New routes for Round the Worlders

Back in October Air New Zealand announced changes to its Pacific schedules effective April 2nd 2007. I've noticed that folks planning RTW trips are not yet aware of these.

Air New Zealand will no longer fly from Papeete to Rarotonga (and there is no other way to travel directly between French Polynesia and the Cook Islands). Their flights from Los Angeles to Papeete will be via Air Tahiti Nui as a codeshare. Two of their flights to Auckland from Papeete will be via Air Tahiti Nui as a codeshare.

What this means is that if you are traveling from Easter Island you would go to Papeete, as before. From Papeete your onward choices would be to Noumea, New Caledonia (Air Calin), Honolulu (Hawaiian Airlines), Los Angeles (Air Tahiti Nui), Auckland (Air Tahiti Nui , Air New Zealand), Sydney (Air Tahiti Nui ), and Tokyo (Air Tahiti Nui ).

Connections to other Pacific islands are available in New Caledonia via Air Calin (Wallis and Futuna) and Air Vanuatu (Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands). Connections to other Pacific islands from Hawaii are via Hawaiian Airlines (American Samoa) and Continental (Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Palau, Northern Marianas).

The only way to reach Easter Island is via Lan Chile from either Santiago or Papeete.