Round the world in business class
Business Class Round the World Tickets: What Travelers Pay
A business class round the world ticket cost AirTreks travelers a median of $13,900 per person, and half of them paid between $11,700 and $15,400.
33 round-the-world trips in business or first class booked with us from January 2025 to October 2026, taxes and fees included.
Updated · Reviewed by Marin Voth and Chris Heidrich, AirTreks travel planners
Or call us at 415-977-7100.
How much is a round the world business class ticket?
About $13,900 per person, going by what 33 AirTreks travelers paid for round-the-world trips in business or first class from January 2025 to October 2026. That's about $2,900 more than the $11,000 median for business class on multi-stop trips that don't circle the globe, and about five times the $2,750 economy median.
| Trip | Median per person | Middle half paid | Trips |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business or first, round the world | $13,900 | $11,700 to $15,400 | 33 |
| Business or first, multi-stop | $11,000 | $6,900 to $14,000 | 88 |
| Economy, multi-stop | $2,750 | $1,960 to $3,690 | 214 |
Business or first, round the world
- Median
- $13,900
- Middle half
- $11,700 to $15,400
33 trips
Business or first, multi-stop
- Median
- $11,000
- Middle half
- $6,900 to $14,000
88 trips
Economy, multi-stop
- Median
- $2,750
- Middle half
- $1,960 to $3,690
214 trips
What AirTreks travelers actually paid us per person, taxes and fees included, travel insurance excluded. Orders booked January 1, 2025 to October 2, 2026 for multi-stop and round-the-world trips; group bookings, round trips and one-ways are left out. Medians are rounded. The middle half is the range between the 25th and 75th percentile. Business includes first class.
Round the world business class airfares, priced
Sample itineraries our consultants have built and priced in business class. The range is the estimated airfare per person at our last price check; your dates and cities will move it. Prices checked July 2026.
Istanbul to Kilimanjaro, Addis Ababa, Victoria Falls & 6 more Multi-Stop
A 26-week business-class multi-stop ticket starting in Istanbul, moving through East and Southern Africa, Europe, Austin, Singapore and Ho Chi Minh City, then returning via Istanbul to Cairo.
Estimated
$13,800–$21,000
Los Angeles to Melbourne, Sydney, Cape Town & London RTW
A 4-week business class round-the-world routing from Los Angeles through Australia, South Africa, and England, returning to Los Angeles with an overland gap between Melbourne and Sydney.
Estimated
$11,129–$16,976
Los Angeles to Seoul, Milan, New York, Buenos Aires & Sao Paulo RTW
Business-class round-the-world routing from Los Angeles with two overland gaps, then a separate South America segment returning via Sao Paulo to Los Angeles over 23 weeks.
Estimated
$11,678–$17,813
New York City to Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore & Frankfurt Multi-Stop
A 5-week business-class multi-stop routing from New York City through Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, and Frankfurt before returning to New York City.
Estimated
$7,936–$12,106
New York City to Helsinki, Bangkok, Singapore, Australia & Auckland Multi-Stop
Three-week business-class multi-stop routing from New York City via Helsinki, Bangkok, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland before returning to New York City, combining short city stays with a continuous eastbound long-haul sequence.
Estimated
$11,052–$16,859
New York City to Asia, South Asia, Europe RTW
A business-class round-the-world routing from New York through the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, East and Southeast Asia, South Asia, North Africa, and Europe before returning to New York.
Estimated
$15,280–$23,308
Should I buy an alliance pass or a custom business class ticket?
Buy the alliance pass when your route fits one alliance's network, goes one way around the world, and you want its miles on every flight. Go custom when the trip needs airlines from different alliances, doubles back, skips an ocean, or has short flights you'd rather not pay business fares for.
