Originally Posted by
lizzy queen of the conference room
Maybe the better question is...What alliance is the best for me?
You don't mention your primary destination in Africa but your profile implies Nairobi...is that correct?
If so, you take DL to AMS or CDG and then KQ to NBO?
If you have to maximize your time on a US carrier and want one stop then United Dulles to Zurich and then Swiss to Nairobi is probably the next best choice as it is daily and the connections relatively short. SWUs that 1Ks get could upgrade your transatlantic flight on UA.
CO alternative would be DCA-EWR-ZRH then Swiss to NBO, or via Brussels then SN Brussels to NBO. CO just started to give its top tier elites SWUs.
Both UA and CO are in the process of upgrading their biz seats to fully flat.
The oneworld choice would be AA DCA-JFK-LHR then BA to NBO. AA also has SWUs that can be used transatlantic.
As a NYer who travels to DC often, I can't imagine that the trek to Dulles could be worse than the hassles of transiting through EWR or JFK.