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

[AFF Editor]

Great Value Round-the-World Tickets with Finnair & Lufthansa is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

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

Finnair Airbus A350-900. Photo: Finnair. Updated (August 2022): Since this article was published, Finnair and Lufthansa have made some changes to their

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[levelnine]

So great to see them back. If memory serves me correct, the Finnair RTW J tickets are a bit more expensive than they were pre-pandemic, but unsurprising given the general rise in airfares and still amazing value.

 

[RooFlyer]

Agree - great to see them back. Have done both AY and LH ones. My TA mentioned them the other day as an alternative when I was booking pure QR to the middle east and back - but I'm not ready for a multi-country trip yet.

 

[mrsterryn]

Ohhhh definitely need to start using a TA

 

[SYD]

AY should also have options through SFO and ORD. Which will make for other good combos when QF restart SFO and eventually get that ORD route up and running. AY also fly to/from MIA if heading to that part of the US.

Does AY still include the transcon flights in North America? eg flying into LAX and out of JFK - does the fare cover one or more flights in between? Last time I did the LH RTW, I had to make own way between LAX and YYZ before picking up LH to Europe and SIN.

 

[madrooster]

Does AY still include the transcon flights in North America? eg flying into LAX and out of JFK - does the fare cover one or more flights in between? Last time I did the LH RTW, I had to make own way between LAX and YYZ before picking up LH to Europe and SIN.

Yes but only on the higher fares. The cheapest fares do not include the US domestic on AY's version. That change happened around 2019.

LH/LX/OS on the other hand do include the US domestic on all of the fares.

 

[SYD]

LH/LX/OS on the other hand do include the US domestic on all of the fares.

My one and only LH RTW was in J but as above I had to book transcon separately (which at the time I thought was wrong), but I did score some more QF SCs on an otherwise *A fare! I note also that QF to/from US and Asia is back on the menu with LH. I thought they dropped that option a while ago (or possibly added a surcharge). Either-way, lots of options.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Ha! The last few lines that $6800 is what QF charges for CBR-LAX alone… it’s almost the same as QF is charging for business class MEL-SYD *today*! A return business class is pricing at $5194 for a same day return!

The RTWs are pretty good fares considering current pricing and the lack of airlines with japan, hong kong and russia issues.

 

[madmat777]

Just completed one of these in J last week (BNE-SIN-HEL-JFK ... my own internal ... DFW-SYD-BNE). My last one was around 10 years ago. The AY A350s and the new seats make this a really enjoyable trip.

 

[SYD]

Just completed one of these in J last week (BNE-SIN-HEL-JFK ... my own internal ... DFW-SYD-BNE). My last one was around 10 years ago. The AY A350s and the new seats make this a really enjoyable trip.

Oh, that reminds me I believe the new AY config is doing the morning flight from HEL-LHR (and back). So obviously, if you time it well you can get that product from SIN thru to LHR. Plus, you ought to be able to get PE from SYD/MEL to LHR?

 

[qf_dolley]

Hi team. So sorry if I missed it but how do you book them great fares particularly the Finnair? I have been on the one world website and certainly didn’t see this fare. Your advice would be appreciated

 

[I love to travel]

Yes but only on the higher fares. The cheapest fares do not include the US domestic on AY's version. That change happened around 2019.

LH/LX/OS on the other hand do include the US domestic on all of the fares.

For the transcontinental legs do they book into "first" if you have booked a J around the world?

 

[madmat777]

You need to use a Travel Agent. I used Round About Travel and Lee was great at helping me with the flights and last-minute changes.
roundabouttravel.com.au

 

[cbourl]

The Lufthansa Group Global fares are fantastic value, and I have been using them for decades. Ticket stock can be LH or LX or OS. You can combine fare levels by doing the fares OW at different levels each way. I've purchased them direct from the Lufthansa call centres in Australia. Even the First level fares are excellent value, although I find it cheaper and easier to book Business fares and upgrade the sectors which are operated also in First Class. There are many nuances and in my experience, it is difficult to find a travel agent who fully understands the fares, and if you are planning to upgrade you have to be very careful which booking class is used for the particular segment you would like to upgrade, eg UA, SQ LH LX if you plan to use united Globals or LH/LX Evouchers, or UA/LH/SQ Star Alliance upgrade Awards Also as the fares are flexible, and changes are free, you may find a travel agent wil lcharge you to make changes and pocket the fees. Commission is built into fares, and again you may find travel agents pocketting extra if fares are quoted at higher levels, as i have found in the past. The other great thing about this fares is that baggage allowance if uniform at the level of fare you purchase, although in my many many experiences, it can be difficult to get Qantas to respect the fare rules with respect to baggage allowance. Also destinations and origins can be open jawed , and there are n ocredit card surcharges, although again you may find a travel agent may pocket credit card surcharge fees. And finally, you are not limited to using Qantas as a domestic feeder, you can also use Virgin Australia