| Rule | oneworld ExplorerBook oneworld Explorer with us | Star Alliance Round the WorldBook Star Alliance RTW with us | AirTreks custom ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airlines | oneworld members only | Star Alliance's 26 members only | Any airline, any alliance |
| How it's priced | By continents visited (3 to 6) and the highest cabin flown | By total miles flown: 29,000, 34,000 or 39,000 (a Special Business fare covers up to 26,000) | By your actual route, flight by flight |
| Flights and stops | 3 to 16 flights | 2 to 15 stopovers, 16 flights at most | No fixed limit |
| Cabins | Economy, business and first | Economy, premium economy and business. First ended October 1, 2026 | Each flight in the cabin you choose |
| A flight with no business cabin | Flown in economy, business fare still charged | Flown in economy, business fare still charged | Priced in economy |
| Direction | One way around, each ocean crossed once | One way around, each ocean crossed once | Any order, backtracking included |
| Start and finish | Same city | Same country | Anywhere |
| Someone to call | No. Changes go through the airline that issued the ticket | No. Changes go through the airline that issued the ticket | Yes, your own consultant, before and during the trip |
AirTreks custom ticket
- Airlines
- Any airline, any alliance
- How it's priced
- By your actual route, flight by flight
- Flights and stops
- No fixed limit
- Cabins
- Each flight in the cabin you choose
- A flight with no business cabin
- Priced in economy
- Direction
- Any order, backtracking included
- Start and finish
- Anywhere
- Someone to call
- Yes, your own consultant, before and during the trip
oneworld Explorer
Book oneworld Explorer with us- Airlines
- oneworld members only
- How it's priced
- By continents visited (3 to 6) and the highest cabin flown
- Flights and stops
- 3 to 16 flights
- Cabins
- Economy, business and first
- A flight with no business cabin
- Flown in economy, business fare still charged
- Direction
- One way around, each ocean crossed once
- Start and finish
- Same city
- Someone to call
- No. Changes go through the airline that issued the ticket
Star Alliance Round the World
Book Star Alliance RTW with us- Airlines
- Star Alliance's 26 members only
- How it's priced
- By total miles flown: 29,000, 34,000 or 39,000 (a Special Business fare covers up to 26,000)
- Flights and stops
- 2 to 15 stopovers, 16 flights at most
- Cabins
- Economy, premium economy and business. First ended October 1, 2026
- A flight with no business cabin
- Flown in economy, business fare still charged
- Direction
- One way around, each ocean crossed once
- Start and finish
- Same country
- Someone to call
- No. Changes go through the airline that issued the ticket
Rules checked October 2, 2026 against oneworld.com and the oneworld Explorer rules (February 27, 2026), and the Star Alliance Round the World terms (updated October 1, 2026). SkyTeam has closed its round-the-world program.
Multi-city business class flights that don't circle the globe
Most business class trips we book never go all the way around. Of the 88 business or first class trips AirTreks travelers booked from January 2025 to October 2026, 55 were multi-city trips like New York to Tokyo, Tokyo to Singapore, then home. The median across all 88 was $11,000 per person.
Australia and New Zealand, with Asia on the way home
Los Angeles to Sydney in business, a week in Queenstown, then Singapore and home. It never crosses the Atlantic, so no round-the-world pass fits; a custom ticket or a Circle Pacific fare does.
Open jaw: fly into one city, home from another
Into Lisbon, overland through Spain, home from Barcelona. You pay business only on the two ocean crossings.
Two continents in one trip
Europe and East Africa, or Japan and Southeast Asia, on one ticket with stopovers. Business on the long flights, economy between nearby cities.
Not going all the way around?
Business class on a trip with a few stops
Most business class trips we book never circle the globe: 55 of the 88 since January 2025. What they cost, how to mix cabins, and when to book it yourself are on our business class international flights page.
What catches people out on business class round-the-world tickets
Paying business for an economy seat
Some flights have no business cabin. On both alliance passes you fly those in economy and still pay the business fare, with no refund (oneworld Explorer rules; Star Alliance terms, section 2.6.1).
Star Alliance first class is gone
From October 1, 2026, Star Alliance no longer sells first class Round the World tickets. Its pass comes in business, premium economy and economy. oneworld Explorer still sells first.
One direction only
Both passes go one way around, east or west, and cross each ocean once. Sydney to Bali and back down to Auckland doubles back between continents, and neither alliance allows it.
Who handles a schedule change
On an alliance pass, changes go through the airline that issued the ticket. On an AirTreks ticket, your consultant handles them across every airline on it, by phone or email.
“These flights were literally more luxurious than 95% of the hotels I stayed at for the entire six weeks.”
FAQ
Round the world business class questions
How much is a round the world business class ticket?
AirTreks travelers paid a median of $13,900 per person in round the world business class airfares for trips booked from January 2025 to October 2026, taxes and fees included. Half paid between $11,700 and $15,400. The figures are per person, exclude travel insurance, and cover business and first class trips together.
Can you fly business class around the world on one ticket?
Yes. oneworld Explorer and Star Alliance Round the World both sell business class, and a custom AirTreks ticket can put any airline in business. The alliance passes keep you inside one alliance and moving one direction; a custom ticket doesn't.
Can I mix business and economy on a round the world ticket?
Not on an alliance pass, which prices the whole ticket in one cabin and charges that fare even on flights you sit in economy. A custom ticket lets you choose the cabin flight by flight: business on the long overnight flights, economy on the short daytime hops.
Does Star Alliance still sell first class round the world tickets?
No. Star Alliance stopped selling first class Round the World tickets on October 1, 2026. Its pass now comes in business, premium economy and economy. First class tickets issued since July 1, 2026 must be completed by October 1, 2027 at the latest. oneworld Explorer still sells first class.
Is there still a SkyTeam round the world ticket?
No. SkyTeam has closed its Round the World ticket program. oneworld Explorer and Star Alliance Round the World are the two alliance passes still on sale, and a custom ticket can use SkyTeam airlines such as Delta, Air France and KLM.
Next step
Talk to a round-the-world business class specialist.
Send us the cities and roughly when. We'll price the alliance pass and a custom routing side by side, and tell you which one fits.
Prefer the phone? 415-977-7100, or send us a message.