ECLUB ONE MAKEUP PROGRAM

I suspect that many of have you have thought of flying around the world. In April this year I will make that trip for the 4^th time. For each of the last four years, in either March or April, my wife Nancy and I take a month off for a real vacation and yes it’s a flying one.

Traveling around the world is a life altering experience and (usually) a 'once in a lifetime' experience! It is the kind of trip that you won't regret, no matter how broke you are when you return home and you will have memories, friends and experiences that no one can take away from you. People who fly around the world want to see new things, meet new people, learn about different cultures, explore the world in their own pace and actually experience what others only dream about their whole lives. And, you won’t have to mortgage your home to pay for the experience of a lifetime.

One World includes American Airlines, Aer Lingus, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, LanChile, Qantas Airways, British Airways and Japan Airlines,

Each partnership has an around the world fare that is one of the best kept secrets in the airline industry. The programs are similar, so I will share with you details on the Star Alliance “Around the World” fare, as I have purchased one four times now.

Star Alliance offers several mileage fares, based on four levels of travel; 26,000, 29,000, 34,000, and 39,000 miles. In each of these categories you can fly Economy, Business Class or First Class. You can travel with any Star Alliance member airline. The start and end of your journey has to be in the same country and one Atlantic and one Pacific crossing has to be included in your itinerary.

There is no high season surcharge, so it does not matter when you depart. You simply determine the class of service and the total mileage you want to fly.

Your journey can last any time between 10 days and a year. You can change the dates of most of your flights at any time, except for those flights up to and including your first international or intercontinental journey. You can make as few as three, or as many as 15 stopovers in different cities (within the permitted mileage).

So where will 29,000 miles take you? That’s the ticket we’ve bought for our 2005 holiday in April. Nancy and I will start by flying from Toronto to New York, Frankfurt and Zurich where we will spend two weeks in Switzerland. After that we’ll fly to Salzburg and Vienna for a week of Austrian culture and on the way we’re taking a side trip to Budapest. Then we’re off to London to visit a friend of ours for four days. After that it’s home for Nancy while I fly around the world. Nancy is not a fan of 18 hour flights. From London I’ll fly to Singapore and then on to Perth, Australia to spend a few days with another old friend of mine. Then it’s the long haul home – Perth to Singapore, Tokyo, New York and Toronto. Total time away from home is 26 days.

In 2004 I purchased a 34,000 mile ticket. That took me to New York, Frankfurt, Venice, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Frankfurt, Singapore, Saigon (Ho Chi Min City), Singapore, Tokyo, Washington, Toronto.

So what will your ticket cost you? Check out the table below. The fares are in US dollars (as of February 29, 2005) and do not include any taxes. Fares for OneWorld are similar.

Mileage	Economy Class	Business Class	First Class
$26,000	$3,028
29,000	3,485	$6,941	$9,567
34,000	4,011	7,989	11,015
39,000	4,708	9,380	12,934

Flying around the world is not something you do on the spur of the moment. For the Salmons the planning starts three years out. We have already decided where we’re going in 2006 and are down to two destinations for 2007. Our first step is to decide on major destinations. Then we use the Star Alliance Mileage Calculator (http://www.staralliance.com/star/content/RTWMC.html ) to plan our actual flights. Finally, after reading the guide books we decide on hotels and major activities.

One word of advice. Save a little extra money and go for the business class fare. If this is a once in a lifetime trip around the world, the extra comfort provided by this class is well worth the additional expense. The amenities and comforts provided make the journey much more enjoyable.

So there’s the inside scoop. If you’ve dreamed about flying around the world go for it. I’ll soon be taking my 4^th around the world trip. See you in the air.

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