Yesterday, I booked two tickets from LAX to CDG for next April. One ticket was cash and the other ticket I paid for with miles. I was able to avoid LHR on both the outbound and on the return. The outbound is LAX to DFW to CDG and the return is CDG to JFK to LAX. There were many itineraries through LHR using BA from London to Paris but also many itineraries that avoided LHR altogether. I avoided connecting through ORD or PHL because I really don't like the J seating on the 788. Using DFW on the outbound gave me the 789 from DFW to CDG. Connecting through JFK on the return gave me the 772. I chose seats 2D and 2H on this flight so that we will have forward facing seats whether we end up with the Super Diamond or the Zodiac seats.