Mats

I know that the American First Class vs BA first class is debated and discussed at length. There is no shortage of opinions. I feel like I'm doomed regardless of which carrier I fly

Right now, I have award flights in May on American. The tranatlantic flights are LAX-Heathrow and Heathrow-DFW, both in first class, both in 2A, both on the 777-300.

There is almost no availability for Z seats on the way back (14 May). The only options on aa.com are Heathrow-Boston, stay overnight, then fly Boston-XXX-Tucson the next day. Seems like a bad idea. I checked britishairways.com and expertflyer and didn't see anything, but I'm not much of a whiz at this.

I have only Gold status on American.

I do think BA would be nice on the way back: Terminal 5 would be nicer than Terminal 3 (I'm staying at the Sofitel the night before), I've not flown BA in First Class, and they don't have crazy town security like American. I'll be on vacation so WiFi isn't really of concern, and I am willing to pay the extortionate YQ tax as long as it is for one way.

I figured it's not worth it on the way out: I'm meeting a friend in LA, the Flagship lounge in LA is very nice, and the lounge in Phoenix is a dump.

I wondered if BA was like United and Lufthansa: they release the first class inventory two weeks prior to departure (I did that earlier this month).

Let me know if you have thoughts or suggestions. I always appreciate it.

3Cforme

Set ExpertFlyer award alerts for the BA flights/cabins you want and any acceptable alternatives.

Mats

Indeed. I have those set up. I just didn't know if that was wishful thinking

JJeffrey

BA definitely can open up seats as the flight gets closer, although there's no real pattern (or policy) like the LH/UA 2 week window you mention above. If F stays open, then seats could drop in to award availability at any time before then.

It sounds like you've already scored great flights both ways in F on AA on the 77W, personally I wouldn't waste your money on the fuel surcharges for BA F, and certainly not if it involved an overnight connection or convoluted routing. T3 is much better now (you can use the CX F lounge or QF lounge) and the security questions are largely a non-issue.

mvoight

I must be missing something.
What is wrong with the current booking?

869

It's on American Airlines?

JDiver

The only BA First seats I think might be worth it are on the A380. To make a play on a motto, as to First on BA “if it’s Boeing, I ain’t going” to spend more miles and YQ surcharges.

Mats

Wow! Thank you all for such speedy and thoughtful responses.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for an A380 via ExpertFlyer (maybe a Dreamliner), but I won't otherwise fuss with it.
@869, yes, the current booking is on American. My fear was mostly of bitter, angry crews and lousy food. I'm not entirely sold that BA would be better, hence the notion of taking AA on the way over; BA on the way back.

sdsearch

Is it worth many hundreds of dollars extra (in YQ fees) to see if BA is a little better?

Meanwhile, I'm not sure if you'll be comparing apples to apples. The food, especially, could be different depending on which end it's loaded. Ie, AA food flying out of LHR could be different than AA food flying out of LAX (especially recently ) or DFW, and same with BA. Neither airline is likely to have the same food suppliers worldwide.

And you're also assuming a consistency which I'm not sure is warranted for either of these airlines. One flight is not necessarily a valid sample size, I would think. You wouldn't be able to tell if you had an average flight, a better-than-normal flight, or a worse-than-flight for that airline.

Meanwhile, why first if you fear angry crews? You'll have less interaction with any angry crews in business class.

Amil

I've had great luck with last minute BA and Cathay F and J openings

eponymous_coward

I am not sure I would characterize AA F as a bad option if you have it already. There are trip reports that would definitely consider AA F as the superior option to and from LHR.

Thanksgiving on the Cornish Coast with the Poldarks via American First Class

Here's a comparison by the same TR author, SFO777:

New Years in Rome and Malta via Lufthansa and BA First Class

I recently flew AA F HKG-LAX with a really outstanding, friendly crew that I went out of my way to get positive feedback to AA on. AA's catering is not amazing but it fit the bill (the wines and champagne were solid), and the 77W is as good as you're going to get in terms of personal space on an F trip to Europe. I'd have a hard time paying extra cash out of pocket for BA F on an award if AA F was available given my recent experience, all things being equal (the proviso being that IF the flight timings were better on BA.. and I got the A380... well, maybe).

dantheflyingman

If you're in true first class on the 773 both directions, I'd stay with American. While the soft product is...uneven (as you are aware), the hard product is hard to beat. I recently flew in business class on the 773 from DFW to Hong Kong and the hard product was excellent (the soft product happened to be fantastic as well - the crew was extremely professional and responsive).

cowboywill2112

I concur... T3 lounge options have improved immensely. BA award surcharges are extortionate. I prefer AA, Iberia or Finnair (requires transit via Madrid and Helsinki respectively).

Stripe

I flew RT in BA F on the A380 from LAX-LHR and can certainly recommend it. Mine was a paid ticket so there were no YQ surcharge differences between the carriers. I chose BA over AA because BA will always have an F cabin. AA is prone to swap equipment and you may find yourself on the day of departure in a decidedly inferior 772 business class seat on AA. Also, there are stories of folks with AA F award tickets suddenly losing their F seats even when there is no aircraft change.

I had excellent service and food in BA F in both directions, but I have also had consistently good service in AA F too. To me, T3 and T5 are a tossup unless you're connecting to a BA flight in T5. Then it can make a big difference. If you're flying out of LHR in BA F (or connecting there from BA F) you can use the Concorde Room. It has some nice features, like the cabana rooms, which are great after arrival, but otherwise nothing special IMO.

ryan182

As others have mentioned they might but I have found they don't open it up as regularly as LH or UA does. Also having flown BA F and AA F out of LHR I'd stick with the AA flights, BA F isn't that special and as far as F products go is far from being one of the best out there and the 77W AA F seats are pretty nice. When you add in the fact that its ~$500 per passenger in YQ charges you're basically paying $1000 for CCR and First Wing - neither of which are worth anything near that. The food/wine on BA F isn't better than AA IMO and neither are their seats, I'd stick with what you have personally. Also for lounges the CX and now QF lounges in T3 are quite nice and make the lack of CCR access moot.