Around the world in 23 days - and one jet

For some it promises to be the trip of a lifetime. But after flying 32,000 miles and enduring a thrombosis-inducing three and a half days in an airline seat others might well wish they had stayed at home.

Yesterday the holiday company Airtours launched what it claims is Britain's first round the world package holiday: a 23-day whistlestop tour of 10 countries at a cost of £4,499. Scheduled to take off from Manchester airport on February 27 next year, the Airbus will carry 329 passengers, three pilots, 10 cabin crew, 10 holiday reps and a doctor.

Flying westward around the globe, the Airbus will touch down first in New York, followed by Las Vegas, Hawaii, Sydney, Borneo, Beijing, Agra, Dubai, Cape Town and Cairo. In the process passengers will spend 73 hours in the air (and possibly almost as much in airport terminals). As environmentalists were quick to point out, they will also emit a staggering 2,289 tonnes of carbon - equivalent to the weight of 286 double-decker buses.

It will be a bit of a rush: two nights in most places except Sydney (three) and Agra (one), and one night up in the clouds en route from Hawaii to Sydney. The longest flight lasts more than 10 hours, the shortest, from Delhi to Agra, a little over three. In New York there will be optional day and night city tours, in Las Vegas a chance to lose your shirt. Agra has the Taj Mahal, Hawaii offers Waikiki beach and Pearl Harbor, and the Sydney visit includes a dinner cruise around Darling Harbour.