Hi All,

I was hoping for some advice from the experts on this one if possible.

A friend has asked me for some advice on a routing for his parents and I'm having trouble finding the ideal fit.

Essentially they are looking at the following routing SYD-HKG-LHR-MAD-ZAG-LHR-HKG-SYD with stopovers in HKG (both directions), MAD & ZAG. Now essentially the problem I have is neither the LONE or LGLOB fares appear to let you backtrack into a continent to have the 2nd stopover in HKG. Would appreciate any suggestions on this.

Also I have a couple of other questions.

- NZ appears to be 10-20% cheaper for Economy RTW fares compared to Aus. Should I tell them to therefore start in AKL?
- Looking to beat 4000 AUD per person which they've already been quoted, a LONE should do this with much more flexibility
- I know date changes are free but do the airlines charge an "admin fee" to execute this? Any idea how much this usually is or whether it can be avoided.
- They aren't too concerned about miles (I know!!) so no need to be selective on metal to maximise mileage earning although you can assume they are with QF FFP.
- Going home via the US is an option but again they wanted to stop by HKG on the way home, not sure that will work.
- If you have any suggestions other than the two fares I mentioned please mention it

Thanks

Buy a SYD-HKG-LHR return (with stop overs) and individual tickets for LHR-MAD-ZAG-LHR. LHR could be substituted with by LGW or LCY or one of the other London airports.

With RTW tickets you have to go around the world (does surprise some folk !)
Just go to your nearest travel agent.

A little late to this one, but a brief 5 mins on ITA matrix suggests you could do an open jaw SYD-MAD // ZAG-SYD via HKG and LON for less than AUD1700 plus AUD100 for the second stopover. Many combinations of CX, QF, BA and IB possible. I looked at random dates in Sep 13.

There are no direct flights between MAD and ZAG, but plenty of options shown on e.g. skyscanner.net, including EZY via LGW.

No need for an RTW.

hth