Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

My trip around the world has hit a snag. What should I do next?

Travel Q&A

Tuesday 19 November 2013 21:39 GMT
Comments

Q. I'm planning a round-the-world trip for late next year, with a flight across the South Pacific from Sydney to Buenos Aires. However, I've just learned that the Argentinian airline involved is ending the route. What are my options? Name withheld

A. This could actually turn out to be good news, because there are many more interesting ways to travel between the Argentinian capital and Australia's largest city than to fly non-stop.

Aerolineas Argentinas appears to be stopping the extremely long flight from Buenos Aires to Sydney in February. The economics of the 15-hour trip do not seem to stack up. But two other airlines connect Australia and South America. Qantas has a non-stop flight to Sydney from the Chilean capital, Santiago, while Lan connects Santiago with New Zealand's largest city, Auckland. Choosing the latter will allow you to enjoy the spectacular overland journey from Buenos Aires to Santiago, while Auckland is also worth exploring.

Haydn Wrath, founder of the round-the-world specialist, Travel Nation, says the main problem will be availability: "Whatever traffic Aerolineas Argentinas are currently getting will all go to Qantas or Lan. The Lan flight that operates Santiago-Auckland-Sydney is notoriously hard to get seats on already, especially during the Southern Hemisphere summer."

You can book flights almost a year ahead, and in your case that looks a good plan – especially if you want to maximise the opportunities of the Oneworld Explorer round-the-world

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in