Aa174 rdu-lhr
 

I much prefer Delta but AA174 RDU-LHR nonstop is hard to look away from. No status on AA - are premium seats worth the $$? I’m used to Premium (G) and the occasional J. Will I be disappointed on AA?

Are you referring to Premium Economy? I flew those seats yesterday on a 789 from ord-dfw. My seat was a bulkhead (9H) and the leg room is great. The seats are more comfortable by far than any oasis domestic F seat however the footrest is pretty much useless and even worse, a hinderance if you are taller than 6'. There is no different meal from coach. On transatlantic wine and beer are gratis but no hard stuff. Expect little and you'll be fine.

Premium economy, yes. For our transatlantic flights, we usually go Premium Select on Delta - a step up from their premium economy and generally comfortable. Wasn’t sure if AA premium economy would be a big step back. I’ll look at seating to make sure we are in a 2 seat vs 3 seat configuration. Thanks

PE will be in a 2-3-2 configuration. The 1st (bulkhead) row has a leg rest. The other rows have a foot rest attached to the seat in front of them. Bigger screens, wider seats, premium dining options. Definitely a comfortable ride compared to a standard coach/main cabin extra seats (similar to Delta Comfort).

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...um-economy.jsp

Yep. It's designed for children apparently much like the JL Skyrest J recliners.

I doubt that flight will actually go. If you are not frequent on AA, their practice past 2 pandemic years have been to publish a full "normal" schedule several months out and usually 2 months prior, they trim it back. I do not imagine that the RDU-LHR route will be back anytime soon. Assume you will be routed through another hub (JFK?) before launching across the pond.

More to your question, I have flown both PE and J on AA and obviously would take either about a traditional Y seat. International PE, for a rough comparison, is domestic F - a bigger recline seat with a marginally better meal. Took it NRT-ORD yesteryear and was very satisfied with the product.

It's supposed to be a better meal (on transatlantic) in PE than in regular coach.

"PROTEIN+"

how much is AA asking?

Depending on timing, between $1300-1400. Economy at $700 but I’m too old to suffer thru that.

Prem econ seats are more or less equivalent to a domestic first class seat. Definitely better than regular main cabin for a TATL.

PE Seat comfort alone makes it worth it if you aren't absolutely penny pinching, and sometimes it isn't even much of a difference. AA's seat product is quite good, foot rest issues notwithstanding. The real key is that if you are booked into paid PE, they're going to have to honor that if they do cancel out your flight and you need to switch flights. If you're going economy and hoping for an upgrade to C, your chances shrink with each flight cancellation.

The front row of PE on that flight also has the screen on a scrolling arm, so if you are up there, you can't watch movies until takeoff, which is why I usually go for a different row. Also, the connection for headphones is in a very inconvenient place, you really have to twist around to plug them in. Otherwise, I think they are a (small) step up from the domestic first class seats and would spend my own money for them.

Yes, it would seem it would be more useful to put the headphone jack into the actual video device.... How they decided below the rear part of the armrest is a mystery to me. Isn't the sound coming from the video device?

See I like the front row of the 777 PE, especially the aisle of the center section. Nobody reclining into you, and the aisle armrest goes down so it translates to a ton of room.

It was often cheaper pre-covid to connect onward at LHR to a nearby European destination, I would use it as a BA ticjeted codeshare to get my 4 BA segments towards BA Silver (oneworld sapphire) status.