Pat and I are also booked on the Valparaiso - Sydney leg of the Ring of Fire – in Suite #821 again, just like on Panda, and are really looking forward to it. We also plan to do some before and aftering in Santiago and Sydney, plus perhaps coming home heading west, stopping off in SE Asia (Singapore or Bangkok), India and Europe! We too really hate those long trans-Pacific flights - 14-15 hours. Ugg! And we'd both like to see more of India. Depends a lot on the air deals we can get, most likely. We used up most of our stash of Reward points and Skymiles getting to and from PANDA, so we're kind of low on semi-freebies, and will likely have to lay out cold hard cash! Horrors!

Editing to add:
NEW DEVELOPMENT ON US-AUSTRALIA AIR ROUTES

There is GOOD NEWS, however: according to CNN as of four days ago, the US and Australia have signed an "Open Skies" agreement allowing US and Australian owned airlines to fly between the two countries without the limitations currently in place. [http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/02/14/australia.us.opensky.ap/index.html?iref=24hours] Qantas and United now fly the route, as does Air New Zealand and Air Tahiti Nui, but as far as I know, that's it. Continental did fly to Carnes from Guam, and from there to Hawaii, connecting into the main USA Continental system, but that seems to be a thing of the past, and in any case, the Carnes-Guam-Hawaii legs were flown in Boeing 737s! Not my choice of airplane for long Pacific legs!

The Open Skies agreement should open Australian destinations to American, Delta & Northwest and US Air, plus perhaps one of the Hawaiian airlines or Alaska Air. Moreover, it may lead to direct non-stop service from more American cities (e.g., Dallas or Atlanta.) More competition usually results in lower costs, which doesn't solve the long flight times, but does tend to make the tariff less painful. I think (not sure) that more than one of the airlines currently flying this route offers premium economy seating, so new carriers are more likely to offer this amenity, which does make life somewhat better for not too much more money.