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An Idea For Long Haul International Flights to Smalltown, U.S.A.


diane.in.ny
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You know...since the actual cities and dates that you are researching have been a big secret, it's tough for us to give you some specific recommendations.

 

When you talk about flights disappearing, becoming ones with more stops and the rest, and other options being "more expensive" -- we are in the dark as to knowing just what you're talking about.

 

Indefinite questions yield indefinite answers.

 

Yes, I understand that. And i appreciate the effort to help.

 

But I was not looking for specific help or answers. I was just trying to enlighten other people about possible alternatives for long-haul flights to the US ... something that gives them the opportunity to fly non US airlines for hopefully a better experience.

 

And asking for other creative ideas.

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Yes, I understand that. And i appreciate the effort to help.

 

But I was not looking for specific help or answers. I was just trying to enlighten other people about possible alternatives for long-haul flights to the US ... something that gives them the opportunity to fly non US airlines for hopefully a better experience.

 

And asking for other creative ideas.

 

If you are willing to go through Toronto, and are looking for a good/better experience.....

 

Both EVA Airlines and Cathay Pacific operate into Vancouver. They both should have good onward connections.

 

The other option is to go in the opposite direction. Several airlines through the middle east may have good options (e.g. Dubai).

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If you are willing to go through Toronto, and are looking for a good/better experience.....

 

Both EVA Airlines and Cathay Pacific operate into Vancouver. They both should have good onward connections.

 

The other option is to go in the opposite direction. Several airlines through the middle east may have good options (e.g. Dubai).

 

Thanks! I'm not familiar with EVA. Will have to check that in the future.

 

And flying the other way .... interesting idea.

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...And asking for other creative ideas.

 

Well then there's this. It sounds like you're fairly regular travelers to cruise ports or other travel destinations around the world. And it's no secret that cruisers tend to be much more likely to plan far ahead than other travelers - often a year or even more in advance, evidence by so many people on this board advocating booking flights the minute they're available (which is almost always a bad idea, but I digress...)

 

I've long advocated that people work up a two- to three-year "strategic" travel plan - big trips, not weekenders or spur-of-the-moment travel for family or personal reasons. It's sort of like taking your bucket list and then building a calendar and budget around it, or at least part of it. Where do you want to go, what is the best time of year to go (i.e. not Petra in August or the Great Barrier Reef in January) and what places or activities might you see en route, for example a stopover in Fiji on your way to New Zealand.

 

I've been a user and advocate of "round the world" airline tickets for quite some years now. These are not-very-well-known products sold by some independent travel agencies, but also by members of the three big airline alliances (Star Alliance, Oneworld and Skyteam.)

 

"RTW" tickets can be useful for frequent travelers in that they're good for a year, are (relatively) easily changed, and offer (typically) up to sixteen flight segments for one price.

 

The tickets basically require you to go around the world in one direction - west to east or v.v., and cross both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during the course of the trip. The airlines have divided up the world into regions and continents, and the tickets generally allow you to zigzag and backtrack within those regions or continents, but not between them, so you can't, for example, fly from North America to Europe, then backtrack across the Atlantic to South America.

 

There are lots of rules that come with these tickets, and those rules can sometimes be a little complicated, but it's nothing that an average person can't understand provided one is prepared to do a little study.

 

But one big feature of these tickets is that they're priced very differently depending on where the travel begins and ends (generally in the same country as where you started.) For example, a four-continent business-class RTW using Oneworld for travel starting in Norway is $3000 less than the same ticket starting in the USA. It's often the case where flying to some foreign country on a separate ticket makes a great deal of sense once you add everything up.

 

But here's how it might work to the advantage of cruisers who are frequent travelers to distant departure ports. Let's just imagine your "strategic plan" includes a summer cruise in Europe, a winter cruise in the Caribbean, and a (northern) spring cruise in Asia.

 

Because the tickets are good for a year, you could cover all those trips in one ticket, along with a healthy bit of non-cruise travel.

 

Like this: You fly on a cheap ticket (Norwegian Airlines, or maybe redeem some frequent flyer miles) to, say, Norway, and start the ticket. You fly to your cruise departure point (let's imagine Barcelona) and do your cruise. Then using the same ticket you fly home as a "stopover" that lasts for several months. Maybe during that time you use the ticket for a fall trip to Alaska, or Thanksgiving with the kids in California.

 

Then when the Caribbean cruise rolls around, you use the same ticket to fly to, say, Puerto Rico to start the cruise, then back home for another "stopover" that lasts for a few more months.

