BA F over AA F?

I really used to like BA F, but I'm wondering if its worth routing from the USA via YYZ to get to LHR using American ff points. Has the service and food really deteriorated or is it worth an extra connection to fly them to London? It looks like its a 777 now from YYZ and my preference has always been the 744.

well you're not gonna get a 744 on AA. I prefer BA F over AA F but YMMV

Personally, I wouldn't say BA's F has deteriorated any. It sometimes feels that way but I put that down to suffering by comparison. I've been on CX, and QF's A380 quite a bit over the last year and yes, sitting down in the BA F seat certainly feels like a comedown.

If you're asking whether you should go BA F versus AA F, the answer's easy. Flagship just looks tired, cheap and nasty these days. Service to match. The only time I ever take it is when burning a VIP.

On a completely objective level, BA F is years ahead of AA F. The seats are better, the food is better, the service is better, and the lounges are better.

Now, if you are flying from JFK, BOS, or even ORD to LHR, it is definitely not worth it to fly to YYZ to get to LHR. But if you are flying from the West coast, or if you were going to have to connect anyway to get to LHR, then I would absolutely fly to YYZ to fly BA F. A no brainer.

As one who has performed the "Toronto Shuffle" a number of times, I'd say that there still is a considerable difference in the overall products. BA wins on consistence of service excellence (AA service quality varies widely), lounge experiences (no contest), and better catering (wines, especially champagne, are much better on BA). The physical AA seat is a little better in that it swivels (VERY convenient); I consider the seats equal when in the bed configuration.

One caveat to keep in mind is that you must clear Canadian immigration in YYZ, manually transfer your checked bags, then re-clear security for your ongoing flights. It isn't an especially onerous process, however, sufficient time needs to be allowed - too many people encounter problems when trying to schedule the ongoing segment too close (time-wise) to the incoming arrival time.

AA will never come close to BA no matter how low they sink

Which VIP do you plan to burn next? Can we set up a Flyertalk poll. My vote is for Robert Peston. I'm sure there are vastly more deserving (or famous) cases, but most of them don't cross my radar unless someone points them out to me after they've left (most recent example being a friend who interrupted a conversation with me to say goodbye to Nicole Kidman on her way out of a restaurant). Whereas Robert Peston gets on my nerves daily to the point where I want to defenestrate the wireless.

Does AA qualify for the worst First Class product amongst the leading airlines?

Bit of an oxymoron then, no?

To be clear, I presume we are talking about transcontinental F? US domestic F (which I imagine also extends to flights to Canada etc.) is a quite different product and not a fair comparison.

I don't know the answer by the way, just trying to figure out the rules. Also not clear what counts as F. I suppose it has to be an airline that has a distinctive product over and above business class.

No, my vote would go to UA but it's a close-run thing.

After many years an AA EXP I have finally broken my addiction and moved on to other carriers. First in AA is so incredibly inconsistent that on some flights you would think you were in coach. I will never go back. I would be surprised if they even exist in five years.

AA's Flagship Suite is great for day flights - very adaptable and infinitely adjustable. I'm not a fan of all the hard plastic but that is a subjective call. As as bed, it is very comfortable too but sadly the bedding lets the product down badly.

BA's suite is marginally more compact but incredibly robust and despite its vintage still works tremendously well whether in seat or bed mode.

I am coming from the east, but will require one connection to use AA or two connections to use BA. Its doing two connections that makes me lean towards AA, plus the fact that I am connecting in LHR to another BA flight that leaves from T3, not T5. And AA arrives into T3...

I'm sure there's a Chris Evans joke in there somewhere.