Who says travel agents offer airlines the most-high yielding flight bookings? What about Groupon and its Jet Set Adventure?
On December 13, Groupon will offer two pairs of around the world (Northern Hemisphere only) economy class tickets for $10,000 and one pair of business class tickets for $20,000 through Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM and Alitalia.
The tickets include up to 10 stopovers in North America, Europe and Asia plus three excursions (worth up to $500 each), all coordinated through a "Grouponcierge."
The flight vouchers for travel, which must begin in a US city, need to be redeemed by December 12, 2012, with travel completed by November 8, 2013.
The Jet Set Adventure is part of Groupon's Epic Deals program, which a Groupon spokesperson describes as "rare and incredible experiences giving you the chance to gift your friends and loved ones with memories and bragging rights for life."
Such Epic Deals, the spokesperson says "pop up anywhere at anytime and are extremely limited in quantity," can be found in the Grouponicus Holiday Shop.
There are a ton of terms and conditions to consider with the Jet Set Adventure.
And, as you are traveling in a "forward" direction only (no flying from the US to Europe and back to the US before you hit Asia, for instance) with a minimum of three stops and a maximum of 10, please pack light unless you take the business class option or want to add lots of bag fees.
On the other hand, if you are spending $10,000 for a couple of tickets, perhaps bag fees aren't an issue.
Anyway, the economy class option includes only one free checked bag per person and "complimentary in-flight meals and snacks when available."
And, you can definitely pack an extra pair of boots for the business class version of this "Jet Set Adventure" because you get two free checked bags per person in business class.
Groupon sees travel as a key focus in its expansion so why not promote some around the world flights for purchase as the holiday-gift buying frenzy is under way?
It is interesting that Groupon has chosen to partner with the four airlines for the around the world promotion and not with its seeming best-travel buddy, Expedia, which powers the hotel-oriented Groupon Getaways.
"This deal was specially curated for Grouponicus by Groupon's Epic Deals team, which is separate from Groupon Getaways with Expedia," the Groupon spokesperson says.
A previous Epic Deal revolved around the VIP Ellen DeGeneres experience.
There is nothing in the promotion verbiage about hotel bookings so apparently you are on your own as far as securing hotel bookings.
The Groupon spokesperson estimates that the discounts involved in the $10,000 and $20,000 flights amount to "about 50%."
At any rate, as you are hop-scotching around the world, you'll be eligible to accrue frequent flyer miles if you participate in the airlines' mileage programs.
Depending on the particular itineraries chosen, these may not be the most high-yielding tickets for the airlines, after all, although the flights do have epic price tags.