I think it might be a little harder going forward now because the plane is changed to a 789 instead of the 772. Its down to 30 J seats from 37 in the 772.

I did LGA / DFW in September / October and was 3/4 for upgrades. I really thought it was a popular route but apparently not and I've cleared 100 hours for one of the flights. I am flying this route later in the year and fairly confident it will be upgraded. For me the hardest upgrades are JFK - SFO and I just booked a ticket yesterday for a trip in 2 weeks.

That's a good point, I had the 772

I love flying in Jan.....both my UPG's on LGA-ORD-LGA cleared at the window recently for my work trip. I'll be having the "beef filet" tomorrow night back to NYC. It has been hard to get ORD-LGA to clear anything but at the gate during Q3/Q4 in 2017.

What's the "easiest" route for J upgrade to LHR?
 

Hi all, I'll be traveling to London in October and have my choice of almost every hub to connect through (LAX, PHX, ORD, DFW, CLT). In your experience, what is my best choice for the easiest, or most likely, SWU upgrade to biz?

There are so many factors that go into predicting chances of clearing that it's hard to say definitively that one hub is better than others. That being said, I would probably generally pick ORD or JFK.

DFW has too many EXPs. PHL and CLT probably have a lot of EXPs, too, and the A330 only has 20 or 28 business class seats. LAX could be tough because it's a relatively longer flight, although the 77W does have more J seats, so that might be a close third in my book.

However, it's hard to say anything categorically here, so take what I've said with a grain of salt.

Thanks. Coming from PDX, so can't do JFK without making another stop, which isn't worth it. Appreciate the help :)

I'd go LAX. And if you can wiggle your dates, try a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Plus you get the longer flight, which makes it better to sleep. JFK-LHR is short enough that I'm still tired no matter whether in Y or J or F.

Really don't like Northeast US-LHR.....too short and no matter what cabin I'm in I still feel like crap the following day.

yes, we'll be going wed > wed. I also prefer the long LAX > LHR flights! More time in the bigger seat is always appreciated.

Agreed, which is why, generally speaking, I would say JFK-LHR is an easier upgrade than LAX-LHR. If we are talking about the best upgrade, of course LAX-LHR is more worth it. A Wednesday departure, however, might increase odds of a LAX-LHR clearing.

Since OP is not traveling until October (10 months away), and since there is no longer a benefit (at least in terms of upgrade chances) to book and request upgrades early, maybe OP should wait to book, unless the price is especially attractive at the moment. OP can between now and then monitor availability and book whichever route has C space open up. The chance of clearing an upgrade then becomes 100%.

I recently started a EF subscription and have a question for the mob. For intra-US flights, does one need to also wait for C space to be available to book into next class be it F/J on two class aircraft? Is there a forum/thread for EF DIY learning?
Thanks in advance.

This is probably your best bet. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...sk-thread.html

When you say for intra-US flights.... are you looking to use a SWU/miles-copay? If so, yes, it is C for Y to J and A from J to F. About a year ago, AA standardized their fare buckets.. so while it is called FIRST domestically, and BUSINESS internationally (for 2 class flights), they both use J for full fare, C for upgrade and U for milesaver awards.