Gents,

Thanks for the advice. I neglected to say that this RTW also serves as a mileage run for LH's HON circle, so I'd need to stick with LH and other HON-compatible airlines (like UA until April 1st) as much as possible. As much as I'd like to try TG or SQ, I can't.

The UA 1st class seats are quite tempting. There are photos on airliners.net - while calling them "suites" is an overstatement they do indeed look very comfortable. Therein lies part of the problem: I am traveling with a lady friend and we would *almost* sit in C next to each other rather than fly solo in those beds. On the other hand, it is a 16-hour flight, and the upgrade is substantially cheaper at 2x45k miles than with Lufthansa.

A bit more down-to-earth:

I called LH and asked about 1st class upgrade availability for the BKK-FRA flight - they had to waitlist me but my chances are "very good" apparently. I guess that means no current availability but a low number of paid reservations.

I also asked about upgrading the UA segment. It would take them 48 hours just to get an answer on the availability from UA, then they'd have to issue and mail me an upgrade voucher valid for that particular segment. Given that my trip will be underway a week from today, it would mean we'd be cutting things very close.