enviroian

Well I have the window rear facing seat. I don't know if that seat is indigenous to a particular type of aircraft BA flies, but it looks like a 77W gets on that route often.

cmd320

They're both so variable that it's hard to say. My general opinion is that for F I'd take BA over AA 100% of the time.

For J, my preference would be:

AA 77W J > BA CW > all other AA J

With that said, since it seems like you're just buying J class, are you particularly attached to oneworld? If not, I'd probably choose NZ on this particular route if the times work for you.

enviroian

Award ticket, saver business. Only BA was available.

carlosdca

Well, it depends!

**Solo traveler vs couple

For a solo traveler, I'd definitely give the edge to AA 77W because of the seat.
The seat is where you will spend most of your travel time.
(Airport terminals and ease of connection bare minimum importance in this AA vs BA comparison, IMO)

For a couple, I am not so sure. The middle seats in the lower deck of BA380 provide great intimacy and allows a couple share the experience.

AA 77W seats is bad for couples to interact during the flight, none pair of seats gives the perfect solution (Yes, I know some of you are not joined by the hip with your SO)

**Price
-I wouldn't pay a premium to fly AA77W over BA380.
-If the ticket is with miles, well, then you won't have much choice due to availability, but with AA you avoid a hefty surcharge fee.
-If it is paid J, I would see if there is something else better with other airline. Maybe Swiss? Lufthansa A 380? Swiss sometimes is $1000 less than AA/BA. That's a no brainer for me.

hiima

I think he was talking about OP.

And BA F> AA F>AA 77W J> BA J= AA lie flat Js> any angle flat Js

Flip42

What's the drill? How long can one wait?

Maybe stupid questions but in a few weeks I'm flying LHR-JFK with AA for the first time (in J, if that's of any relevance).

brp

We try to target to get there maybe 35-40 minutes before departure and that usually hits toward the beginning of boarding. Sometimes they board later and we hang, but not often.

Also, we now answer our "security" questions at the gate (and not the little room in Flight Connections) so we need a little more time. Since no one does it there, it adds like a minute, but I allow more.

Cheers.

sdix

Hopefully it stays a 77W

JDiver

I think LAX-LHR would be one of the safer 77W routes.

golfmad

The general consensus on the BA forum on this topic (which comes up quite frequently) is pretty much identical to the advice given here on the AA forum. The AA 77W J product trumps the BA J product. If you've read otherwise on the BA forum it would be interesting if you would point me to it.

JDiver

Really? CW specifically blows away 77W J? I can't imagine anyone other than someone with a bit of a BA chauvinistic or masochistic streak saying that.

I've flown plenty of both, and I'd never, ever imagine how CW in its current guide could be nearly as comfortable as the 77W J product.

golfmad

From everything I've read over at the BA forum that is the general view there too.

Geordie405

You mean the BA <redacted> on the BAEC forum? There are a lot of very entrenched opinions over there.

My take on this (as a loyal BA traveller who now lives in the US and flies a lot with AA) is that I would prefer the AA hard product on the 77W to the BA Club product on their 777. However, if I was flying on a 747 and could get seats on the upper deck then I would probably take that option as I do like the intimacy of the cabin and there are a few seats where you don't have to step over people.

I find the food generally slightly better on AA than BA but the wines tend to be better with BA. Service can be hit and miss with both, but I find that AA tends to be slightly harsher / colder / more perfunctory than BA. You certainly have more chance of multiple PDBs on BA though. I assume that the AA 77W still has in-flight Wi-Fi for the whole journey? That might be something to factor in as well.

One thing that I would emphasise, however, is that whether you're in BA or AA business class you're going to have a much better flight than the majority of the passengers who are down the back. I think a lot of people forget that. Flying in coach / economy is still the norm for the vast majority of passengers and there is a significant difference between coach and business, irrespective of whether you're with AA or BA. Relax, sit back and enjoy the flight would be my advice

golfmad

We're talking specifically here about the AA 77W compared to BA Club World. Would you care to reference a thread in the BA forum where someone actually suggests BA Club World is superior to the AA 77W?

Flip42

Thanks a lot.