ElmhurstNick

I'm trying to set up a business trip to Europe in September with a little vacation. It'll be a paid C ticket, so I have the some questions for the group (tried searching to no avail):

If I can use a 10EE award, I will upgrade to F on the 8:55pm ORD-LHR flight and fly ORD-LHR-CPH eastbound on AA/BA. If not, I will try to change at Manchester or Brussels instead.

Questions:

1. Which seat for a solo traveller on the 777 in F? I usually take an aisle, but I've seen something about a 1-2-1 configuration so I'm confused.

2. How do I know which type of F seats are on my particular 777?

3. Which do you think is better business class (priority is seat comfort, then entertainment, then meals) - 777 or 767? If it's the 777, is the difference significant enough to endure transferring at LHR?

SJC AA

I just did business class on a 777 ORD-LHR and a 763 CDG-JFK. The 777 seat is a couple inches wider, and has a couple inches more legroom, but there are middle seats (which I was in, and I felt trapped when the people on either side were sleeping and I had to go to the bathroom.)

The in-seat TV on the 777 is nice, but the portable DVD player on the 763 is nicer, since they give you about 20 movies and you can start and stop them whenever you want.

If you're a very wide person, I'd go with the 777. If you are picky about movies, go with the 763. Otherwise it's a toss-up. Just try not to get stuck in the middle seat on a 777.

ElmhurstNick

Thanks for the comparison. While I do qualify as having extra width, I'm pretty comfortable in a 763 C seat width-wise - it only gets annoying if the person in front of me reclines completely.

I think it's going to work out perfectly. Extra width on the 777 for ORD-LHR and maybe the 10EE upgrade to F (the seat map shows 2-2-2 so I guess those are the older F seats). Then a DVD festival on the way back on BRU-ORD on the 763, which will be fine as long as I get the bulkhead.

TexasPT

One other thing to consider ... AA is starting the "more legroom" program in business class now. I flew to GIG (Rio de Janeiro) last week from DFW via MIA, and the 777 between DFW-MIA had extra legroom in business. It was *way* better than the 763 from MIA-GIG. My return flight from GRU (Sao Paulo) was on an MD-11, which is my favorite business class in AA's fleet. The brown seats are way more comfortable, in my opinion, plus you get a personal DVD player.

falcon

Currently the American 777 fleet is configured in three rows of 2-2-2. The seats recline flat and the legrest fully extends, but they are not the "suite" setup that you find on BA or SQ.

There are plans to reconfigure the 777s to have a new Flagship Suite. These would be in a 1-2-1 configuration, and the seats would swivel into three positions (take-off, sleep, and work). This would be just like BA and SQ, when you recline the legrest joins an ottoman or form a "bed".

I doubt that this new set-up will be aboard by your trip next month, but I might be wrong.

AA's 777s in Business Class have the new blue seats in a 2-3-2 configuration, so be warned of the dreaded middle seat. You will be guaranteed the new blue seat. As mentioned, AA is adding legroom in Business Class, but I don't know what the timetable is.

AA's 767s have no middle seat, and you might have the new blue seats, might have the older brown skeepskin ones. I've talked to people who prefer one or the other, but I like the blue, and am not too fond of the older sheepskins. Again, I don't know what the timetable is for more legroom.

I hope this helps!

falcon

The Flagship Suites began rolling out in August, so you might have a change. I seem to recall that they are puting these in Latin American runs first, tho I might not be correct. You will not be guaranteed a new suite until August 01. See: http://www.im.aa.com/American?BV_Operation=Dyn_AAPage&referer=index.htm l&form%25referrer_site=None[/b]

falcon

This is the press release and related thread on the More Room in Biz Class, but there is no mention of a timetable, except that it will be completed by 4Q 2001. See: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/000503/tx_america_2.html and http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum71/HTML/000927.html

Also see: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum71/HTML/000837.html