HofstraJet

I have flown most every variant of AA's widebodies TATL and TPAC, but have never flown in a 747. Planning a TATL trip this summer and was wondering if I should book a BA F trip in a 747 to experience it before the bird disappears.

I am posting here since I am interested in how it will compare with AA's J service/comfort in its long haul flights.

Thanks!

BarrenLucidity

If you want to fly in a 747 I would look at Korea Air or Lufthansa as they have the 747-8s. The BA ones show their age but if you wanna experience one and use OneWorld to do so your options are limited.

ESpen36

Honestly, it is a pretty cramped cabin for International First on the 747. Not much overhead space either. You would have a better experience on BA's A380 First, in my opinion.

enviroian

I hear the BA F experience is pretty awesome as I've never experienced it and yes I would do it if you can find a F saver (which pops up more than you think) for 85K each way.

arollins

I've done the BA 747 several times, as others have mentioned, it is a bit cramped, but not that bad, the worst part is if you are on the inside and need to get out, you kinda have to climb over the aisle. Other than that, the service that I've had where excellent, and the small cabin made it feel special. I would book it again without any hesitation if I had to.

Score8

The peak experience for me is flying in J upstairs. It's just a more private, exclusive feel - even more so in some ways than F on the 747. Of course you do still have to look at some person's mug until you can close the panel.

neo_781

I am not sure if this is true. I too have never experienced it but I usually read people saying something like its the world's best business class (meaning that its more like a souped up J then a true F experience).

I guess what I am ultimately saying is that the OP should read some reviews because its worth reading multiple perspectives before jumping in.

GetSetJetSet

as mentioned BA F on the A380 is much better than their F product on the 747. Overall BA F is more of a very good business product than a true F product. That being said, the 747 is the most beautiful commercial airliner of all time, and if you've never been on one I would def recommend doing so. Also as noted if you can swing LH or KE F on the 748 it's even better. Sad that more airlines didn't order the 748, will be a shame when all the 744 are gone

Beltway2A

I think the 747 is worth experiencing in a premium cabin, but BA F (J+, really) is a complete waste. Even more so on an east coast TATL.

JJeffrey

In my mind whether it's "worth it" depends entirely on how you plan to pay for it and how much of a cost difference there is between J and F.

If you're just buying the ticket well in advance, you can frequently find deals where the roundtrip business price on AA or BA will be say $3500 and F will be $3900, etc. I'd definitely go for F in this case.

But $3500 for business and $7000 for F? No way, stick with business on AA.

Using miles, if you can luck out and find sAAver business on AA metal for 57.5k +$5.60, compared to spending 85k + $700 in fuel surcharges for BA F, another "No way," stick with business on AA.

The harder one is if you're choosing between 57.5k + $700 for a BA business award compared to 85k + $700 for a BA F award. I would just pick a new date/routing/destination all together or just buy economy to avoid paying the ripoff BA surcharges.

arollins

Here is my take on a trip like this, best to do a long flight, primarily to enjoy it more and get a better feel of for it and the product. West coast to Europe is a great example, as opposed to East coast to Europe, simply because of trip duration. Secondly, check it the airport served will also have a separate jet bridge for boarding. The times I've done the ORD-LHR on BA 747, it is the same jet bridge, and you have to haul your carry on up the stairs. Aside that, you will have lounge access as well.

carlosdca

I have flown twice BA F (4 segments) this year.

I am not a fan of the AA 77W J seat, the one people adore on this forum. It is private but it is claustrophobic and narrow.
The BA F seat is decent, not ultra spacious, but definitely more spacious than Club world and any of AA J offerings.
Not as private as it is an open seat, but that did not bother me much. I slept very comfortably on BA F, no complaints.

The service on BA F was consistently professional. Not submissive, not too personalized, but existent and adequate.
On AA I have gotten from cheerful to dreadful to non-existent. This inconsistency is even more shocking on AA F, where in a couple of occasions the FAs were simply RUDE.

Food on BA is meh...but I don't care much about that. Food on AA J or F is probably better.
They don't offer Dom or Krug on BA. They have "LP" champagne (I think Laurent Perrier?) if you care about that.
There is no caviar or similar luxurious snacks either.

So, anyway, yes, BA F is better than AA J, hands down. Now, if you compare BA F to other airlines F, I am sure BA loses.
But how much better? Is it worth it? That is very relative and depends on you.

As far as the 747, I have flown F on BA 747 and on one of their Airbus (Can't remember which one)
To be honest, there was very little difference and I could not tell I was on a 747 as F is on the first floor. The difference perhaps is on how dated the seats are.

I had a chance to check the Concorde Lounge at LHR and it was nice but not "wow".
At LAX and LHR, F had its own jetbridge which was nice.

PS. At the time I bought the tickets, only BA full flex business was offered and BA F was the discounted fare , cheaper than business. So, no complaints. Totally worth it, to me.

eponymous_coward

A one-way paid economy ticket is going to cost more than "ripoff BA surcharges" unless you're flying someone like Norwegian (an LCC that doesn't charge "ripoff" rates on one-ways).

Good luck finding AA premium class inventory from Europe in summer. You can actually find BA inventory in summer (I found some planning my summer vacation, so I saddled up for the "ripoff" of flying BA F, though using AS miles, so only a premium of 10,000 miles, which I don't plan on taking to the grave with me anyway. I'd not have any European vacation this year if I was counting on AA premium class home from Europe).

In the end AA has done "ripoff" inflation of miles required for awards too, removed program features like free stopovers at gateways as another way to "rip us off"... so what's paying another "ripoff" if it is for the destinations, dates and times I want? It's not like AA is being super generous these days with own-metal awards...

GetSetJetSet

Forget no "luxury" snacks. BA F meal service, even on a 10+ hour flight is amuse bouche->starter->main->dessert. That's pathetic for F. There should be a soup and or salad thrown in there before the main, at least a cheese plate as well.

arlflyer

I will be the contrarian here. I have flown BA F numerous times in the A380 and 747. I have always enjoyed it. No, it may not be the pinnacle of service and luxury as of today but it has always been a good experience getting me from A to B in comfort with professional staff. The ground experiences (check in and lounges) at LHR and IAD are quite good, and I have always been taken care of.

I understand that there are better products out there but they are not alternatives. If LH and BA could be redeemed in the same alliance then maybe there is a discussion, but that is not the case.

The very high fees attached to BA redemptions are unfortunate and I would take any reasonable effort to avert them but no such effort has yet been successful. Given that most of us earn AA miles I'm a captive, passive manner (flying AA) there are again few options given the dearth of AA metal redemption options. So while the fees are high, I make myself feel better by reminding myself that it is still quite a discount over my other options for obtaining international F.

So, OP, personally I think it is worth giving it a go. Few people in the world, speaking in absolute terms, have the luxury of trying it and forming their own opinion, but you can, so why not do so?