RTW Programs
 

I'm thinking about doing a RTW flight next year, pref. in First or Business. Of the Big 3 (*A, One World, SkyTeam), has anyone had good or bad experiences, thoughts, etc. to pass on.

I have not yet sprung for the RTW trip, but have done some looking. Have you looked through the Airline Alliance forums? There is some firsthand information there and a lengthy discussion in the SkyTeam forum at:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=356933

Definitely take a look in the 3 alliance forums. All have a lot of info on their RTW products including strengths and weaknesses.

The first thing is to work out roughly where you want to go and see which alliance(s) go there.

I've done the RTW in One World in F the last two years and have been very satisfied especially with both Cathay Pacific and British Airways being members. As you know, those two airlines are arguably some of the best first class in the world, especially on Cathay. Only complaint about One World I have is that their RTW desk is not open 24 hours so it can be difficult to make changes when your on the other side of the world. Besides from that, great ticket and excellent value.

Thank you all for your guidance. I would lean towards OneWorld, I think, but Star Alliance seems to have more airlines, so the choices might be a little better. In any case, I appreciate all the help.

I'm on one at the moment; the 'old' KLM/NW/CO/MH/etc RTW program that earns miles for Skyteam on a lot of flights. You should look into it if you want to travel around the Pacific, since you can use Continental Micronesia, Air Vanuatu, Air Calin and some more... or Central Amercia with Copa Airlines. Look for rules using the YRWWJ40 or CRWWJ49 fare codes on google.

This is NOT a RTW from one of the alliances, rather a separate Round-The-World alliance. A lot of Skyteam airlines in it (though not all at all)