Sorry - seems that sbm12 and I were posting simultaneously. However, you may be able to do LIM-CCS (via Brazil) with GOL: I'm not sure what their relationship with AFKL/SkyTeam is right now. Or there may be another Brazillian airline you can use.

-- H

I hadn't thought of buying but not taking the US flights! Should have been obvious!
The detour isn't THAT big, and I'm sure I can get a reasonable deal on COPA/TACA for the missing bit.
So what's the shortest (in miles) connection available from MEX to Venezuela? MEX-ATL-CCS?

With DL being the only US carrier left in SkyTeam by the time of your trip, I would imagine that MEX-ATL-CCS is the only option! But ATL is their main hub/HQ, so there'll probably be decent schedules and availability (not that that will bother you too much).

-- H

That's right- I was thinking NW would also have something but it appears they don't. But the ATL detour is only about 1000 miles, so I am not too worried!

I could well be completely wrong here (that does happen very occasionally ) but I thought that, when calculating mileage for RTWs, the airline just uses the great-circle distances between your chosen stop-offs, and weird routings don't come into it. If this is the case, then the mileage will be whatever MEX-CCS is, disregarding the ATL detour.

I once heard of a case where one leg of a RTW was CAI-BOM (with SkyTeam) and the only 'sensible' route was via CDG!! But it didn't count as a back-track and the mileage was just for CAI-BOM direct.

But, please, keep us informed of what transpires!

-- H

Oh I WISH that were the case but I am almost sure it is NOT. Could somebody please confirm?

I also think it's not...

OK, so maybe I got everybody far too excited without good reason! I'll check with my Travel Agent friend (his company specializes in RTW) to see what his 'verdict' is. (But he can only speak for paid tix, not awards).

At the same time, I'll get an updated list from him as to what carriers are allowed on SkyTeam RTW itineraries.

Sorry if I've misled anyone.

-- H

I've been told it's not the case with the New NW RTW awards. I don't know how it's counted if it's a revenue ticket, or booked on other than NW.

SkyTeam RTW rewards have never had a max mileage limit. Revenue are different.

This used to be the case, but is no longer true for the last year or so on NW RTW awards. According to what has been reported on FT, DL doesn't have a mileage cap, but does require more miles than NW. I have no idea what's going to happen with the merged award.

I can confirm that for paid RTW's you earn the exact miles you fly. And I am pretty sure they count towards the RTW mileage calculation too.

Alright, so I want to start my RTW on UX...So I call their CCS office and ask about RTWs. They give me another CCS number. I call that. Nobody responds. I call Spain- number can't be reached from outside the country. I call Argentina, they give me the number for Spain. When told it doesn't work, they say I must have dialled it wrongly. I call London, get a recorded message in English "please wait etc", then somebody answers in Spanish (which is alright as I do speak it, but come on- there was no language selection!). Very nice and helpful gentleman, I explain to him what had happened to me and seems to understand what I'm after. He asks me to wait while he checks with his supervisor. Comes back on the line saying that UX don't issue RTWs and they're all handled by AFKL. I call AFKL who tell me they only issue AF-plated RTWs that MUST start with an AF flight (which in this case means flying 2 hours each way in the wrong direction plus suffering CDG and awful/nonexistent shorthaul food). I relent and say "alright, at least can you give me the business class tariffs for the RTWs of 29000 and 34000 miles?". The answer makes my jaw drop: "we don't deal with miles here, you have to talk with Flying Blue". At this point I hang up and start contemplating suicide.

STOP THE WORLD I WANT TO GET OFF!!

Oh dear. How about using a travel agent?

Just to confirm, folks, that I was indeed wrong about the RTW mileage calculation (spoke to my TA friend last night). Terribly sorry for any false sense of elation I may have caused!

I must have been getting muddled up with something else, somewhere.

But the system does seem a little bit unfair: the airlines take actual flown mileage (well, actual great-cricle distances between airports) for both the flights you've taken and for the flights you haven't taken (surface sectors count towards the mileage total, but in those cases it is the distance between the two 'stops', independent of the route taken).

Again, apologies.

-- Henry