An example of traveling the world using a RTW ticket. Start in London, travel eastwards through India, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Africa back to home, all using the same ticket with the same airline alliance.
A round-the-world ticket (also known as round-the-world fare or RTW ticket in short) is a product that enables travelers and tourists to fly and travel around the world for a relatively low price. RTW tickets have existed for some time and in the past were generally offered through marketing agreements between airlines on several continents. Now, they are almost exclusively offered by airline alliances such as SkyTeam, Star Alliance and Oneworld. They are priced according to class of service, origin of travel, number of continents, mileage (usually between 20,000 and 40,000 miles), and sometimes season of travel. The traveler benefits from the large and optimised network of the airline alliance and can participate in the alliance’s frequent flyer programs. However, these tickets are usually subject to restrictions. The start and end of the journey almost always have to be located in the same country and exactly one crossing each of the Atlantic and Pacific must be included in the itinerary. The number of stops is usually restricted to 5-16, and backtracking between continents (especially Europe/Asia) is often restricted. The dates and journey do not have to be pre-planned as travelers can change dates and destinations en route at a local office of any airline in the alliance (although a change of destinations often results in an additional fee, and if the next flight is left open-dated the booking can be dropped by the airlines’ computers). Prices vary but are generally in the range of $3000-5000 USD for an economy class ticket.
An alternative for a round-the-world ticket is a continent pass.
See also
- e-ticket
External links
- Round the world flights travel guide from Wikitravel
Commercial air travel
Airlines
List of all airlines • List of passenger airlines
Industry associations
IATA • ICAO • ISTAT
Airline alliances
Oneworld • Star Alliance • SkyTeam
Ticketing
Airline Reservations System • Airline ticket • Airline timetable • Boarding pass • Codeshare agreement • Continent pass • Electronic ticket • Frequent flyer program • Government contract flight • Open-jaw ticket • Red-eye flight • Round-the-world ticket • Standby •Travel agency •Travel search engine •Warsaw Convention
Airport
Airline hub • Airport • Airport lounge • Domestic airport • International airport • Regional airport
Luggage
Bag tag • Baggage allowance • Baggage carousel • Baggage claim • Baggage handler • Checked baggage • Lost luggage
Check-in
Airstair • Airport check-in • Airport security • Boarding • Gate
Seating
Airline seat • First class • Business class • Premium Economy class • Economy class • Travel class
In flight
Aircraft lavatory • Airline meal • Airsickness bag • In-flight entertainment
Crew
Deadheading • Flight attendant • Pilot
Immigration
Arrival Card • Departure Card • Passport
Safety
Air traffic control • Aircraft safety card • Airline security • Airport authority • Airport police • Civil aviation authority • Flight data recorder • Pre-flight safety demonstration • Overwing exits
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round-the-world_ticket”
Categories: Airline tickets | Travel