Originally Posted by
anabolism
If the goal is enjoy true F on a three-class international flight, I'd suggest that JFK-LHR is far too short a flight. LAX would be ideal, but it can be very hard to find F award space on AA.
Agreed, but as mentioned, LAX-LHR is not an easy route to find award space on. JFK-LHR is
much easier, though there is a 738 transcon going SEA-JFK which isn't all that. I could see doing LAX/SFO-JFK-LHR and getting nap time in on both F flights and just buying a cheap AS positioning flight if the point is to really "maximize" F.
Personally it might be an argument to just eat the YQ to fly BA SEA-LHR, if the OP simply MUST fly first class and doesn't want a ton of connections. Given that the premium is really modest for North Asia F (120k) over North Asia C (110k)... and North Asia F gets you CX and JL F...
One other alternative:
start in YVR and connect YVR-JFK(CX F)-LHR(AA F)-DUB(BA "C")
stopover in DUB, fly around Europe on separate tickets
DUB(BA "C")-LHR-HKG-NRT(CX F) or LHR-HND/NRT (JL F)
NRT-LAX(JL F)-YVR(AA domestic F) (you don't want the YVR nonstop because it's C/Y).
Keeps your YQ minimal and gets you the most time on the nicest OW carriers (CX and JL). The problem is that CX flight YVR-HKG is a redeye getting you into JFK at around 2:30 AM West Coast time. Ugh.
Originally Posted by
anabolism
starting from ORD or DFW shift the longest point to be Asia?
Ding ding ding, we have a winner.
NRT is pretty much going to be closer to the West Coast of the North America than most of Europe. The only way around that is flying midcon or East Coast. Allowing TPAC and TATL from the USA to Asia is a hangover from before the US-HP merger when the US customer base was all East Coast...