sombrachinesca

Realizing that it is individual opinion and very subjective, I'd appreciate any input you might have about the relative merits of AA 61 (DFW-NRT) vs. AA 153 (ORD-NRT) in first class.

Timing is about the same and for my dates (early March), price and F availability are the same. (I am looking at AA, not JL, in order to use an eVIP).

Any significant differences in crew, meals, etc...?


Thanks-
Bill

SAN_Finn

ORD has a better lounge. You don't mention where you are originating from, I think that would be the deciding factor

If its still the old 772 at that time the interiors are tired. Just flew HKG-DFW and then DFW-NRT both in first on AA and the difference between new and old is huge.

bdemaria

Are either on the 77W (777-300)? If so, definitely book the 777-300.

If both are the 777-200, then its pretty much the same so I wouldn't say there's a really significant difference in the flights. At ORD you have a Flagship Lounge but not at DFW. But in early March the chance of ORD-weather delays is probably a bit greater than DFW.

Ultimately I'd choose based on the amount of time I have for my connection, what time I'd have to leave the house that day, etc...

drron

We prefer the DFW crews in F.
But flagship lounge in ORD.
So do you prefer a better crew or a better lounge?

Pinned

I try to avoid ORD in the winter, personally. It can be a total mess, especially if you're relying on a regional jet to get you to ORD. I would choose DFW.

Exec_Plat

Agree with other inputs.

Do you mean both options have A availability? not "F"

Looks wide open for both- appears to be older 777s.

Is there a chance AA will replace with 77W by the time you fly? Which route? Chose that.

abk

As for dfw, if you have access to the Amex lounge than I would definitely go with dfw. That lounge puts the flagship lounge to shame. Also, I just read in another thread that the old flagship is closed on Saturday.

ty97

One other consideration, in case you are trying to maximize miles for requalification, is that transiting via DFW results in more miles. Using PIT as an origin:

PIT-ORD-NRT nets 6774 EQM each way (including 500 mile minimum on PIT-ORD)

PIT-DFW-NRT nets 7495 EQM each way

Ceasy

Since you're using an SWU, assume you're upgrading from paid J. In that case, forget about the notion of F and take JAL J through ORD. Just did a RT last week ORD-NRT-ORD in JAL J on he outbound and AA F on the return (also an SWU upgrade).

No question that JAL J is better than AA F. Seat is just as good (choose an outside aisle to get a nice storage area), food is miles better and service is a leap year ahead.

UNITED959

While the soft product is better on JAL, as clunky as the AA F suites are getting on the 777s, they are still noticeably wider than JAL J. For people who value sleep over food (like me), I'd probably take AA F over JAL J (assuming the price is the same).

ktakahashi

+1 here. Flew to NRT in F and it was really beat up. I do love the space in the suite but it isn't anything to write home about. As long as I can go horizontal, I'm pretty happy. I tend to sleep in shifts so I value the awake experience.

YMMV ...

flatlander

I was in F on a 772 recently from LHR to ORD and found the seat extremely uncomfortable, because while the back had a central soft section, the framing around and above this was very hard, so being fairly tall (185cm) my shoulders were on the hard section. I was distinctly disappointed. It's been a while since I was in AA F and I don't recall the seats being this awful, so maybe a one-off. All other seats were full, the last 3 taken by 3 off-duty cabin crew, so no chance to compare another seat. I think the NGBC J seat in the same aircraft would have been more comfortable but I couldn't be bothered to press the issue.

Also the service was completely like mediocre business class, in particular "eat when you like" was not at all true. At least last time on AA F the service was mostly F-like.

Overall it was crappy even by my diminished expectations. Beware if you're tall. Also beware that the power in the 772 is DC cigarette-lighter socket and the on-board mains inverters are too puny to power even a small laptop. Bring your own inverter or power cable if you care about power.

I haven't tried JAL J long-haul but if the service and product is even a fraction of the F experience, go for it.

FWAAA

It may be crappy, but it is NOT EmPower. No AA aircraft has ever featured EmPower DC outlets.

Instead, AA went with cigarette-lighter style 15v DC plugs, identical to the ones found in every automobile. And yes, the outlets are limited to 75w, so power-hungry laptop chargers might exceed that limit.

flatlander

You're right, sorry about that. I'll fix my post.

The AA inverters can't even handle the outlet limit; a 40W laptop charger overloaded them, while my own (Radio Shack) inverter in the AA power sockets has handled the same laptop fine. I just forgot to pack my own inverter this time, the first time in some time I have run into DC power in an aircraft.