This is somewhat of a competition. I give extra points for the person with the least total airfare to all these continents. All airfares must be roundtrip from Omaha and must be for a three-week period from now until Sept. 1. It can be two different airlines; in which case you would present two different graphic files. The timing must be such that you can make the connection. Provide at least 3 hours. If the connection has you spending the night at the airport, you must include the cost of a hotel.
Generally, the least expensive fares to these destinations are from coastal cities in the US, like LA and New York. In order to get the lowest fare, you need to find the least expensive coastal city and the least expensive flight from Omaha to that city. Sites like Kayak and Expedia will not do this automatically. There may be some ground transportation involved in transferring to a nearby airport. Include the ground transportation cost and associated graphics. Bigger cities have multiple airports so don't get confused. New York, for example, has five airports: JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, White Plains, and Newburgh. Only three offer international flights. The cheapest flights are often from the smaller airports that charge a lesser fee for landing.
You do not need to check luggage, but you do need to include a carry-on bag.
Prices vary widely during this period. They also vary by day of the week. You must present screenshots of the airfare with enough detail to verify the dates, connections, and price - including taxes. Use only commercial airlines - you cannot use military aircraft or family connections with commercial companies. The flight leaves from Omaha and you cannot drive to another city.
I initially used Google to figure out which airlines and airports that provide international flights, and I also used the information provided by a classmate that used Kiwi.com to search for flights. For any overnight layovers, I used Airbnb.com to search for available and cheap rooms.
I tried the following three-week periods from between March to the end of April. I chose this time frame because it will be prior to the busiest times to travel overseas. For Europe I chose Paris, France, for Asia I chose Beijing, China, for South America I chose Bogota, Columbia, and for Africa I chose Marrakech, Morocco. Each of the cities I have chosen represent a cultural center for each country.
I have two overnight layovers, so I used Airbnb to provide a place to stay.
Pisa, Italy on the 27th of April
Denver, Colorado on the 28th of April
I have a layover in Denver, Colorado on the 31st of March, so I found this cheap little place for the evening.
I have a layover in Denver of the 27th of April, so I chose the same Airbnb I used from my trip to Beijing because of its close proximity to the Denver International Airport.
I had several layovers for this trip, so I looked at Airbnb for the best overnight stays:
Venice, Italy on the 31st of March
Fez, Morocco on the 21st of April
Orlando, Florida on the 22nd of April
Submitted by Katie Holderfield on February 11, 2020.
Updated on February 21, 2020