If you’d like to visit several different countries on the same trip, a round-the-world ticket could be a great value option. These tickets offer flexibility and the ability to stopover in multiple different cities on a single ticket. Plus, they often cost not much more than a simple return ticket from Australia to Europe or North America – and sometimes even less!

For example, departing from Australia and flying with Qantas and Finnair, you could fly around the world in Economy Class for as little as $2,097! Premium Economy and Business Class fares are also available.

There are a few different types of round-the-world tickets. The most well-known are the Oneworld Explorer and Star Alliance Round the World fares. These tickets give you the flexibility to fly around the world on any of the airlines within each alliance, generally with unlimited stopovers and up to 16 flights in total.

There are also special types of round-the-world tickets offered by specific airlines which include fewer stopovers but are considerably cheaper! Of these, the round-the-world airfares offered by European airlines Finnair, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines are of particular interest to Australians.

Finnair is a popular choice with Qantas Frequent Flyer members travelling to Europe because Finnair is part of the Oneworld alliance. This means you can earn Qantas points and status credits for Finnair flights. Finnair’s airfares are also among the best for overall value.

This guide explains how the Finnair round-the-world fares work.

About these special Finnair airfares

As travel agent Alan Lam explained in episode 86 of the AFF on Air podcast, Finnair offers special deals on round-trip flights from Australia to Europe travelling via Asia or North America. While these aren’t officially “round the world” tickets, they can be used as such by travelling to Europe via Asia in one direction, and via North America in the other direction.

Travelling around the world with Finnair in Economy or Premium Economy is particularly good value.

At the pointy end, Finnair’s Business Class airfares are actually a fair bit cheaper if you fly from Australia to Europe via Asia in both directions. But you can still get reasonable deals with Finnair when flying around the world in Business.

These special Finnair airfares are only available to book through travel agents.

Finnair round-the-world routings

The Finnish national carrier doesn’t technically fly to Australia (other than operating Sydney-Singapore and Sydney-Bangkok flights on behalf of Qantas). But it does serve lots of its own destinations across Europe, Asia and North America from its Helsinki hub.

With a Finnair round-the-world ticket, you could fly with Qantas to New York, Los Angeles or Dallas/Fort Worth in the United States. After a stopover, you would continue your journey to Europe with Finnair. You could fly to almost anywhere in Europe via Helsinki, with an optional stopover in Helsinki.

Then, you would fly from Europe to Asia (again, via Helsinki with Finnair). Typical Asian stopovers include Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Delhi. Finally, you would return from Asia to Australia on a Qantas, Cathay Pacific or British Airways flight.

Here’s one example of a typical Finnair RTW itinerary in Economy or Business Class:

With the above itinerary, you would fly with Qantas from Sydney to Dallas and Singapore to Sydney. The remaining flights would be with Finnair.

Finnair round-the-world pricing

The exact price depends on a range of factors including your routing, the number of stopovers and which airlines you’ve used as part of your itinerary.

Also note that Finnair offers two fare types – Classic and Flex. The Flex fares are refundable and include complimentary seat selection. (These tickets aren’t available as Light fares.)

As a rough guide, this is how much you could expect to pay for the above Finnair round-the-world itinerary with stopovers in Dallas, Oslo and Singapore:

Economy Class

• Economy Classic: $2,097
• Economy Flex: $2,297

Premium Economy

• Premium Economy Classic: $4,402
• Premium Economy Flex: $4,602

Note: As there is no Premium Economy within Europe, the Oslo-Helsinki sectors book into Economy Class.

Business Class

• Business Classic: $8,822
• Business Flex: $9,422

Previously, it was also possible to add on connecting Qantas domestic flights onto your ticket at little or no cost. For example, if you lived in Adelaide, you include a connecting Qantas flight to Melbourne or Sydney (to connect to an international flight) on the same ticket for minimal extra cost. But Finnair is now charging around an extra $650 for each domestic connecting flight in Qantas Business Class.

You don’t necessarily have to circle the globe

You can access even better deals on Finnair Business Class to Europe (or the Middle East) if you fly via Asia in both directions. This is no longer a “round-the-world” ticket, but the same basic rules apply.

For example, the following itinerary would currently cost around $6,936 as a Business Classic fare or $7,539 for Business Flex:

The above itinerary would cost $1,956-$2,156 in Economy Class, or $3,891-$4,091 for Premium Economy. Stopovers in other cities such as Bangkok, Delhi and Hong Kong are also possible for a similar price.

If booking a Finnair Business Class deal to Europe, the best fares are available if you depart from Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne. If flying via North America in one or both directions, you’ll get a better price if you use Qantas’ Brisbane-Los Angeles flight on the trans-Pacific leg. And you’ll get the best airfares if your destination or turnaround point in Europe is Oslo, Stockholm, Warsaw, Tallinn or Copenhagen. (Note that you can use an open-jaw in Europe to fly into one airport and out of another.)

Finnair’s Business Class airfares to other European destinations in the UK, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as to Budapest, Prague, Riga and Vilnius, also remain good value. But airfares to destinations in Spain and Portugal are significantly higher.

Good deals to Dubai via Helsinki

If you wish to travel to Dubai, Finnair’s Business Class airfares also remain highly competitive if you travel via a stopover point such as Singapore, Thailand or India (and Helsinki). For example, the following itinerary is possible flying Qantas or Thai Airways between Sydney-Bangkok and Finnair for all other sectors:

Flying a mix of Qantas and Finnair, with stopovers in Bangkok, Helsinki and Dubai, you could expect to pay roughly the following amounts for the above itinerary:

Economy Class

• Economy Classic: $1,823
• Economy Flex: $2,023

Premium Economy

• Premium Economy Classic: $3,723
• Premium Economy Flex: $3,923

Note: Although Finnair has Premium Economy on its Helsinki-Dubai route, the rules of this specific airfare require these sectors to be booked in Economy Class.

Business Class

• Business Classic: $5,523
• Business Flex: $6,123

The above itinerary in Business Class would also net you at least 35,350 Qantas Frequent Flyer points and 600 status credits.

Learn more about round-the-world tickets

Our Frequent Flyer Training course on Cheap Airfares & Round-the-World tickets is full of useful tips to help save thousands on your round-the-world trip! This premium course is available to all AFF Platinum members.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.