SS255

This is my first post in the HP thread, but as a frequenter of the US forum I feel as if I know some of you by now.

My corporate travel department booked me in paid C LAX-LHR-HAM on BA for September. I know that you cannot accrue AA miles on transatlantic flights. Can you earn HP miles on transatlantic flights? What about the LHR-HAM-LHR legs?

I'm sorry if these questions have been posted ad nauseum, but I did a search, and I couldn't find a clear answer.

jimcfsus

According to this... http://www.americawest.com/awa/conte...rtners.aspx#ba

it looks like you can... and you might earn some bonus miles for being booked in C!

AZ Travels the World

Yes, you can definitely earn HP miles for all legs. Booked in C, you'll earn Elite Qualifying Miles and will receive a 25% class-of-service bonus.

Enjoy! It's the best trans-Atlantic business class going, in my opinion. Right up there with Virgin. I'm going to seriously miss it if the BA partnership goes away with the US/HP merger.

enviroian

You will get a minimum of 25% mileage for your LHR-HAM flight. In April of this year I flew BA (actually code shared and operated by SN) from LGW-BRU on a discounted coach ticket and got 25% of the miles.

enviroian

Yes! AZ is right on here. I flew BA CW last fall to London and was so impressed. My outbound was out of DFW on a 777--lovely yes, but nothing compared to the CW cabin I had on a non stop back to Phoenix for the way home--upstairs on a 744 with 5 people! They had two dedicated f/a (pursers?) for the five of us and treated us like royalty. What an experience.


PS. On a related side note, I flew over to the UK five months later on AA's business class product. What a joke My experience on AA completely paled in comparison to British. The flight attendants on BA blow away AA, they take care of you and make you experience the J class product to the nth degree, unlike the surly f/a's on AA

SS255

That's terrific news! Thanks. I'm in the upstairs cabin on a 744 in both directions, so I'm really excited. I also have a 4-hour layover in LHR on the outbound - looking forward to spending some quality time in the Terrace lounge! Will I be able to bring in a guest with my C ticket?

AZ Travels the World

No, you won't be able to invite anyone into the lounge unless they are a One World elite member (or, of course, traveling with you in CW).

With a four-hour layover, if you are interested in a 20 minute massage, when you arrive at the LHR Terraces lounge complex (Terminal 4, near Gate 10), head down to the lower level to the Moulton Brown Spa and sign up for a massage. It's first-come, first-served, so with that much time you shouldn't have a problem getting a slot.

One issue that will require some planning on your part: You will fly into LHR Terminal 4; the HAM flight departs from Terminal 1. There are nice Terraces Lounges at T1, but the Moulton Brown Spa is at T4. So, if you want to go there (which I'd suggest with that much of a layover), when you get off the plane, you'll go through a security scrrening. Follow signs to T4 connections, rather than T1 connections. That will put you into the middle of T4. You can go to the lounge and spa complex for a couple of hours, then to transfer to T1. Ask the lounge agent how to get there staying airside.

SS255

That's a good idea. However, I may be traveling with an HP employee (who has to fly standby and may not be able to upgrade). When I checked the BA website it looks like only First, Club World & Executive Club gold members get access to the spa.

AZ Travels the World

That's correct. Same goes for the lounge (but for the lounge you can include BA Silver and One World Gold). Your airline employee friend might be able to get into the Terraces lounge with you by discretely showing his/her credentials -- sometimes those airline folks look after one another.

gar777

Welcome to the HP world and board, and enjoy the the royal ride!

Jet2K

SS255, you should definitely enjoy the NCW (New Club World) between LAX and LHR.

I am not sure of the load from LAX, but from SFO, I have been on several flights where there appear to be a decent chance to be operationally upgraded to BA F when they rolled the cabins forward due to oversell.

BA has three flights a day from LAX, operated by two different versions of their 747-400. Two of the flights are operated by the version with 38 NCW seats, and the other by the 70 NCW seat version. Of course, there are always possibility of equipment substitution.

If you have not already done so, you might want to check out the SeatExpert BA 747 seatmaps:

38 NCW seat version
70 NCW seat version

Rows 12-14 on the main deck, and the entire upper deck is the same for both versions, it probably is better to select seats in these rows to avoid problems due to equipment substitution.

As for miles, you could credit them to HP and get 25% class of service bonus, and the base miles are actually counted toward status on HP. On the other hand, you might seriously consider joining BA's Executive Club program, where this one trip would earn you about 18,000 BA miles:

- LAX - LHR - 5450 miles x 2, plus 50% class of service bonus = 16,350 miles.
- LHR - HAM - 450 miles x 2, plus 50% class of service bonus = 1,350 miles.

Keep in mind that BA miles is probably one of the most valuable of all FF programs, since you only need 25,000 miles to get confirmed round trip upgrades to the NCW business class between US and Europe.

SS255

Thanks, gar!

SS255

I'm in row 14 on the outbound, and row 61 on the return. It looked like row 14 was a mini-cabin, and I wanted to try that. I love being on the upper deck of the 747, so I decided to save that treat for the daytime flight.

I'm going to credit the miles to Flight Fund. I don't see too many other opportunities to fly BA for leisure, and if I fly them for business, my company pays for J, anyway!