kegan5

I'm having to make a last minute change to my trip next week which is turning into a gazillion searches on NYC based airports to try and make my decision.

I currently have a return flight from BUR to Atlanta booked.

The change involves a trip to Manhattan(NYC) in the middle of the above already booked flights.

Flying into NYC seems fairly straight forward using BA miles from ATL to LGA.

The return flight however I seem to be spinning in circles with the following options.

- A direct from JFK to LAX (economy) - has anyone flown this leg ? What are security queues like in JFK for a 9pm flight ? - This flight only has economy as an option.

- A connecting flight: LGA to CMH / CMH to LAX - is LGA any easier to fly from than JFK in terms of security lines etc ? Would CMH require going through security again ? - it's possible to take a first class seat on this, however it would require paying an extra £120 approx to purchase a few extra miles... would it be worth it ?

- Flight back to Atlanta on AA to take my original flight on Southwest home. I'm keeping this on the back burner, it feels like a waste of a flight to be honest but I've thrown it in here just in case (I would rather cancel this leg and keep the credit).

In terms of credit above I did look at using it towards a new flight on Southwest from NYC to LAX, flights are around $300 so would cost $150 minus the credit from previous flight... In this case I would be comparing a southwest flight to AA Economy (AA would cost approx $3.00 with miles).

I'd really appreciate any ones input in this, I've flown in and out of JFK on international flights from UK and during holidays so my idea of JFK is quite hellish with long immigration queues, I've not done a domestic flight from there in years.

I am also considering paying for the flight outside of using miles on other airlines but have yet to find anything worthwhile.

Thank You

EDIT: I forgot to add, with the direct JFK to LAX or the connecting flight at CMH... is 6 hours a long time to be on a flight ? I've flown BA internationally, no idea how AA domestic flights compare in terms of seat spacing and entertainment.

If the direct flight is cramped, would CMH be advisable given that each leg is approx 3 hours with the change in between ?

FlyerChrisK

61 times... 40 times on AA... 15 times on AA185 (the 9PM'sh departure) in the last 2.5 years.

Minimal.

Both airports are going to be pretty easy late at night. LGA-CMH might require an earlier departure and thus there might be more people going to security when you're flying. If you have business in the city to take care of, the 9PM departure out of JFK is almost certainly going to be preferable to say a 6PM departure out of LGA, no matter how much faster the lines at LGA might be.

Why would it? It's AA to AA.

Paying for first on a 479 mile regional jet flight seems like a waste. As two-cabin F flights on AA price out as the same as a three-cabin F flight, you'd be better off booking JFK-LAX in Y and holding out for J/F availability. JFK-LAX is of far higher quality than a regional jet plus an ordinary domestic flight.

On BA or AA? BA flies out of a different terminal (T7) than AA and has much worse lines.

A regional jet (for LGA-CMH) will be worse than any of your options.

No. CMH is not a hub and if there is the slightest bit of IRROPS, you might wind up stuck there for a while if you wind up misconnecting.

kegan5

Really appreciate your response

I wasn't sure if AA might use more than one terminal or require passengers to leave an airport before going to another gate.


I was referring to lines for AA flights, you already answered this elsewhere though


Thanks again

Paul1976NJ

I was going to respond in detail to your message (as I live in NYC and use LGA and JFK all the time), but FlyerChrisK's response was exactly the same as I was going to give on pretty much all points, so no need. Just want you to know that as someone who lives here and uses those airports all the time, I concur completely with what he said.

Take the nonstop JFK-LAX (AA 185). If an F/J seat happens to open up, it would definitely be worth using miles for. It's a rather miserable flight in economy but great in F/J -- more like an international flight than domestic (except the 9pm flight has reduced meal service due to the late hour, which I've always thought was stupid). Can't beat its late departure and nonstop, though. It's listed as 6 hours, but flying time is usually a bit shorter than that.

kegan5

Thanks, I managed to book the ATL - NYC leg of this but when I went to do the JFK to LAX leg the only reward availability now is in economy.

With that in mind, would that change anything in terms of that flight ? Taking alternatives ?

bhomburg

Do you have any status on BA (bronze will do)? If yes, you can reserve the exit row (20) in advance, which makes this 5.5-hour flight in Economy tolerable.
AA uses 762s for this flight which do not have MCE extra legroom seating unfortunately.

seawolf

JFK-LAX in Y is not miserable. LGA-CMH-LAX is miserable.

kegan5

Thanks, looks like row 20 is unavailable on the AA seat map... not sure if it's blocked or booked though, I'll keep an eye on it