Thank you both.
SLF@LBA - Thanks for the email. In fact I was hoping I may be able to upgrade certain of the flights to business, but apparently because of the package I'm on (via Trailfinders, Global something-or-other) I can either upgrade all the flights, or none of them. Even were I to upgrade them all, I wouldn't be able to go, say, direct LHR-HK but I'd have to go via Frankfurt with a resulting 4 hour stopover. Other connections are equally as unfriendly. I'll take my chances with check-in, methinks...
Guv - were I to be able to afford Concorde I'd be on it tomorrow, but alas my wallet isn't as bulging as I'd like it to be, and more to the point Mrs Lawyerboy is joining me which doubles prices anyway. Eastbound, by the way, because it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Actually, the original intention was for it to be a return trip to Sydney with a stop either way. Then a friend who lives in Wellington told us we couldn't possibly go all the way to Sydney without hopping over to see her.
Then we thought, well, once you're in NZ it's not far to Tahiti, is it? And the rest, as they say, is history.
And then there's the fact that a 27,000 mile ticket with 6 stopovers is, in fact, cheaper than a return to Australia with 2. Bizarre, but true.
And yes, I'd heard about Lan Chile. I have my fingers crossed that differences can be ironed out by the time I get there...
LB