 

Then in the spring, you take off to, say, Hong Kong (or Tokyo or Singapore or Bangkok) for your Asia cruise. Float around, then head west back to Europe. You might want to stop over in the Middle East on your way back to Norway, where the ticket ends. You can then use some of the gazillion frequent flyer miles you'll have earned to fly home, or maybe just start another year-long ticket, this time for cruises in, say, South America or Australia, or maybe that African safari.

 

Here's an imaginary map.

 

(Here's the link to the details.)

 

In this case you'd start in Norway, do a cruise out of Barcelona, then head home. You'd then do a trip to the west coast, then across to Florida for the Caribbean cruise, then home to Rochester (using Toronto in order to conserve flight segments) then off to Asia before a short visit to Israel before ending back in Norway. Note this is but one of an infinity of options.

 

The fare (in economy) for this trip would be around $2100 plus various taxes and fees. (If you started and ended in the US it would be right around $3600.) Changes in the itinerary (as many at one time as you make) cost $125, the fare includes two (23 kg) bags, and you'll earn full frequent flyer miles for the trip. So it's basically a year of flying for one price, and in my view it's a pretty good value.

 

I don't know if this meets the criteria for "creative," but it might be worth considering in some cases.

Edited by Gardyloo
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I've been a user and advocate of "round the world" airline tickets for quite some years now. These are not-very-well-known products sold by some independent travel agencies, but also by members of the three big airline alliances (Star Alliance, Oneworld and Skyteam.)

 

"RTW" tickets can be useful for frequent travelers in that they're good for a year, are (relatively) easily changed, and offer (typically) up to sixteen flight segments for one price.

 

 

Fantastic!!! What an idea!!! We sometimes do have three trips planned within a year's timeframe and it will be interesting to check this out. Thank you!

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Fantastic!!! What an idea!!! We sometimes do have three trips planned within a year's timeframe and it will be interesting to check this out. Thank you!

Here's a link to a long - that's L-O-N-G thread I posted a couple of years ago on TA covering these products. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k7409073-About_round_the_world_RTW_tickets-Air_Travel.html

 

I moderate the Oneworld board on Flyertalk - https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld-411/ - where, if you want, you can go full geek on this topic, but beware that it's Flyertalk, so there's a LOT of jargon and abbreviations (airport codes, fare bucket codes, etc.) that might take some familiarizing if needed.

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We have looked at round the world tickets. Seems to me that the last time we looked (several years ago) the conventional wisdom was that it was considerably less expensive to buy the same ticket in Norway of all places. Not sure whether it was Oneworld or Star Alliance. We came to the conclusion that it was not for us but we should probably update ourselves on the programs offered. We do two longer trips a year.

 

We do lots of one ways, open jaws. We look for a good fare to/from a gateway city and go from there. Just booked a winter trip. YYC-BKK, Then Krabi to Gold Coast. Sydney to HNL for a 48 hour break. Then need to get something home. Time before it was one way to Vienna. Trains to Budapest, Prague and and Air Malta flight to Malta, then Catania. Vueling to Rome. Cruise to BCN, and BA cruise air home. The last minute cruise fare and the cruise air made that segment a no brainer. Next spring it looks like Athens, Greek Island, hop over and back to Isreal, then to Morocco (difficult part), and home on Air Canada or Air France group.

 

The web is such a fabulous and easy resource. Both for forums and access to travel products/vendors/reservations.

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Here's a link to a long - that's L-O-N-G thread I posted a couple of years ago on TA covering these products. https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k7409073-About_round_the_world_RTW_tickets-Air_Travel.html

 

I moderate the Oneworld board on Flyertalk - https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/oneworld-411/ - where, if you want, you can go full geek on this topic, but beware that it's Flyertalk, so there's a LOT of jargon and abbreviations (airport codes, fare bucket codes, etc.) that might take some familiarizing if needed.

 

Thank you. Bookmarked to read

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Thanks! I'm not familiar with EVA. Will have to check that in the future.

 

And flying the other way .... interesting idea.

 

EVA would do Toronto to Taipei non-stop. I have flow them out of Vancouver. Excellent in-flight experience. Solid reputation. Member of Star Alliance (so your points can go to your Air Canada or United program). Taipei is also a nice hub.

 

Going the other way out of Toronto you have Etihad, Emarites (with the A380 on that route).

 

All the standard European airlines (e.g., BA, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, etc.) also have options.

 

There are several airlines based out of China that also fly into Toronto. Tickets (including business class) are rock bottom on most of these flights. However China is not the easiest country to transfer in.

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