Rigmutt

Mrs. Rigmutt and I are travelling JFK-CDG in October, and currently were able to secure bus class award seats on Swissair (through Zurich).

This will be our first transatl trip in J, so we are unfamiliar with the service and seating differences btwn AA and Swiss. Is one superior to the other?

In other words, if AA availability opens up in J to CDG, would it be worth switching to AA because of the non-stop flight? Or is the Swiss experience superior?

Thanks,
Rigmutt

JDiver

I've not flown Swiss in J, so can't comment on that part... but yet another option is flying to BRU on AA J, then taking the Thalys (link) high-speed train to Paris (a couple of these even code-share with AA!) You then avoid CDG and its problems right now, and arrive at Gare du Nord in Paris.

hillrider

> Post corrected to add new info on A330; see two posts down for new message

Rigmutt

Yikes--just looked at the aircraft on AA.com. (Turns out I was mistaken--current routing is through Geneva.) Scheduled on a "332" aircraft, which I guess does NOT have the flat seats.

This is really not good news, because we are now considering a layover in Geneva for a couple of days, so LX is basically our only option.

Thanks for the info.

JDiver

LX JFK - ZRH shows an Airbus A330-223 in service. That may influence your decision, based on hillrider's information.

luxurytravelsource.com says, about LX Business, "On long-haul flights, Business Class seats offer lower back support and leg rest angle and length adjustment. The headrest position, height and side flaps are also fully adjustable. And on the new Airbus A330, most of these adjustments are electrically operated. You'll run out of work before you run out of steam. Swissair Business Class seats will soon be equipped with a power source for your laptop. All you'll need is an adapter cable for a hypertronic socket."

Hypertronic socket??? How about some POWER...

hillrider

OK, so I am correcting myself. The M11 is the only plane with the old 48" pitch seats according to http://www.swiss.com/web/IE6/about-s...c-comfort.htm/

To recap, their A340 has lie-flat J seats (at an angle of 13°), the A330 has modern seats with 55" pitch, and the M11 (which is being phased out) still has real old seats with a cramped 48" pitch.

So the answer would be based on what plane you would be flying. On the A340, definitely go with LX (I'll be trying it myself on LAX-ZRH in August). On the A330, probably so (seats are electric so should be of the more comfortable type than AA's making up for 5" less pitch, and service should be better). On the M11, avoid it!!

BTW, the A340 has "an under-nose camera which enables take-offs and landings to be seen from an unusual perspective. During the flight, pictures of the landscapes being seen will also be displayed."

You may want to post something on the Swiss forum as well.

francophile

Another thing you might want to consider, if J seat comfort is important to you is to fly

ORD-YYZ/YUL on AA
YYZ-/YUL-LHR on BA
LHR-CDG on BA

It's a double connection, but you do get to visit a pair of very nice lounges, specifically, the BA arrivals lounge as well as the BA Terraces at LHR T4.

Since one would arrive at LHR in the morning, one could take the Heathrow Express or Tube into central London, spend an entire afternoon there, and then head back to LHR and take the evening flight to CDG.

JDiver

Hmm, If I were to spend the day in LON, I'd take the Eurostar from Victoria Station to Gare du Nord in Paris and not return to LHR (unless there is a luggage issue.) Less than three hours...

Mind you, if the nonstop J opens up, the fewer hassles, the better, by far. And I don't object at all to AA's J seats, especially after one has flown in, say, EI...

wideman

I would take the non-stop, even with AA's sub-par J seats. On the plus side, AA's arrivals lounge in CDG does give you a chance to shower and generally refresh yourself after the crummy overnight flight.

If getting a decent night's sleep is important to you, you would do well to consider taking the morning JFK-LHR flight on AA, staying overnight at one of the LHR hotels, then taking a BA flight to Paris in the morning. Yes, I understand that it costs some time, but you will get to Paris feeling rested.

EXP_Cougar

I've flown Swiss F trans-atlantic and J within Europe a few times. Have no hesitation in reccomending their product! It was a great experience for me each and every time.

Rigmutt

Thanks everyone. Sounds like we can't go too far wrong in Swiss J, since these flights avoid the *really* small seats. Plus, there is no availability on AA right now anyway.

We are probably going to spend a couple of days in Geneva, so the Swiss itinerary makes sense. But thanks for the creative routing through Canada, because I had not thought of that!