*ONE5 itinerary - comments wanted
 

Thanks to people who previously helped solving the problems about Easter and Falkland islands. I finally came up a xONE5 itinerary. I feel so excited and hopefully i can go for my gap year this May! I wonder if I can get any comments from expert or people with previous RTW experiences?

THANKS A LOT!!!!

(hope I have used the correct representations... I suppose // means overland surface on my own expenses?)

HKG > AMS//RAK > MAD > CAI > BCN > JFK > CUN//MEX > LAX > SCL > IPC > SCL > MPN > PUQ//SCL > SYD > AYQ > CNS > HKG

MEX-LAX is a codeshare on MEXICANA so it is not allowed on your ticket. You only have 16 segments used, so you can fly on AA metal instead (e.g. MEX-DFW-LAX). You might want to add some more segments in NA. Otherwise the routing looks fine. Hope this is for an LONE5 as you seem to have picked routes that have no F and offer "lower-class J". Should be a nice trip.

Thanks number_6! About NA, I may then add BOS or SFO/LAS somewhere after JFK and LAX. I have never been to North America in my life, so still figuring out what to see and where to go there... I did consider ANC, but have told that the connections are operated by Alaska Airlines so can't be used by OWE fare...

I am still struggling between LONE5 and DONE5. I usually travel on J or Y unless go for business trip (when my company pays business class). But this time I am considering DONE, as I find some of the flights may arrive late at night or depart in very early morning. As a solo traveller (and i am a Chinese woman at mid 20s), I think maybe its safer to stay at the lounges overnight instead of taking taxi in darkness -- it actually comes to my another question: Can I get into those business lounges with DONE5? Are the airports i picked offering lounges?

Pretty sure the DFW-ANC-DFW flights are on AA metal (although only seasonal flights (May-Oct?)

DONE5 fare gets you access to all the lounges (and the FF miles you earn will get you enough status to get lounge access for another year). But very few airport lounges are open 24 hours -- even HKG closes the lounges overnight. If you stay overnight at airports, it will not be pleasant or comfortable. Airport taxis are very safe in all countries, as they are strictly controlled. Most of the cities you list are safe, but if safety is a concern you can do some more research. I think planning on staying overnight at airports is a bad plan (and I've done my share of this).

ANC is served by AA from June to September on DFW-ANC-DFW. ANC is a great place to visit, stunning scenery and very interesting. Quite different from cities. It helps if you can rent a car and drive (on the wrong side of the road), but driving isn't essential.

You could go JFK-CUN//MEX-DFW-ANC-DFW-BOS-LAX-SCL

Very, very few airport lounges are open through the night. There are very few places where you can't get a hotel pickup which will be safe. And frankly not that many places where getting taxis is particularly risky.

And yes, the summer flights DFW-ANC-DFW are AA metal and available on xONEn tickets.

thanks everyone! i just drop the idea of staying in the airport overnight. maybe i should just get a LONE5 instead of DONE5.

Too bad! I can't make MEX-DFW-ANC-DFW!! ANC is in the middle of my route (the 10th destination).. while my trip runs from Jun07 to May08, I should be arriving the North American continent sometime in Oct/Nov. Can't put Anchorage in Jun-Sep... I am thinking to add SEA into my xONE5, then i can get flights to Anchorage or Fairbanks operated by Alaska airlines...

so here comes a revised routing:
HKG-AMS//RAK-MAD-CAI-BCN-JFK-CUN//MEX-DFW-SEA-DFW-LAX-SCL-IPC-SCL-MPN-PUQ//SCL-SYD-AYQ-CNS-HKG

There are only 19 segments here, still get 1 left.

Can I really have SEA-DFW-LAX? I can't find any connections for SEA-xxx-LAX with the Oneworld timetable software, so really not sure if it can work or not. Also, I do not put any transcontinental flight between east and west. Is it alright for that?

That is fine. The OW timetable is not comprehensive, you have to look on aa.com for AA flights (or download the AA timetable). You are not required to take a transcontinental flight in NA (in fact the airlines prefer that you do not); the rule limits to a maximum of one.

You might want to consider visiting PDX instead of SEA (similar routing via DFW), Portland also has an AS hub and is a more interesting place to visit in the fall than SEA.

Excuuuuse me...??

Both cities are great, but I have to disagree.

Its not a usual connection because its so far out of the way, but it can be done. You should be able to do SEA-AUS-LAX by then too as AA is adding nonstops from SEA-AUS soon.

I'll add my voice to the chorus: you must be joking.

Here are some further things to consider:
1) I would second (fourth?) the advice to not consider staying overnight in lounges. Not only will they be unlikely to be open at night, some will not even be open during the day time.
2) Because ANC will not be “in season” for AA when you will be traveling, why not take advantage of an AA seasonal flight that will be operating: LAX-SJO (so you could do LAX-SJO-DFW or vice versa). Costa Rica is a great place to visit. Or another winter destination is SJU- which is also a good place to visit as well as being a reasonable round trip (mileage-wise, etc) that operates year-round.
3 Because you seem to like glaciers, fjords, etc. (viz, going to PUQ and wanting to go to ANC), why not consider SCL-AKL and then a separate side trip to the west coast of the South Island of NZ. Doing SCL-AKL-SYD would take an extra segment but you seem to have one or more to spare.
4) Another possibility for the transition from Europe to NA would be to do CAI-LHR-LAX-JFK. This would give some longer haul segments (relevant if a D ticket) and might offer some other possibilities for timing for the other NA segments.
4) And oh, BTW, YVR is an even better place to visit than SEA or PDX. You can do DFW-YVR-DFW (or perhaps even better DFW-YVR-SFO and make your own way SFO-LAX).

A few comments, and I promise I won't enter the PDX/SEA/YVR debate (again).

If your trip to the Pacific Northwest is intended mainly to get access to Alaska, then you could save a coupon or two by using Alaska's nonstop service from Chicago, which also runs year-round.

And by using Iberia's very kind flight numbering that allows BCN-intercontinental on one coupon, you can make your North America landfall at ORD, while it's still early enough that ANC will be a pleasant visit. Then ORD-MEX and back to ORD or Dallas, then to LA and a transcon to New York, before heading down to Chile.

The coupons you "saved" this way could be used to see some glaciers in New Zealand on the way home.

HKG-AMS//RAK-MAD-CAI-BCN-ORD(-ANC-ORD)-MEX-DFW-LAX-JFK-SCL-IPC-SCL-MPN-PUQ//SCL-AKL-CHC-SYD-AYQ-CNS-HKG

Also you could look at heading to Chile from MEX, potentially saving another coupon.

Meant to add... Is the Falkland Is. trip a turnaround or do you plan on spending a week? Isn't it just once a week service?

It's fine; last year on a DONE4 my NA segments were LAX-DFW, DFW-SEA,SEA-DFW-ANC & ANC-DFW-JFK-(YVR-HKG)