Why are RTW tickets cheaper outside the US?
When you’re just dreaming about a RTW trip, it can feel like anything is possible. When you move into the planning stage, that’s when the rubber meets the road. Pricing out round the world tickets can be alternately exhilarating and frustrating, especially if you find that not everything is as it looks.
BootsnAll member wanderingnotlost is starting to look into RTW tickets for the trip he and his wife are planning, and he’s found that changing the “country of sale” from the United States to New Zealand causes the price of the ticket to drop by almost half. But keeping in mind that old saying, “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” he’s got some questions before he books the ticket.
Why the big difference? I have heard that tickets are more expensive in the states, but TWICE as much? The obvious choice is to get a one way to NZ from the states then buy our tickets there. Is there a way to buy the tickets “in NZ” from the states to save some $? Or do you have to start your trip in the same country you buy the tickets?
Is the ticket price difference wanderingnotlost found typical of round-the-world tickets, or is he seeing some kind of screamingly good deal that should be snapped up immediately? Is buying a ticket outside your actual country of departure more of a hassle than the money savings would be worth? Can he even buy tickets outside his departure country?
If you’ve got experience with this, please visit the BootsnAll message boards and help wanderingnotlost out with his question!
July 18th, 2009 at 2:00 am
I’d recommend not getting a one-way to New Zealand. That caused my friend Sammy (twoguysaroundtheworld guy) plenty of problems. Not sure if this would work, but you’d have to buy a return or exit flight for most places nowadays (presumably returning after your RTW trip for example).
July 19th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Why do RTW tickets (or any other tickets) have different prices depending on where travel originates? Because airlines set the prices, as capitalists, in order to try to maximize their profits, and they charge as much as they think each market will bear. Different countries of origin of travel are different markets, and are priced differently. Within any country, domestic tickets are typically the same price in either direction, but international tickets in opposite directions on the same route can and usually do have completely different rules as well as prices.
Can you buy a ticket for travel originating in e.g. NZ, and use it originating in e.g. the USA? Not legally, no. Even if the route is the same circle, you can’t rearrange the order of flight coupons to start at a different point. Some well-knowen but completely unscrupulous travel agencies will sell you tickets like this, but if the airline catches on, perhaps halfway around the world, your tickets will be confiscated, you’ll be liable for the *full* unrestricted fare for the portions you have already flown, which could be thousands of dollars per person. This *does* happen. I’ve heard the horror stories, spoken to stranded travellers who’ve contacted me for help, and seen plenty of evidence of what has happened. Caveat emptor.
Can you buy a ticket originating in e.g. NZ while you are in e.g. the USA? Yes, but if the ticket is actually sold and issued in the USA, the rules of the RTW fares require that the price be raised to the USA-origination fare, even if the fare originating in NZ would be less. So the only way to get the price advantage is to deal with an agency or airline office in NZ that will process the sale and issue the ticket there. This is legal but can be a hassle to arrange.
BUT… as noted by Benny in the comment above, NZ (and Australia, and Indonesia, and Japan, and Taiwan, and the USA, among other countries) *strictly* enforces their onward-ticket requirements. Before you will be allowed to board a flight *to* NZ, y0ou will need to show proof that you have a ticket *out* of NZ to soemwhere that will admit you. (So a ticket merely to Oz won’t do, unless you have an Aussie or Kiwi passport, because Oz has the same onward ticket requirement.) Beucase of the similar rules in NZ, Australia, and Indonesia, you usually need to buy a set of multi-stop tickets at least as far as mainland Asia. Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand will usually admit you without an onward ticket, if you look sufficiently respectable and have suifficient money or proof of financial means to show. (Travellers checks are good for prooff of financial means. Credit or ATM cards don;t prove much, unless you have recent bank statements, for the last several months, to show that there is money behind the ATM card.)
There’s much more detail on both RTW tickets and entry requirements in “The Prcactcal Nomad” How to travel Around the World”.
July 20th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
When I did my RTW in 2007, I purchased tickets with an origin of Australia (Sydney), even though I am based in the US. I tried to do this over the phone myself but it was a huge hassle, so I ended up having a friend in Australia purchase the tickets for me (the tickets were in my name but he handled the purchase). This did indeed save me over 50% compared to the price of a US-origin ticket.
To get to Sydney, I bought a one-way ticket. I did not have a problem entering the country with the one-way ticket (I didn’t have the RTW tickets in hand yet, since my friend was holding them for me). As I said, I did this two years ago, so the rules may have changed by now. In my case, the savings from buying an Australia-origin RTW ticket were so great ($2,000+ USD) that it would probably have been worth it for me to buy a round-trip ticket to Australia and just not use the return trip.
The cheapest origin point depends on the type of RTW ticket you buy and the airline alliance. I highly, highly recommend the FlyerTalk forums to research all your options. The posters there are extremely knowledgable — even more so than some airline employees.
Here are two other (somewhat outdated) bookmarks I saved that have info about buying RTW tickets with different origins: https://www.thirteenmonths.com/cost_tickets.htm and https://home.comcast.net/~gardyloo/about_rtws.htm.