The A&K round-the-world ticket holders will travel in a Boeing 757, which has 50 lie-flat beds and an executive chef on-board. The airliner is 26 years old, so might not be the quietest ride compared to more modern jets. However, due to its configuration, it can land at airfields not easily reached by major carriers.
A&K’s private jet vice president Rami Girgis said: “Most of the guests booked onto a private jet journey have travelled with A&K before, very often on a small group or a tailor-made journey.
“They arrive already fluent in the way we travel, and what they tell us they want next is more ambition, more places that are difficult to combine and a group of like-minded travellers. Seven Continents is built for them.”
The £2,000 alternative
Don’t have hundreds of thousands of pounds knocking about? I found a way to travel around the world in four weeks for just over £2,000, flights only. With food, accommodation and an Antarctic cruise thrown in, you can complete my budget tour for £10,000.
Unlike the private jet tours, my shoestring itinerary for travel in January avoids some of the more luxurious stop-offs, but does incorporate one or two airport layovers. In doing so, you will enjoy cheaper air fares – such as Heathrow to Miami for around £381 with Swiss, via Zurich, around half the price of a non-stop flight in early January.
After a day or two of sunning in Miami you must take another long flight to Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city (for around £268). Here, you’ll recruit the services of a budget travel agent such as Freestyle, which promises “Antarctica at the right prices”. The cheapest 13-day cruise I could find online – in a triple-berth cabin, aboard the small refurbished science vessel MV Ushuaia – starts from US$8,690 (around £6,371).