 

[mrsterryn]

@cbourl I think for me as a novice in this style of booking , a TA would be of benefit with the qualifier that the TA was recommended and not just a random out of the phone book (yes showing my old age lol )
Husband and I were discussing the merits of this particular fare style for our trips next year and , really, it would just be easier to say "we have this time, beginning dates are flexible , want to end up on London to fly home to Sydney " and get a quote off an agent

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I'd be curious to learn how upgrades and milage/status accrual from such fares work, particularly for United. For instance, if I were to book a Lufthansa/Swiss round the world ticket in economy, originating in say Sydney, flying United to LAX, would I be able to request a milage upgrade (30,000 points + $600 in taxes n' fees) to Polaris? How would such things as PQP be computed? I can certainly see this as a great way to rack up the PQP (or status credits if one is flying the FinnAir deal) for very minimal cost.

-RooFlyer88

 

[cbourl]

I'd be curious to learn how upgrades and milage/status accrual from such fares work, particularly for United. For instance, if I were to book a Lufthansa/Swiss round the world ticket in economy, originating in say Sydney, flying United to LAX, would I be able to request a milage upgrade (30,000 points + $600 in taxes n' fees) to Polaris? How would such things as PQP be computed? I can certainly see this as a great way to rack up the PQP (or status credits if one is flying the FinnAir deal) for very minimal cost.

-RooFlyer88

PQP and Mileage accrual is based on original class of booking, not the upgraded class. It is possible to upgrade say SYD-LAX on UA from Y to C with Plus Points (the new Globals and regionals) but you need to be clear about booking class of ticket sector , and availability on that sector - I use KVS avialability tool to see if the Award Class is avialable) If using a Star Alliance Upgrade Award there are no monetary charges of the upgrade, just the miles
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/mileageplus/awards/upgrade/star-alliance-upgrade-awards.html These are more restricitve nad require no copay so as in my original post you need to be very specific about your booking class in each sector planned to be upgraded before the ticket is issued. A trave lagent may not want to be transparent or do the work for you. In 2019 I used travelmanagers.com.au who have an agent who is an ex Lufthansa emplyee and is fully nuanced in these fares
As Im a 1K not sure as I have never paid a copay for a MileagePlus upgrade award.

https://www.united.com/ual/en/au/fly/mileageplus/awards/upgrade.html#region-chart

You can find similar information on the milesandmore.com website if you plan to use Evouchers for upgrades, or do a Star Alliance Upgrade award with Lufthansa miles With UA MileagePlus you can also use PlusPoints to upgrade to LH and ANA , I ususally upgrade to LH First. Again you need to be specific about booking class ticket is issued in before applying and upgrade https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/mileageplus/premier/upgrades/upgrading-ana-lufthansa.html

 

[cbourl]

@cbourl I think for me as a novice in this style of booking , a TA would be of benefit with the qualifier that the TA was recommended and not just a random out of the phone book (yes showing my old age lol )
Husband and I were discussing the merits of this particular fare style for our trips next year and , really, it would just be easier to say "we have this time, beginning dates are flexible , want to end up on London to fly home to Sydney " and get a quote off an agent

Sure thats fine if you dont want to upgrade, or maximise your points earning. A good agency is travelmanagers.com.au who have an excellent Ex-Lufthansa employee as an agent

 

[Mikey K]

Great Value Round-the-World Tickets with Finnair & Lufthansa is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

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

Finnair Airbus A350-900. Photo: Finnair. Updated (August 2022): Since this article was published, Finnair and Lufthansa have made some changes to their

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

Great article. The Finnair option gives you the added bonus of QANTAS FF points and status credits which to my mind is quite a big benefit. What does the Lufthansa option give you in the way of points or status credits and with which program.
Cheers
Mike

 

[ausfox]

I have used the Finnair RTW a number of times using Roundabout Travel.
QFF points along the way.