I think the OP is saying that a fully booked 10 month long trip can only be booked 2 months before first flight; in that sense he's right.

True, but it would still be possible to book each individual flight 330 days out. So there should be no issues with A availability at short notice. (Unless you would need to make last minute changes)

Flights for christmas can easily booked now, and A availability shouldn't be a problem.

Ok, I fully agree, but by the time you have 'everything' (the OP's point) booked it's 2 months before flight, so he's not wrong there. Anyhow, going the other way around the world will probably mean spending Xmas in a different place as originally planned, so I guess we will have to wait and see what the new itinerary is going to be.

I was the beneficiary of that mistake. Once BA figured it out, they fixed it by requiring that all *ONE* tix issued at MRU now be reviewed by the BA London RTW desk before issuance, so I haven't been able to repeat my good fortune. You may want to have a look at purchasing the ticket at JNB or CPT. Due to the sharp decline of the Rand, I believe that you'll find that AONE* tix issued in S.A. are now less costly than those from MRU. You will, of course, still be subject to the same itinerary limitations as if you purchased at MRU.

Good luck, and enjoy. There's nothing like traveling around the world in F!!! I start my fourth in two years a week from today.

Thanks for the help. I've been working on Plan B for hours:

September MRU - LHR 1 segment in BA First
November LHR - DXB - LHR 2 segments in BA First
Xmas LHR - LAX - JFK - MBJ - JFK 4 segments, one in BA First
February JFK - BGI - JFK 2 segments
Easter JFK - HKG - BKK - NRT - SIN - HKG 5 segments in CX/JL First
May HKG - JNB - MRU 2 segments, one in CX First

With the return flight to London we'll be on 2610 BA tier points so we'll still be set for 2 GUF2500.

As I mentioned I'm not really worried about the reduction in June from 20 to 16 segments for this RTW. I'm sure the partner airlines will be reducing the costs of the tickets by 20% anyway!!!!!ha ha!!!

Note that F on this flight is seasonal. If current schedules repeat next year you will have to wait till mid/late May.

Thanks Viajero, I can defer that journey to anytime up to September.