IAD_flyer

Yes, as others have already said this is normal in the US domestic market. Most HNL demand is for leisure travel which means most customers are price sensitive. Many customers in the F cabin are using miles or upgrades. Most transcons outside of the NYC-LAX market do not offer flat beds as well. On the other hand US hard product domestic I consider to be better then EU hard product domestic. Enjoy Hawaii!

JDiver

Your JFK-LAX will be on an A321T, three class, with 1 X 1 suites in First, 2 X 2 horizontal flat seats in Business.

Your LAX-HNL flight will be on the A321H, the ETOPS version of the A321S, both two class plain vanilla Legacy American Airlines A321s. Superior seating to Club Europe, with 2 X 2 21" wide searing in domestic First with genuine legroom (38") rather than the awful A320 family 31" pitch 3 X 3 with blocked centre seat CE seating used by BA.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...awaii-lax.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html

Link to SeatGuru A321S/H seat diagram.

sosfo

Both TATL seat options are available for my trip and just wondering if the extra 12.5k miles (62.5k vs 50k) is worth the upgrade. Any opinions? I saw some threads about the 332 "envoy" being better than the 777 angle flat J but nothing on J vs F between the two aircraft. Is it really that big of a difference for F?

JDiver

AA 772 F is superior with a roomy suite with swiveling seat that turns into a spacious bed. The AVOD is somewhat archaic. For 12.5 k miles, IMO it's worth it.

Max M

Accurate, and agreed.

Plus access to the Flagship Lounges, and there are 4 fewer seats in the 772 F cabin than on the 332 J cabin.

Also one gets pajamas when one flies F on AA's 772.

sosfo

Thanks y'all!

no2chem

The old thread on AA vs LAN to SCL is closed on the old forum. From 2012, so they don't reflect new business on the 763.

Looking for a way to redeem to SCL. It looks like I have the following options for the dates I'm looking at:

LAN 767:
ORD-MEX-SCL with MEX-SCL on a LAN 767.
(BTW, does anyone know if this is permitted as a single award - ie 50k miles?)

AA 763:
ORD-MIA-SCL with both segments on 763 with retrofit J.
I've flown this once and found it to be pretty comfortable but no IFE. It was just JFK-MIA so they didn't pass out the tablets.

AA 788:
ORD-DFW-SCL with DFW-SCL on a 788.
This one requires that I actually pay for the flight and apply an SWU. Looks like there's C space on the days I want to go, miraculously.

AA 772:
ORD-MIA-SCL with MIA-SCL on a 772.
I would redeem in F for this one. Apparently AA has pajamas in F. Does anyone know if they do pajamas in J?...


The order I care about things: (1)lie-flat seat (2)IFE (3)service (4)food (5) routing

A 773 would be a no-brainer (I think), but I don't think connecting in GRU to get to SCL is an award option (or hmmmm maybe it is?).

taxicabnumber

GRU would require a double connect from ORD with AA miles, so even if it's a valid routing, not worth it IMO.

Never flown LAN, but I've never heard anyone mention how much they enjoyed connecting in MEX, so I'm not sure option 1 is a good idea...

Of ORD-MIA-SCL and ORD-DFW-SCL I'd do the 788 over the 763 in a heartbeat. Are you travelling solo?

ORD-MIA-SCL in 772 F vs. ORD-DFW-SCL in 788 J is a harder one -- do you need the EQMs? Do you have enough miles such that redeeming for F vs. J doesn't really matter? The 772 F seat > 788 J seat, but the 788's better pressurization has been pretty noticeable for me after longhauls. I would take the 788, but I also tend to try to use SWUs for AA premium cabin and miles for more aspirational premium cabins (CX/JL/EY/QF).

The only route that has pajamas in J is LAX-SYD as of now. The pajamas are reasonably nice -- a lot nicer than they were a couple years ago -- but I'm not sure I'd use that as a deciding factor.

So in sum I'd rule out the LAN 767 and AA 763 and decide whether you prefer the larger seat (772 F) or the better pressurization/wifi/better IFE screens (788), and I guess cash+SWU versus award. Food I can't imagine will be very different. Service might be better in AA F, but with the variability in AA crews -- some are amazing, some basically require me to get on bended knee and beg in order to get a refill of water -- I wouldn't bank on a guarantee of better service in F.

no2chem

Thanks for the detailed response. Traveling with my SO. I have plenty of miles to burn and it seems like it's going to be less and less likely that our schedules will be set enough that we'll be able to burn on CX F, for example before the end of March.

If LAN was connecting through say, JFK instead of MEX, would that change the picture? I realize you've never flown LAN, but maybe someone who has could chime in on this. In Europe, I realize that between AA and say, BA, one would probably choose AA (but it's kind of a wash), and in Asia, between AA and CX/JL it would be CX/JL hands down, so trying to get an idea of what the case is in South America..

flyingeph12

I recently booked LIM-SFO through MEX and DFW with LAN/AA. Not ideal, but possible to go through MEX as far as I am aware.

I agree with taxicabnumber that I would probably go with the 788 through DFW, although 772 F through MIA is not a bad option if you are looking to use points. The best options would have been to use LAN through JFK or LAX (the through flight that stops in LIM), but I assume those flights are not available on your dates.

Note that if you can position to YYZ, J fares to SCL are ~US$2000, and you can route through DFW or potentially use LAN. May be worth the double EQM and the bonus RDM.

flyingeph12

Certainly. I would choose LAN on the 789/788 over AA 788. The seat is better, especially if your traveling with your SO, and the food/wine is better.

Besides JFK and MIA, I'd check LAX too.

no2chem

Yeah, unfortunately the one day that is open JFK-LIM-SCL is only showing one award seat...

no2chem

Hmm also one point: if the AA 788 were not an option,
would you choose the AA 772 or AA 763?

flyingeph12

I think the 772 in F is worth the extra 12.5k miles. If it were between 772 or 763 in J, definitely the 763.

smilinganddialing

Thanks again everyone for your advice. Did AA old Flagship F on the 777-200 and was very happy with the flight. Excellent crew. Halibut was great. Dessert was wonderful. Managed to sleep for 4.5 hours.

It took a while to figure out how to face each other but was fun to dine that way.