Peter Greenberg: Arranging a Multi-Stop Asia Itinerary

Q: Peter, my husband and I want to take a 24-day trip to Southeast Asia starting on November 26, 2009. We would like to visit Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi, and Chiang Mai in Thailand, Luang Prabang in Laos, Ankgor Wat in Cambodia, and Hanoi and Halong Bay in Vietnam. Are there any air passes that might help out with getting around to these destinations? We don't plan to rent a car. If no air pass is available, we'll just opt to see fewer sights.

–Nancy Randall, Seattle, Wash.

A: There are at least one airline and two different airline alliances that offer passes for travelers who want to arrange multi-stop itineraries in Asia.

Cathay Pacific's All Asia Pass includes roundtrip economy travel between Los Angeles, San Francisco, or New York to Hong Kong, plus flights to up to four standard Asian destinations within 21 days. (Optional extended-travel periods of 30 or 90 days are also available.) Basic prices start around $1,500 for two destinations (if you travel Mondays through Wednesdays) and go up to about $2,100.

The One World Alliance (of 10 partner airlines) offers something called the "Visit Asia" visitor pass, which gives you access to 50 cities in 19 Asian countries. There is a flat fee for each one-way flight you take (with a minimum of two flights required), based on the geographic zone of the destination. Prices range from $60 to $500 per flight. Go to OneWorld.com for details, restrictions, and an interactive map of destinations. To book, call the customer service department of one of the partner airlines (American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Lan, Malev, Qantas, or Royal Jordanian).

The Star Alliance (which includes 24 partner airlines) offers an "Asia Airpass" which can take you to 50 cities in 13 countries. It is available only to travelers who fly to Asia on a Star Alliance airline. You buy between three and 10 "coupons" valid for one-way flights between cities, and the price is determined by how many coupons you buy and the distance between cities.

Bear in mind that alliance air passes can be very helpful in getting quickly from point A to point B. However, they only cover the larger cities on your itinerary (like Bangkok and Hanoi), not the smaller ones (like Halong Bay or Luang Prabang). Some of the places on your list don't even have airports (like Ayutthaya), so you'd have to get there by car or bus. The Star Alliance pass offers slightly more destination options than the One World pass, but neither one offers service to some of the cities you'd like to see.

Despite the limitations, booking a multi-stop itinerary through an alliance generally gives you access to better fares and more destination choices than you would have if you tried to buy a series of one-way tickets on non-partnered airlines (or on a single airline).