Which round-the-world ticket offers the best deal?

After our post several weeks ago dissecting the cost of SkyTeam’s 10th anniversary round-the-world pass, several readers wrote to ask the cost-per-mile price on RTW tickets from the other alliances.

Just a quick review: After some investigation, we found that SkyTeam’s fare for a 29,000-mile pass was $4569, or 15.75 cents per mile. (This assumes a North American departure booked with Delta Air Lines; other origin points will vary in price.) In business class, the same pass is $8880, or 30.62 cents per mile.

The nearest comparable product from Oneworld is a Tier 1 Global Explorer pass good for 26,000 miles. The price is $3,599, or 13.84 cents per mile. Business-class bookings are not allowed at the 26,000-mile level, so no comparison is possible.

Over at Star Alliance, the 26,000-mile RTW is $3,498, which works out to 13.45 cents per mile — the lowest rate of any alliance. Business class will set you back $10,554, or 40.59 cents per mile. (And you’ll still pay a surcharge of up to $400 for segments on a Singapore A380.)

Naturally there are taxes, restrictions and other fine print. Not all airlines offer the same level of quality, and not all alliances offer the same convenience in terms of geographic coverage.

Still, on a simple cost-per-mile basis, Star appears to offer the lowest RTW product in economy class, while SkyTeam is the biggest bargain in the front of the plane.