do you normally fly domestically or internationally from there? Or are you expecting to fly domestically/internationally more often from there? That may influence who you should choose to partner with.

 

[kiwitripper64]

Be aware that with RWT you have to depart from the airport you arrived at or it is considered a sector. ie in New York, if you arrive at JFK you have to dept JFK.
We just came back from RWT and with some planning it worked well. Have you tried the One World trip planner?

 

[Batesy]

Be aware that with RWT you have to depart from the airport you arrived at or it is considered a sector. ie in New York, if you arrive at JFK you have to dept JFK.
We just came back from RWT and with some planning it worked well. Have you tried the One World trip planner?

You can put in land sectors and don't necessarily need to depart from the same airport in the same city. On my DONE4 in 2007. Landed at Laguardia in NYC and departed from JKF, flew to Washington DC landed at Reagan (national) and departed for London from Dulles which is the other airport in DC, so two different airports in two cities. They were not considred as sectors.

 

[docjames]

You can put in land sectors and don't necessarily need to depart from the same airport in the same city. On my DONE4 in 2007. Landed at Laguardia in NYC and departed from JKF, flew to Washington DC landed at Reagan (national) and departed for London from Dulles which is the other airport in DC, so two different airports in two cities. They were not considred as sectors.

They now count as sectors (2009).

In LHR/outLGW counts as one sector.

You may have got away with it b/c of the 20 sector rule (now 16 sectors).


To the OP, the combo of cities you're talking then a oneworld fare is probably going to be easier (no need to purchase extra LAX-JFK ticket etc).

CX will do Frankfurt-HongKong, or QF/BA HKG from LHR.

 

[slodki]

thanks for everyones replies!

I live in Melbourne and will not do much international flying, and with any domestic flight i will probably tend to fly with the cheaper airlines.

I was looking into joining a program where miles/points etc dont expire (if that is even possible) and after a few international trips hopefully have enough to redeem a flight.

Any suggestions??

 

[samh004]

I was looking into joining a program where miles/points etc dont expire (if that is even possible) and after a few international trips hopefully have enough to redeem a flight.

Any suggestions??

Both Velocity and Qantas will let you keep your miles forever as long as you fly with them at least once every 3 years, I believe. So the two major programs in Australia would both work well for you.

I'm not well versed on other FF programs based outside of Australia, that let your earn miles on Australian airlines. Someone else might be able to help you with that.

 

[Myrna]

This is just a bit off topic - but hubby reckoned that if you wanted to fly around the world, it would be better to start from Australia to Asia, then to Europe, then to the US before returning to Australia - jetlag won't be as bad as the other way.

 

[slodki]

Myrna,

I was actually going to do the trip in that direction, but i will be meeting friends in Europe during a certain time, so its just easier to do US first, jetlag shouldn't be much of a problem as this trip will take a couple months, so i guess only a few days recovery every time i jump continents.

 

[straitman]

This is just a bit off topic - but hubby reckoned that if you wanted to fly around the world, it would be better to start from Australia to Asia, then to Europe, then to the US before returning to Australia - jetlag won't be as bad as the other way.

Myrna,

A lot of people, inclusive of airline types, subscribe to this theory but a lot think Jet Lag will get you to one degree or another.

Readjusting sleeping patterns is probably the most important thing.

 

[Myrna]

Myrna,

A lot of people, inclusive of airline types, subscribe to this theory but a lot think Jet Lag will get you to one degree or another.

Readjusting sleeping patterns is probably the most important thing.

Well, I always suffer terribly from jetlag regardless which direction I fly. However, hubby said it works for him especially when he has to turn up for work on arrival - hence important which direction he flies.

 

[JohnK]

A lot of people, inclusive of airline types, subscribe to this theory but a lot think Jet Lag will get you to one degree or another.

Readjusting sleeping patterns is probably the most important thing.

I don't think direction of travel has anything to do with jetlag. Any change in timezones is going to result in some disruption to sleeping patterns and usually jetlag affects me more once I have returned to Australia. Something to do with adrenalin rush during the holiday only to be followed by the realisation that the holiday is now over and one must return back to normal mundane routine....