pmcg

I'm thinking of an F award trip in May 2018 to get to New Orleans, a place I've not been to before.

Will want to do F so straight into MSY is not an option, was thinking of ATL but noticed that AA don't do direct to MSY from ATL.
Plenty availability for ATL but not ideal for an AA connection.

Ideally would like to burn about 14k OnBusiness points that expire end of this year for a one way award on AA at some point during the journey.

Anyone any suggestions?

sunshinebob

Club direct?

Ldnn1

Well your options if you don't want to change airports are PHL, ORD, MIA or DFW.

MIA gets the A380 in Winter but old 747s in May so I'd rule that out. PHL gets the 789 which is the newest F product, but that's a slightly shorter flight and smaller cabin may mean less availability. Also gets some Super-J 747s but you'd want to check that.

Alternatively you could try via IAD but you'd have to cross town to DCA for the AA connection.

Edit to add: Just checked and there is loads of availability in F to PHL on Super-J aircraft in May, with easy onward connections to MSY. Also availability to ORD on 4 May on A380 and 17 May on Super-J, with long and tight connections respectively. Haven't checked the inbounds.

pmcg

No thanks, I must be a snob now.

Usually make a day of it in Concorde room and I've got a ton of miles so no point scrimping.

pmcg

Thanks, that's exactly the type of info. I was looking for but have to admit to not being round these parts much of late.

I'll probably end up doing a night or few on the way in/out of the cities I pick so should open up my options, also have an IHG free night to use up so more options available.

corporate-wage-slave

Well don't knock the benefit of the direct service: it gets into MSY at a perfect time to enjoy this wonderful city at its best - in the evening. You leave at 14:00 hrs and get there at 18:00 hrs. It's a 787 so you won't be zonked on arrival. If you are in CW you'll go straight to a friendly CBP agent on arrival who will be genuinely pleased that you have chosen to arrive via MSY. You should be in your hotel room at 18:30, or perhaps a little later if you have checked luggage. Now clearly you have other factors at play, but in terms of an enjoyable flight to Louisiana I'm not persuaded it's worth the MIA experience just to use CCR. As for ATL, the availability is there for a reason! Admittedly my severe reservations about ATL are probably borderline irrational.

MSY: good place for a warm weekend away.

pmcg

Good point thanks.
Thing is I'm at that age now where when I get in all I want is a bite to eat and a good sleep.


Does that mean the 787 in Club is more comfortable than other aircraft or is there some other reason?

I see what you mean, nothing worse than arriving into the USA sometimes and then that wait at border control.

That's the thing, we usually end up getting an early flight down, breakfast in the lounge, meet up with a colleague or one of my sons then over to the lounge for lunch after shopping and make a day of it to catch up.

I actually quite like ATL, been in and out of there a few times as well as IAH, DFW etc. and wouldn't rate it any worse than the others.

corporate-wage-slave

The 787 series, along with the A380 and A350 (not BA yet) are aircraft with much better air quality on board and is also very quiet. You come off the aircraft in a much better state as a result. At the front of CW you can talk in normal voice and be heard clearly, which isn't possible on a 747 and certainly not possible on a 777. On daytime services WTP on a 787 is - in some ways - a better experience than First on a 777. Now I suspect for occasional travellers, or those who enjoy drinking, it may not make much difference but on the LHR-EWR / PHL services I'm able to go straight to the office and do 4 to 6 hours work without difficulty, something I would never think of doing after a 777 flight, given I start the day in NCL or EDI. And I'm one of the old lags around here.

mrow

I do this trip routinely. If not flying direct I can recommend connecting through DFW. It’s a nice length of flight from LHR, an easy connection experience (well as easy as the USA can offer for INT-DOM connections) and there are plenty of onward flights into MSY (which is just over an hour flight time away from DFW).

Only downside I can see is that BA don’t use any newer aircraft into DFW...however I usually opt for J direct on BA or F via DFW on AA’s 77W if the price is right.

mmxbreaks

Another point worth mentioning: MSY-LHR direct in J offers no lounge. Instead you'll be given some vouchers for the one (rather poor) food vendor, which inevitably sells out of the better stuff as there are so many passengers on that BA flight. The airport is due to expand, but that new terminal has already been pushed back until at least 2019.

mmxbreaks

Sadly AA doesn't offer a direct from Austin, otherwise I'd suggest the LHR-AUS in the 787-9 F. Other carriers will connect AUS-MSY direct, which is only about an hour's flight, not too different from DFW, so could be an option.

LHR-IAH is 777, so best avoided (personally I'd take LHR-MSY J over that).
LHR-DFW is 747, so a step above that.
LHR-MIA can be A380, which I would place as BA's premier F (over 787, but that's solely personal preference). MIA-MSY AA connection is then two hours.

QueenOfCoach

Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play a guitar just like a-ringing a bell...

-Consider going south of the city in to the bayou for a swamp tour.
-You can get a great, cheap tour of the city by just getting on the trolley and taking it from one end of St Charles Ave to the other.
-So much good food, so little time.

pmcg

Thanks, well worth considering the way you explain.

pmcg

Thanks, should have booked by now but been so busy, Will look over coming days.

pmcg

Thanks, well worth noting as we are usually way early (prefer to be early than late) and like to chill out before a flight.