You may already know that Lufthansa and Finnair offer interesting round-the-world tickets from Australia. But did you know that Turkish Airlines, which recently launched flights to Melbourne, also offers some great value round-the-world (RTW) airfares in Economy and Business Class?

Based in Istanbul, Turkish Airlines is a member of Star Alliance. With a Turkish round-the-world ticket, you can fly from Australia to almost anywhere in Europe, Africa or the Middle East, via Istanbul. You would travel between Australia and Istanbul via Asia or South Africa in one direction, and via North America the other way.

Turkish Airlines round-the-world airfare pricing

For example, you could book the following itinerary for $2,105 in Economy Class or $7,862 in Business Class:

This itinerary includes the following flights:

• Sydney-Jakarta on Qantas
• Jakarta-Istanbul-Paris on Turkish Airlines
• Venice-Istanbul-Toronto on Turkish Airlines
• Toronto-Sydney on Air Canada (via Vancouver on the same flight number)

Instead of Jakarta, you could stop over in Singapore for a similar price (just a few dollars more).

Turkish Airlines round-the-world routing options

With the Turkish Airlines round-the-world fare, you can fly from Australia to any destination that Turkish Airlines flies to in Europe, the Middle East or Africa, including the Caucasus. The base fare is the same, regardless of your final destination.

You are also allowed an “open jaw” within Europe, the Middle East and Africa. So, for example, you could fly into Athens and out of Dubai, making your own arrangements between Athens and Dubai.

The flights to and from Istanbul need to be on Turkish Airlines. But to get from Australia to Asia, North America or Africa, you can use a wide range of other airlines. These include Qantas, Garuda Indonesia, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Batik Air and even Jetstar.

You could also fly Turkish Airlines all the way from Melbourne to Istanbul using the airline’s new direct service. But this isn’t actually the cheapest option!

Stopovers & conditions

With a Turkish Airlines round-the-world fare originating in Australia, you can get up to two free stopovers in each direction between Australia and your final destination. Up to two additional stopovers each way are also possible for an extra $50 each.

This fare allows changes and you can cancel for a refund, both for a fee which depends on the fare type. With a Business Class ticket, changes cost between USD65-130 (~AU$98-197), plus any difference. You can cancel for a refund with a fee of between USD130-260 (~AU$197-394).

The lead-in Business Class prices require availability in “J” class on the Turkish Airlines flights you wish to book. (You can also use “K” class on Turkish flights for an additional cost.) Flights on partner airlines generally book into the lowest fare class, such as “I” class on Qantas Business Class.

You are allowed to add Australian domestic flight connections with Qantas or Jetstar onto your booking, but there are significant surcharges payable to do this. Therefore, it makes most sense to book one of these tickets directly out of an international gateway like Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.

You can book this airfare through travel agents. These more complex routings are not available through the Turkish Airlines website.

Another routing example

As an alternative to flying via Asia, you could fly between Australia and Istanbul via Johannesburg for an additional charge.

The following itinerary costs $3,935 in Economy or $11,214 in Business. You would fly with Qantas from Sydney to Johannesburg, South African Airways from Jo’burg to Cape Town and Qantas from San Francisco to Sydney. All other flights are on Turkish Airlines:

It’s around $400 cheaper if you remove the leg between Johannesburg-Cape Town (flying Johannesburg-Istanbul instead). And you can save around $1,500 by flying Air Canada for the trans-Pacific leg instead of Qantas.

What it’s like flying Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines offers Economy and Business Class on all of its flights. Checked baggage is included with all tickets.

The airline is renowned for its good service, and in particular its excellent food and drinks. You’re unlikely to ever get off a Turkish Airlines flight feeling hungry! See our Turkish Airlines A350 Economy review.

On long-haul flights, Turkish Airlines offers lie-flat beds in Business Class. On short-haul flights, Business Class has comfortable recliner seating.

Benefits on the ground

If you’re flying in Business Class, you can also enjoy lounge access, priority check-in and other additional benefits on the ground. These aren’t automatically included if you’re flying Turkish Airlines or other Star Alliance airlines in Economy, but you can access these benefits if you have Star Alliance Gold status.

Turkish Airlines also offers a status match if you currently hold at least Platinum status with Qantas, or the equivalent with selected other airlines. With this match, you can enjoy Star Alliance Gold benefits for four months and extend this to a year if you complete at least one international Turkish Airlines flight.

With a Turkish RTW ticket, you can earn quite a lot of points or miles with your choice of Star Alliance frequent flyer program for sectors flown on Turkish Airlines or Star Alliance partners. If you use Qantas, Malaysia Airlines or Cathay Pacific to fly to/from Australia, you could credit that flight/s to Qantas Frequent Flyer. Flights on Korean Air or Garuda can be credited to a SkyTeam program.

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.