Round-the-World Ticket (RTW): Save on a Long Trip

A round-the-world ticket (RTW for short) is a single ticket that carries you across several continents in one direction, so you don't have to buy each leg separately. If you're planning a big, multi-city trip, an RTW ticket often works out far cheaper than booking those flights one by one. Let's see how it works and who it pays off for.

🌐 What an RTW ticket is

An RTW ticket is an airline-alliance product — one big booking that bundles several flights across the alliance's member carriers. The trip runs in a single direction (eastbound or westbound) and returns to where you started.

The ticket usually gives you 3-6 stopovers and stays valid for a full year. You stay in each city as long as you like — it's essentially an expanded version of the open-jaw ticket.

🤝 The alliances — Star Alliance and oneworld

Three major alliances offer RTW tickets: Star Alliance (Round the World fare), oneworld (oneworld Explorer) and SkyTeam (Go Round the World). Each covers the globe through its own member airlines.

From Georgia the trip usually starts from an alliance hub — for example Istanbul (Turkish Airlines) or Vienna/Munich for Star Alliance, and Doha (Qatar Airways) for oneworld. Getting from Tbilisi to the hub is arranged separately or as a positioning flight.

💰 What it costs and how it's priced

• Price is calculated by distance (e.g. 29,000 / 34,000 / 39,000 km) or by number of stops — depends on the alliance
• An economy RTW ticket roughly ranges from about $3,000 to $6,000 depending on route and season
• Business class runs 2-3x more but transforms comfort on the long legs
• The sum of separate long-haul flights is often pricier than an RTW — that's where the savings are
• Taxes and airport fees are charged separately at each city

🧭 The rules — direction, stops and time

RTW tickets have strict rules: travel goes in one direction only — backtracking between continents is limited. Each ocean (Atlantic, Pacific) is crossed once.

The first segment's date is fixed; the rest stay open and can be changed en route, often free or for a small fee. Miles add up too: an RTW ticket often earns a big chunk of your year's miles — see the frequent-flyer miles guide.

✅ Who it's worth it for, and alternatives

An RTW ticket pays off if you're planning 3+ far-flung cities in one big trip (say Asia + Australia + the Americas) and your dates are flexible. For a short 1-2 city European trip it's overkill — separate cheap tickets win there.

Start by playing with flexible dates — when to buy tickets and the open-jaw strategy both help. Compare the individual legs on the Travel365 price calendar — sometimes a self-assembled route beats the RTW.