There’s a common misconception that the best or only place to buy around the world tickets (RTWs) is from the airline alliances. One look at this website will tell you this is simply not true.

There are serious downsides to using an airline alliance (Star Alliance, One World, Sky Team) to purchase your RTW ticket.

Take the Star Alliance around the world tickets, for example. Their fares are based on 3 things: mileage, minimum/maximum number of stops, and if you’re traveling in the same direction.

Purchasing directly from the airlines can limit your flexibility and ability to customize the journey from the start, and you may end up paying more for the experience.

AirTreks’ RTW fares differ from the alliance’s in a few key ways:

Let’s start with the most important of them – it’s cheaper. About 90% of the time, an AirTreks multi-stop ticket ends up costing less than equivalent airline alliance around the world tickets.

Here are a few other ways you benefit with an AirTreks ticket:

• Airtreks is versatile. You can fly anywhere, in any direction, with any combination of destinations, at any time.
• You are not limited to the cities served by your selected airline alliance.
• It’s okay to travel overland on your own. For example, flying into Sydney and out of Melbourne, thus saving time and money not having to get back to the airport from which you arrived. This often isn’t possible with an alliance RTW ticket and if it is, you still have to pay for the miles you traveled on your own.

The alliances may not force you to choose all your dates ahead of time but while AirTreks does require you to have your dates pre-selected before any tickets can be issued, things are not set in stone.

No matter where you buy your ticket, free date changes are rare.

AirTreks’ RTW tickets come with date change fees ranging anywhere between $50 and $250 depending what airline you’re traveling on. The AirTreks staff will advise you of all date change fees before any payment is taken, no matter what. If AirTreks has to reissue the ticket for you, we charge an additional $100.

Despite the alliances’ advertised date flexibility, you can’t hop on any flight at any time. You may need to wait days, even weeks, for correct seat inventory to open up, depending on the season and the passenger loads at the time of travel.
Plus you often have to contact the airline from which you purchased your tickets to make the changes (not necessarily the one your flight is on). It’s up to you to figure out who to call to make changes to your ticket.

Changing dates on an AirTreks ticket is simple. You simply call or email our customer service department.
AirTreks has a dedicated customer support team that will immediately recognize you and your booking. Perhaps you may even know them. While an airline agent can assist you, you won’t get the same treatment from them. They don’t have a vested interest in you!

If you run into problems while you’re traveling on an AirTreks ticket, call or email customer service and they’ll help out in every way they’re able, every time.

If you happen to be tossing around the idea of using AirTreks to get your around the world ticket, call up one of our skilled Travel Consultants and get the skinny on the process. They’ve got answers for all sorts of complex travel questions.
Dial 1-877-AIRTREKS, or go to our homepage and start a TripPlanner session. It’s fun tool that will price out your given itinerary, no matter how complicated, within seconds.