Route notes
Why this routing works
This routing takes a deliberate eastward arc from Honolulu — the opposite direction from most Pacific RTWs. Connecting through Seattle (SEA) to New York (JFK) before the transatlantic means the traveler gets two meaningful US mainland stops at no additional routing cost. JFK is the departure point for KLM or Delta to Amsterdam, which sets up the Northern Europe-to-Africa pivot that defines the middle of this itinerary.
KLM operates AMS-CPT direct (~11h), one of the most reliable direct connections to Cape Town from Northern Europe. The onward leg from Cape Town to Lisbon is handled by TAP Air Portugal, which runs a direct service and positions Lisbon as a natural two-city Portugal segment. From Lisbon, the 2-hour hop to Ponta Delgada on São Miguel island (Azores) is the distinctive differentiator of this route — most RTW itineraries skip the Azores entirely.
The return from the Azores to North America is handled by Azores Airlines (SATA), which operates a direct PDL-YYZ service — one of the few mid-Atlantic island airports with a direct transatlantic route. From Toronto, Air Canada connects to San Francisco, and the final SFO-HNL leg closes the loop. The entire routing uses a mix of SkyTeam (KLM/Delta) and Star Alliance (TAP, Air Canada, Azores Airlines) metal, which is why ticketing is classified as mixed rather than single.