OP: so what do you think you are going to do?

Look, to each his own. You wonder why someone would fly such an itinerary, I wonder why someone would bother posting a rant wondering why someone would fly such an itinerary. ;)
But more seriously, I like long flights, in Business or preferably First, because it's time away from many of the realities of the world. I can sit in a comfortable seat, have people feed me and water me, watch movies, read magazines, etc. Flying can actually be relaxing, despite what you may read elsewhere.

I agree completely. To me, a 16-hour flight in J/F is one of the most relaxing things I can do.

I dont want to activate that old thread just for the simple question if that is still possible to do !? :confused:

I would think that they sorted it out since it´s ticketed in 2005...

The taxes definetely went up !

The OP insisted that it was ticketed as requested, so who knows? The OP never came back to give us a trip report.

To this day I can't see the point. Flying 10 segments all over the world. Getting from MCI to LHR through Asia with 3 long hauls (5 segments total, no stopovers) and returning from MAD to MCI trough South America with another 3 long hauls (and again 5 segments total and no stopovers).

I do enjoy long flights if I'm in F or J for the reasons stated earlier by others, and maybe I would do it for miles, but doing that itn on an award ticket?

IMHO, total madness, and I bet that the fun would be gone by the 2nd or 3rd flight.....

Indeed. Seems like a huge waste of miles to me to fly like that on an award ticket. I'm sure the vast majority of us enjoy flying, otherwise we wouldn't be here, but as much as I like flying, I don't see myself wasting my miles to fly for the sake of flying. Big difference between that and a paid MR.

Actually it was only 100K miles for OW award.

MCI-LHR
MAD-MCI

Total just under 9K miles.

Sorry for the delay in response, but just to level-set folks on how we do things: When we were sitting on the ground at DFW on Friday (literally on the plane right before the door closed), we found out that my client had rescheduled my work for this week, but BZBDEWD had to go to SFO to pick up her new perscription for some fancy new contact lenses.... so we went anyway. So, there we are in SFO and no client for next week. We called AA to see how much it would be to change the ticket back to TUS... $200 and no good seats/no upgrades available on the flights we wanted... so we called the rental car folks and told them we were going to drop the car off in Tucson... and we would just drive home... got the contacts on Saturday, B&B in Groveland that night.... a stop yesterday in Yosemite... and now we are in Bakersfield (Had to be somewhere with connectivity and good/consistent cell phone service for a conference call I have this morning).

All that to say, we don't do things the "normal" way. Why would we drive from SFO to TUS? Because we can. Why fly RTW? Same reason.... Most folks would never entertain the thought of going all the way to SFO just because you went to the eye doctor there and have to pick up your perscription or driving 3 days just to see what is between point A and B... most folks, that is... except for those chosen few FTers who "get it" :)

Of course, we know that this is not the most practical way to go (RTW, that is)... of course, we know that ITN can price out our flights... we KNOW it is DOABLE, we just wanted to know what folks' thoughts were on it... and, yes, GREAT CIRCLE means SHORTEST....

What we were really after - and I guess we should have been more clear - is are there any flights that will get us around the world... that are particularly nice to fly (i.e. typical equipment is nice, FAs known to be good, scenery is wonderful, etc) As an aside, I have flown countless millions of miles and yet I still always get a window seat. Why? Because it is one of the best ways to sightsee that I can think of... tell me what is better than flying from SFO to DFW? You fly over Yosemite, Mono Lake, the Sierra Nevada, Zion, Bryce, Cedar Breaks, the upper reaches of the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches and the Southern Rockies... now that is good stuff out the window. Seeing the Mackinaw Bridge from 35,000 ft after coming over the Foxe Basin in Northern Canada is a sight to behold... for us, it isn't always about the warmed mixed nuts in FC... the bonus is what is out the window....

Additionally, we were going to spend a day or so in one or two stops... so, this is not a TRUE MR... A week around the world means you don't stray far from the airport....but there have got to be nice places to see within reason....

Hmmmm....hell of a mileage run. I have a DONE4 trip coming up with MSY->MIA->LHR->ABZ->LHR->CPT->JNB->HKG->SIN->BKK->HKG->LAX->DFW->MSY using AA, BA and CX. Avoided JL because they don't award elite mileage. 15 days. NOTE: You wanted to do an MR in a week. The OneWorld Explorer fares specify a minimum of 10 days unless you originate in Asia or the SW Pacific.

This is really not AA-related, and the original question can get much more input in the oneworld Forum. I also recommend the OP read the stickies and recent threads in the oneworld Forum about RTWs, as there is lots of very helpful information there, provided by knowledgeable members.

Be aware of the different partner airline miles earning limitations (depending on fare class) and the fact using AA codeshares alone might prove costly.

This thread will now be relocated, and we wish the OP and his SO a great trip. Thank you.

FT - AA Moderator

Or my recent trip report (2 RTWs + some longhaul and shorthaul side trips in 4 weeks).

Not necessarily - see below for example.

Note also that the minimum stay rule in xONEx fares is based on departure dates, so it is possible to do it in 1 week + 1 weekend (ie start Friday night and arrive back second Sunday following) even for north america origin. You could also do most of a RTW take a stop somewhere convenient (eg home) and take the last few flights at a later date (within a year).