Lefly

To me it's because of EC261, in case of (big) delay. IB & AY work as well for that

Gomac

When does the 787 fly to SJO? I can only see a LGW 777.

gustavmahler

I'm pretty sure it's a case of the wrong San Jose. SJC has the 787 ex-LHR.

Gomac

Thought so, that's a shame it would have made that route a lot more attractive.

E14 26C

Flying to Liberia would make the route more attractive ! But the three class 777's really are now showing their ages, subbing a 4 class 777-300 would be perfect.

AJBChina

I've got one 772 in J ex-LGW coming up (promo fare for the OAK route) and that'll probably be one too many for this year! Though if I set my expectations accordingly I'm sure it'll be fine......

scubaccr

Recent (booked on AA.COM)

outbound : LHR-MIA (BA 747)
inbound: MIA-LHR (AA 2-Class 777, other AA 777 has F seats and also more J seats)

LHR-T3, so use of CX lounge recomnmended.

BA
o Upper deck seating 62k is a great seat, would not want to sit on main deck
o Choose one of limited number of J seats you can access w/o scrambling over your neighbour
o IFE is old, did not work (a repetitive issue on BA's old 747)
o No internet service available
o Food is soso, neither good or bad.

AA
o 1-2-1 seating all seats equally good
o The AA seat is bigger+better+modern
o IFE is modern, more choice of channels, bigger screens
o Internet (chargeable) available
o Food slightly better than BAs option, but not outstanding


On balance I would take AAs offering due to the 1-2-1 J seating, newer working IFE and wifi. Food on AA/BA is a wash for me.

No downside on either AA/BA LHR-MIA, but MIA-LHR BA is covered by EC261 (whilst AA is not)

E14 26C

You forgot the boarding
AA regimented, BA, well they are close to Twickenham

pdxparse

So I have return tix FCO-LHR-SAN on BA F. However, I could also AA J (assuming availability) or AF J with their Flying Blue promo (FCO-CDG-YVR on their new 777 lie-flat J) for 46,875 Chase points (1:1 transfer).

So:
1. BA F (70K AS) FCO-LHR-SAN-PDX
2. AA J (50 K AS - availability might be issue)
3. AF J (47 K Chase)

I'm thinkin option 1 or 3 might be the best bet - heard good things about AF new J on the 777. But I've never flown up in the nose of the 747 and always have wanted to. Thoughts?

1010101

I don't know where or to what aircraft you will connect to, but on AA v BA alone I much prefer the AA 77W than any version of BA Club World, although my flights are from HKG with their apparently improved service. I haven't done a transatlantic flight on it.

You also get to use the CX lounge in T3 which is much nicer than anything in T5.

Plus, you will pay a few hundred dollars to select seats on BA. That would cement the decision for me.

AJBChina

Flying in the front of the 747 is definitely a "pro" if you've never done it. It's not an experience that'll be around for too much longer so you should consider. I've done it quite a lot over many years but these days I suspect each time may be the last so try to make the most of it. Did LHR-PHX-LHR a couple of months back and even for the jaded traveller it's still a bit special!

AJBChina

I've now completed my booking and thanks to all for their input. Unfortunately a combination of pricing and scheduling (I still don't quite trust MIA enough to accept short transit times) have us on BA metal both ways. UD on 744 in 63AB outbound (62 and 64 unavailable, will keep an eye out to see if this changes). Return on the 380 : I've done 50 trips on the 380 to date but none on BA as yet (guess who's getting my Asia business...!) so I just have one final question to close out this thread - does 53A on the 380 UD have free aisle access like rows 62/64 on the 744? Per the seat map it looks like it does but I can't be sure - tried a quick trawl of the seating threads but can't see a specific reference to this, though I'm sure it'll be in there somewhere.

1010101

It does although its a bit of a contortion act to get in/out if you're tall. Still, its the best CW seat on the plane imo.

AJBChina

Thanks - that's the way it appears on the seat maps...no climbing, but a bit of a squeeze. Should be OK, I'm not that tall