Originally Posted by
ZZYZXROAD
A few more things that make harder decision for me.
Kids and wife would love lie flat and BisFirst seats and may never have option again. Getting harder and harder to find saver these days. The very long travel day mixed cabin vs. the straight shot E+ trip?
How old are the kids?
I find, even when flying alone, east coast-LHR is too short a flight to really "enjoy" BF. The time in the air is short, and even if I express dine (where you're not getting the best of service), I don't have long enough to sleep/metabolize an ambien. By the time I get to LHR, I'm not more rested than if I'd slept in coach, especially on a longer flight.
Personally, I'd do the nonstop and save the miles for a future trip with the wife, perhaps to book on a *A carrier with a really good J on a longer segment. The kids can go earn their own miles; our job as parents is to make sure they're citizens of the world, and maybe pass on a love of travel for travel's sake, not to make them too comfortable while we're doing it.