I have a question regarding stopovers in the originating continent.

I am originating in North America, and plan to finish my RTW by flying SYD-HNL-LAX-ORD-YOW, with a stopover in Honolulu and Los Angeles. (I won't have used any NA stopovers at the beginning of my itinerary, just one segment -- YOW-ORD -- en route to Europe).

From my understanding I am allowed 2 stopovers in the originating continent, as long as one is in the international arrival or departure gateway, which in my case should be fine (HNL). However, since the rules also state that once the maximum stopovers have been reached, additional flight segments are forfeited, am I going to be dinged for two flight segments after the LAX stopover?

If that's the case, I can't think of any scenario where you could actually have 2 stopovers in your continent of origin, because by definition, after your last stopover, you would still require segments to fly to your final destination. For example, if my first stopover is HNL, then no matter where I stopped over for a second one, I would still need at least one flight segment to get home. And if I flew direct from SYD-LAX, same thing would apply. I'd get the one stopover in LAX, but no other one without requiring additional segments afterwards. They can't be counting your final destination as a stopover, can they?

It seems like this segment forfeiting rule will only work when you're moving on to another continent from your final stopover, which obviously isn't going to happen on your way back to your starting point.

I'd appreciate any clarification on these points.

Thank you.

It is an exception. My routing goes LON-CAI-LON-BUD with no additional charges. My stopovers are in London and Cairo, and I am leaving from/ending in Budapest.

They should allow you to use your remaining segs to get to the city you departed from or to get from your last stop to your next continent. I remember reading about somebody who wasn't allowed to do this but I think they called back and it was then allowed.

The rule on stopovers in the originating continent has recently changed- see my current post here.
Salt.

Thanks for the info Salt. I had seen your earlier posting and was pretty disappointed with this change in rules. Since my departure gateway is Chicago in December, I'm not particularly interested in making that a stopover!

Does anyone know if I book my trip so that HNL-LAX-ORD-YOW is all connections (after the stopover in HNL), but then while enroute I just make a date change to my LAX-ORD-YOW flights so that I actually have a couple of days in LAX, will I be charged extra at that time for turning LAX into a stopover, or would they decline the change altogether?

Thanks again for all the help. I must say I'm getting a little tired of OneWorld's rule changing without any warning or grace periods. I had thought this was the best RTW alternative, but I'm starting to have my doubts.

Changing a transfer (x/) to a stopover (o/) is not just a date change, but is a change in routing, which in general requires the ticket to be reissued. I suggest you play by the rules.