enviroian

I'm flying there over Thanksgiving.

DFW - LHR on AA
LHR- BCN on BA

saver J.

Coming back bcn-mad-ord-dfw all IB saver J

Gig103

That is a fun route idea and definitely would be up there for 'best biz experience'. I checked Matrix and found 0600 LAX-JFK, connecting to 1740 JFK-BCN.

There is one small complication though; with that early time, OP would need to go PHX-LAX the night before and I don't know if that can be accomplished on a single ticket. I have no issues going the night before (I usually find better J fares out of LAX that way), but I don't know if OP would want to. Plus, it isn't exactly cheaper, and it is adding a second stop just to avoid PHX-ORD in domestic F.

cynicAAl

I'd do PHX-LAX-LHR-BCN to maximize your time on a 773 with a bed on a 10.5 hour overnight flight.

teemuflyer

Given that this is FT, I'm surprised that no one has mentioned a PHX-LAX-HKG-LHR-BCN routing. Practical, no, good value, no, but a lot of business class flying and lounging

PUCCI GALORE

Actually I'd avoid LHR with AA only because of the Terminal change at LHR. What works best for me is to take the latest flight possible as then I do sleep as it is the "normal" time that I would get to bed. Connecting a T5 means that I could be in BCN fairly late on in the day and thus go to bed properly. As someone said it is a matter of taste. For me getting the direct flight to LHR from PHX and a two hour connection to BCN is the best. I am not sure what Business Experience means - inter-Europe would mean Club Europe which is not Business Seating in the US sense but for 90 minutes or so I'd do that. The thought of traipsing around ORD or DFW with all the possiblity of missed connections does not appeal to me

taxicabnumber

Actually, LHR-BCN leaves out of Heathrow T3, not T5. So there is no terminal change necessary with AA-BA in this case.

PUCCI GALORE

You are absolutely correct - I'd forgotten that and there was me having arrived at T3 from BCN but the other day.

enviroian

I had no idea and thought I'd have to shuffle it over to 5.

well I've never connected at LHR in my life I hope it's not a big deal. I have 5 hours to kill before my BCN flight. Do I clear customs and immigration then go through security again and start all over?

teemuflyer

You'll be fine. You do not need to clear immigration, just follow the connecting flights signs. The good news is that as an AA EXP, T3 has the best selection of lounges to check out during a long layover. It has 3 F Lounges (AA, BA, and CX) as well as the QF lounge. The CX F Lounge is very favorably reviewed by many, although I haven't had a chance to check it out yet personally. BA has a champagne bar of sorts, which is nice.

enviroian

oh, cool thanks for the info. I normally use the AA lounge in 3 for my departing flight back to the USA. I've never tried the CX lounge and will give it a try. A shower will be very welcome.

talltoddtravels

Not sure when you are looking at going, however PHX-LHR on AA metal (772) might be best when it starts next March, crap lounges in PHX and good ones in LHR on the layover to BCN.

carlosdca

The T3-T5 transfer is not the end of the world, IMO.
With enough connection time, the T3-T5 bus ride has never bothered me and I don't consider it a reason to avoid LHR on AA-BA itineraries.
Personal preferences.

Not that it matters in this case since it would be a T3-T3 connection

PUCCI GALORE

In fairness, I am prejudiced against them. I arrived a couple of months ago on AA 134 (I think) from LAX. After a day of cancellations and delays with no explanations, we were then stuck on this enormous 777 in J. Like a fool, I agreed when I should have asked to be put on a BA flight. I don't care about seats and hard products, but I'm very hot on service. The crew on our flight were geriatric and more detached and lacklustre than I have ever known. We arrived and had to wait for our gate as the taxiways were clogged. Again, in fairness we were told to avoid all queues and get on the bus immediately to T5. There, of course, despite being on an aircraft for 10 hours, we had to go through security yet again. We made our flight to CDG simply because it was delayed by 15 minutes or so.

Thus I may not be the best judge, but I'd avoid it when possible.

taxicabnumber

The way to properly do T3 is --

1. One or two G&Ts at the gin bar in the QF lounge
2. Sit-down dining in the CX F lounge (although the noodle bar here is terrible - way worse than other CX noodle bars - at least based on the 5-6x I've done it. I'm apparently not a very good Bayesian...)
3. More sit-down dining in the AA flagship lounge (it's surprisingly good, especially for AA!)
4. Back to QF for more G&Ts
5. Avoid the rubbish BA T3 lounge
6. Board plane

teemuflyer

In defense of the BA F Lounge, it probably has the best alcohol selection of all the lounges, with Johnnie Walker Blue and other high end spirits available. The wines might be the best as well and the self service champagne bar has it's charm.

But in the end, having so many good lounge options in a relatively close proximity is definitely a huge bonus for T3.