Trying to figure out how airlines determine fares is utterly futile, ... I sought insights into how the global group sets its popular round-the-world fares.

With almost the entire world available, the possibilities are near endless. One important note, though: Star Alliance RTW fares are cash tickets—they cannot be booked with frequent flyer miles ...

Like Oneworld, Star Alliance around-the-world tickets allow up to 16 flights, up to one full year from the date of departure and require you to generally travel in the same direction.

WHAT IS A ROUND THE WORLD TICKET? Prosaically, a "RTW" is a series of flight bookings that will take you around the globe. Poetically, transport that enables you to encircle the planet could ...