Around the World ticket

Q: Over summer I would like to visit relatives of mine, but they live in totally different parts of the world. My sister lives near Frankfurt and my son is currently working in Hong Kong. It appears that I cannot get a ticket on one airline without having to backtrack to the first destination ie. I can fly Lufthansa from Johannesburg to Frankfurt and then on to Hong Kong, but have to fly to Frankfurt before returning to Johannesburg if I want to use the same airline. One-way tickets are very expensive and I would prefer not having to buy two separate tickets from Johannesburg, one to Paris and one to Hong Kong. An added problem is I don't think a two-continent trip qualifies for a "round the world" ticket. Do you have any suggestions? - Richard Schmidt

A: The best solution for you is to buy a "circle" or "triangular" ticket, which allows you to stop over in two continents. For your trip, I would recommend the triangular excursion fare offered by SAA and Cathay Pacific. You would fly to Frankfurt on SAA, and then to Hong Kong and back to Johannesburg on Cathay Pacific. The fare would be R12,790 excluding airport taxes and service fees. You could also make use of the triangular excursion fare offered by British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair. This would allow you to fly from Johannesburg to Frankfurt (via London on British Airways), then to Hong Kong and on to Johannesburg on Cathay Pacific. The ticket would cost around R12,700 excluding taxes and fees. Both of these triangular packages can also be used to combine a trip to Australia and Hong Kong. Find out more about these fares from your travel agent or check out the www.travelonline.co.za or www.ebookers.co.za websites. (14 June 2009)