kochleffel

For a miles booking from Rochester, NY, to Madrid, the one-stop options are via Philadelphia or Charlotte. I'd book in J.

PHL: ROC-PHL is in an E-145, so no F for the short leg, and it would arrive in terminal F, while the MAD flight would likely leave from A-West, a difficult transfer. The PHL-MAD flight is in a 788.

CLT: ROC-CLT probably an A319, while CLT-MAD is a 772, a plane I haven't much liked for long hauls, although the seating configuration in J is the same in both. I don't know the layout of CLT airport well enough to guess what gates would be used.

The price in miles is the same, so which should I prefer?

guv1976

No option via JFK, using B6 for the ROC-JFK segment?

Antarius

772 gives you a higher likelihood of not getting the zodiac rocking seats.

The above combined with avoiding PHL, make the CLT option a slam dunk, IMO.

prathetkrungthep

Depending on how far ahead you're booking, PHL will allegedly soon/eventually have a flagship lounge unlike CLT.

Antarius

AA doesn't sell tickets that far out.

ryanbriar

I’d go with CLT for the aforementioned reasons and some additional time to sleep due to the duration (in theory). JFK is another option, but I understand not wanting to deal with B6 / the connection between T5-T8.

Hopefully they’re publishing web specials on this route!

WeekendTraveler

I’d choose PHL. Why spend at an hour more on the plane each way flying south to CLT and then back north to ROC or MAD?

The distance between gates at CLT should be less but CLT is a ridiculously overcrowded airport and even the Admirals Clubs are ridiculously overcrowded and unpleasant.

BlooJoo

CLT for sure. 772 is >50% chance of not having the Zodiac seats. See: https://sites.google.com/site/newame...0er?authuser=0

Also, transfer sounds easier in CLT.

Also, J on the ROC-CLT segment.

Why on earth are you even considering PHL?

JJeffrey

Neither of these are really going to offer an exemplary business class experience so, using miles, I would just go with whatever costs less.

That said, if they're the same price, then PHL, purely for a slightly later departure to MAD. The ~4pm CLT departures to Europe are awful.

BlooJoo

If they cost very different, sure. But for the reasons elucidated above, CLT is the much smarter choice if prices are similar. Is CLT-MAD really 4pm? Ugh reminds me of LH’s 4pm JFK-FRA.

kochleffel

Possible, but then it's JFK. I'm not sure that it would be better than PHL.

rocking seats? I have heard unfavorable comments about the 787 seats but they weren't specific.

Kind of a long story. More than half the miles were earned almost 15 years ago through promotions on US, flying from ELM or ITH, neither of which has AA service now, so I was used to flying into PHL on a Dash-8. Thus, I'm not especially put off by the 145. But I had one harrowing connection to London in which I had to make it from F to A-West in 13 minutes -- and did, but I'm that much older now and don't exactly want to try it again, and it appears that there are more delays with regional flights than with mainline, two points in favor of CLT. F for ROC-CLT vs. no F for ROC-PHL is less of a concern, just because the flight is that much shorter. (BTW, US never offered beverage service on the Dash, in my experience. After the merger I was astonished to see that the Dash-8 was equipped with a miniature beverage cart, although some FAs would serve drinks from a tray instead.)

My issue with the 772 is that the noise in the front cabin is so loud, not only from the engines, but from the ventilation system. I don't know whether the 787 is any better in that respect.

JJeffrey

If prices are similar then they are an equally mediocre choice.

In both cases you get of the first flight and walk to the lounge, or the next flight. In PHL your walk could be about 5-10 mins longer.

CLT is a dump, and CLT-MAD is a 4:45pm departure which is reason enough to avoid it all together IMO, in spite of the extra few mins of walking and having to take a quick ERJ flight to PHL.

guv1976

Why? There's an airside bus from the B6 terminal to the AA terminal, and if you miss AA's evening JFK-MAD nonstop, there's a later one on IB (which might or might not have Business Class seats still available).

Antarius

Almost every seat is connected to another one. 1L (forward facing) is connected to 2L (rear facing) at the seat area. If someone in 2L moves or sits down, 1L can feel it.

It's not like a see saw or anything, but it's still annoying. Like someone in Y getting up and pulling your seat a little. 787 is much quieter.

FlyFreakquently

I'd personally do PHL because a 4pm departure sounds horrendous. But I'd seriously consider flying to JFK on JetBlue or Delta for two reasons. 1. JFK has the new joint-lounges, which to state the obvious, will blow the Admirals Clubs in PHL/CLT out of the water. 2. JFK has a 7:30 departure time, which in theory will make it easier to sleep.

You didn't specify when you were going, but a quick search on Google Flights is showing tickets as low as $49 OW, but mostly around $69.