Flighthacker

Photo Credit: Gemma (3fold)

Foremost, I’ve read a handful of articles proudly proclaiming that “you can now fly around the world using discount airlines alone!”, but sadly, no-one has told their fair readers how this can be done. Secondly, I’ve read countless round-the-world (RTW) itineraries and they all share one thing in common – they’re all the sort of trips that your mum would put you on. So let me hit two birds with one stone, friends. Not only am I going to show you how to travel RTW solely on low-cost carriers, but provide you with two itineraries that not only showcase the variety of airlines that can get you there on the cheap, but will provide trips to remember. For all the wrong reasons.

First of all…

The initial disclaimer – flying around the world solely with discount airlines may not be the cheapest or most efficient option. If you’re serious about shopping around for a RTW fare, make sure you check with your favoured travel agent as well. Also, this method requires you to book each leg of your itinerary separately. When I did a circle trip of Asia in March, this meant that I was carrying around a plastic folder stuffed full of print-outs of my air tickets and boarding passes. So if you’re comfortable with this (or just darn curious), read on…

How to get from A to B on the cheap… Or die trying.

For this exercise, you will need two websites:

Google Maps – An interactive world map. For plotting your route, or alternate destinations

AirNinja – A directory of low cost-carriers and routes. For finding the airlines to get you there

Fire up AirNinja and select and in the area labelled “Step 1: Enter trip details”, click “Use drop-down list”. In the “From:” section, enter your country and city of departure. In the “To:” section, select your destination (or closest airport to it). The “Step 2: Check low-cost airlines” section of the page will automatically update with the airlines that fly the route you have selected. For details and to book, simply click on the name of the airline you wish to fly with.

Please note that you may not be able to get to your desired destination directly, so either a) choose the nearest airport, or b) enter your intended destination into the “From:” section and work backwards from there. Also, not all airlines listed are of equally good value. For example, whereas Air Berlin, JetBlue or EasyJet seem to have consistently cut-price fares, Aer Lingus, S7, Philippine Airlines and others that are listed tend to provide comparatively pricey flights, so if you are stuck with one of them, you may want to see if you can split the journey into two legs by flying via a stopover with a better-value carrier(s).

Sample Itineraries

So now you know what it’s all about, here are two sample itineraries that will hopefully, inspire you to plan your own nutty low-cost RTW adventures. Without any further ado:
View Round the World via Discount Airlines (ex. Sydney) in a larger map

RTW #1: 24-hour Party People (ex. Sydney)

Sydney – Waikiki – Vancouver – Las Vegas – New York – Ibiza – Berlin – Phuket – Sydney

This is for people that save their money so they can book high-end hotels, yet inevitably end up sleeping on beaches, beer bucket still in hand. Or don’t see sunlight for three days straight while being holed up in a Berlin warehouse party with “aspiring” models. If this sounds like you, don’t forget to pack a pillow, as the only sleep you’re going to get is on the long-haul flights…

Sydney, NSW, AU to Honolulu, HI, USA – Jetstar
Honolulu, HI, USA to Vancouver, BC, CA – Westjet
Vancouver, BC, CA to Las Vegas, NV, USA – Westjet
Las Vegas, NV, USA to New York, NY, USA (JFK) – JetBlue
New York, NY, USA (JFK) to Ibiza, ES – Air Berlin
Ibiza, ES to Berlin (Tegel), DE – Air Berlin
Berlin (Tegel), DE to Phuket, TH – Air Berlin
Phuket, TH to Sydney, NSW, AU – Jetstar

RTW #2: Bad Habits (ex. Sydney)

Sydney – Macau – Bangkok – Paris (and Monaco) – Las Vegas – Los Angeles – Sydney

Your parents are always telling you not to end up like the kind of people that book trips like this one. Meaning, the kind of people who suddenly clear the till one evening and skip the country, because of a bad habit. If these bad habits are indeed your own, then the fares had better come cheap – roulette, girls and cigarettes aren’t free, you know.

Sydney, NSW, AU to Macau, CN – Viva Macau
Macau, CN to Bangkok, TH – AirAsia
Bangkok, TH to Paris, FR – Air Berlin (need Monaco? Book a side-trip to Nice, FR)
Paris, FR to Las Vegas, NV, USA – Condor
Las Vegas, NV, USA to Los Angeles, LA, USA – JetBlue
Los Angeles, LA, USA to Sydney, NSW, AU – V Australia

Download these Itineraries

Both these routes can be downloaded as a .kml file (requires Google Earth to view). Good luck!

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