AJBChina

I'm planning a trip to Central America in Nov this year and will probably travel LHR-DFW or MIA. Travelling in J and need to decide on AA or BA for the TATL legs (so far not seeing much price difference). Last 2 trips were VS/DL via ATL and UA via IAH, both perfectly acceptable but this time a bit pricier. Can those who know more than I do please offer any advice on likely BA/AA equipment on these routes in Nov and pros/cons of the respective products? I'm assuming 77W vs 388 but not sure if that applies to all flights. I haven't done TATL on either for 4/5 years but was previously a regular user through both hubs when living in CA. Being semi retired my status has all gone (though I will shortly move back to BAEC silver) so I've no particular preference.

Many thanks

South London Bon Viveur

AA J is a better hard product than BA J IMO. However AA crew can be a bit hit or miss in my experience. I would avoid transiting in MIA because in my experience it is a hell hole. Therefore I would suggest going AA J via DFW. That said, if you are connecting to Central America, I fear that most of your options will be via MIA.

Lefly

My personal preference is AA outbound (77w preferably, but non mandatory) and BA inbound IF on A380 or High-J 747... or if there is UUA availability. Otherwise it's AA again.

Always on a personal level, I don't find MIA so ugly

ukgooner

MIA has improved hugely (if you are eligible to use the E gates, ie. not your first trip to the states on your current passport)

rossmacd

For J travel, I would choose AA outbound and likely BA inbound (747 UD only, if not available it is AA). Most of your options to Central America will be better served from MIA (certainly in my experience).

I agree with this. MIA has improved greatly. I have done two connections in MIA this summer to/from Central American destinations, and I have another set next month, for which I am not concerned.

bhbloke

I often transit through MIA on my way to/from Central America and it's a walk in the park these days.

I'm not sure if that's because I now have GE or whether they've upped their game in general.

ajeleonard

You'll need to stick to an all-AA itinerary if you want the relatively new 'no need to reclaim your bags' option at MIA

Lefly

Not correct in my experience.
I have done PTY-MIA on AA connecting to BA for MIA-LHR and I had no need to pick up and recheck bag in MIA. ITI all the way, outbound and inbound.

PS
I was talking about single ticket, by the way.

where2travel

^

sunshinebob

Can you fly to Costa Rica directly from London on BA and hook up a connection from there? Its a newish 787 , J is very comfortable as I found recently and it saves all that transiting in the US malarkey....

sts603

AA's hard product in J is still much better.

orbitmic

I don't mean to sound pedantic but there are literally dozens of threads comparing every iteration of AA J vs BA J where op can find the aspects of the comparison that they will find most relevant.

rossmacd

Transiting in MIA is so much better than it used to be, and DFW is actually quite easy.

Doing what you suggest just to stay on BA metal is a poor option, when AA (particularly for the outbound) is much better - 1-2-1, versus BA's 2-4-2 or 2-3-2 on 787 (747 UD excepted of course).

Cap'n Benj

I'm the same, would take AA west, BA back overnight

Cap'n Benj

It is in no way superior enough to ever suggest transferring onto a what could be a much lesser plane for the second leg plus US customs and a minimum of at least an extra 2 hours travel time.