Unusual RTW trip (J) - reasonable price?

[HeavyElectricity]

Hi,

I was originally planning on using my Velocity points (via transfer to KrisFlyer) for a RTW trip in J (~324k velocity points). But because of my desired route and availability of reward seats (mainly thanks to NZ), I thought I'd get a quote from a couple of travel agencies.

One has found a price which was at least $5k cheaper than the Star Alliance RTW fair ($12k+) - but as I'm not too familiar with international J pricing, I was wondering if anyone could let me know if this is a good price:

PER-AKL (NZ - 787)
AKL-EZE (NZ - 777)
EZE-(FRA)-MAD (LH - 747, A321)

LIS-ZRH (LX - A321)
ZRH-JNB (LX - A340)
JNB-PER (SA - A340)

I've been quoted at $7.2k.


Lot's of older planes in the mix there! I have the savings - wasn't originally planning on spending them on flights for this trip, but the more I think about it, the more I'm likely to go ahead and do it.

Any feedback welcome. Tell me I'm a crazy idiot, or tell me it sounds like a good price Thanks!

 

[Denali]

Newbie who is taking notes, can you still get points/airmiles whatever on these flights?

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Yup, I believe so as it will be a paid flight - the travel agent hasn't provided the booking class though, so I can't promise. I was planning on crediting the NZ and SA flight to Velocity, and the LH/LX flights to KrisFlyer. That way I'd be able to transfer points to/from Velocity/KrisFlyer at a later date for any future redemption I needed.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

I just received a promo email from Ethiad advertising J to Frankfurt 'from AU$7949' return, so to me the above route for AU$7200 looks pretty resonable. Also NZ want ~AU$3,600 just for the AKL-EZE leg if booked directly through them.

 

[Denali]

I just received a promo email from Ethiad advertising J to Frankfurt 'from AU$7949' return, so to me the above route for AU$7200 looks pretty resonable. Also NZ want ~AU$3,600 just for the AKL-EZE leg if booked directly through them.

Im considering similar flights for next year as we're going to Easter Island via EZE (Air NZ)

 

[andye]

Looks like an excellent price to me

I would try to work out what status you would get if you credited all to KF

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Looks like an excellent price to me

I would try to work out what status you would get if you credited all to KF

Thanks for the feedback - yes that's a good idea, especially as I think I'll be VA gold in April anyway (this rtw is for q3 this year). So crediting all to KF may well be better for me.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

I would try to work out what status you would get if you credited all to KF

Looks like I would just make KrisFlyer Elite Silver - as long as all the flights end up being eligible classes. Looking at the benefits of Silver, it doesn't look that great, so I'm not sure if it's worth going for - will give it some thought!

 

[andye]

Looks like I would just make KrisFlyer Elite Silver - as long as all the flights end up being eligible classes. Looking at the benefits of Silver, it doesn't look that great, so I'm not sure if it's worth going for - will give it some thought!

Agree, I wouldn't do it for Silver

 

[esseeeayeenn]

I have to say the fare does look good though.
I have been planning a similar itinerary using the OW RTW planner and it was pricing around the $12 K mark.

 

[andye]

To clarify, I would still take the fare but would split credit between VFF and KF

 

[esseeeayeenn]

As far as the old aircraft go, depending on the airline, I quite like the A340. It's much maligned because of it's fuel economy, but that doesn't really impact the passenger experience.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Who is the online TA?

As long as it's not a dodgy one that advertises "70% off business and first class airfares" which is a sham as they just buy miles and make award bookings that don't earn ff points or status credits charging you thousands of dollars more than if you did it yourself.

You could ask a reputable TA if Finnair still have the AUD3,800.00 J return to Europe ex Australia.

The EY price sounds pretty good. Check the fare bucket it books into and what other ff programs you could credit the flights to eg AA or AS as they have low taxes on F & J award flights.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

Thanks for the feedback and tips everyone. I went ahead and paid up today to secure the reservation . Very exciting trip planned, I might have to do a trip-report! I booking using roundabouttravel.com.au - mostly handled over email. I was quite impressed at their speedy and informative replies, and didn't find a better price for this route anywhere else by a long shot!

 

[Mattg]

Thanks for the feedback and tips everyone. I went ahead and paid up today to secure the reservation . Very exciting trip planned, I might have to do a trip-report! I booking using roundabouttravel.com.au - mostly handled over email. I was quite impressed at their speedy and informative replies, and didn't find a better price for this route anywhere else by a long shot!

This looks to me like a standard LH/LX basic RTW J fare. They can only be booked through a travel agent but are excellent value, as you've discovered,

I haven't booked through Round About Travel myself, but I have come across them a few times and believe they are a fairly reputable travel agency. So, I think you've made the right choice to book that trip for that price.

Looking forward to the trip report