Hello,

I am planning to go on a RTW trip this summer for 3 months (mid-May to mid-August). Since I am a complete newbie, I have quite a few questions (some of them probably stupid) that I am hoping some of you could help me with.

1. I have looked at these forums and done quite a bit of research myself and this is where I stand right now. I have three itenary choices (in order of my preference):
a. JFK - AKL - SYD - HKG - DEL - ZRH - LHR - GIG - EZE - SCL - LIM - MEX - JFK
b. JFK - MEX -LIM - GIG - EZE - SCL - AKL - SYD - HKG - DEL - ZRH - LHR - JFK
c. JFK - LHR - ZRH - DEL - HKG - SYD - AKL - SCL - EZE - GIG - LIM - MEX - JFK

I am not sure if the 2nd itenary is valid since South America is slightly east of North America and then I am traveling west. Also between the 1st and the 3rd, I am only curious to know if there is any advantage of traveling in a particular direction (eastbound or westbound). My personal preference is westbound with the 1st itenary.

2. As you can see, I have at least 4 stops in South America. In Chile and Argentina I'll also like to go down to Patagonia (weather permitting) and in Peru, my main goal is Cusco. Since the oneworld ticket only offers 2 stops per continent, what are my options here apart from purchasing tickets for local airlines once I reach there?

3. Is it possible to squeeze in out of way destinations such as Easter Island and Gibraltar on the oneworld ticket? For example instead of flying from Zurich to London on the oneworld ticket, I could use the Eurail but then can I use the remaining stopover to fly to Gibraltar and back from London? (same for Easter Island from Santiago)

4. Is there any cost differential for purchasing this ticket from one country as opposed to another? I used the oneworld fare calculator and found a quote of $4900 (USD) from New York as compared to $3900 (NZD) from Auckland for the same itenary. If that is so, I should be able to buy a separate ticket from New York to Auckland and still save some money. But why would the airlines allow this?

5. Once the ticket has been issued, is it possible to drop some destination? For example, if due to time constraints I have to drop my last destination and fly straight to my original point, can I do that?

Thanks so much.

Cheers!