BA ticket - how to upgrade on an AA A321 Transcon from J to F
 

Hello Folks,

just wondering how to upgrade to F on an AA A321 Transcon - I always wanted to try the service and the "solo" seat in F. Route is JFK-LAX
I am currently ticketed in J (BA paper) - do you think this is something I can try once at the airport at JFK? Of course I am talking about a paid upgrade.

Any idea about how much those upgrades sell for?

Thank you!

Well, the food isnt exactly the same. However its not vastly different.

The F seat is similar to the 77W J seat, but a bit tighter and the cushioning is definitely cheaper and not very comfortable. There was one instance I was in F, and J was quite empty so asked if I could take a nap in an empty J seat as I find that more comfortable for sleeping.

But the above notes are correct--AA has difficulties managing if on BA ticket and even if on my BA FF number instead of my AA lifetime sapphire number--it just really screws things up for them.

You of course can ask, but I'd expect the response to be a full ticket exchange which day of travel will be quite high, so in advance I'd give them a call to see what the current cost would be to upgrade with a new ticket because yes, AA do not upgrade to F on the transcons. I think a few years back they may have even stopped allowing us to use a system-wide upgrade from J to F (similar to gold upgrade certs). But its been a few years since I've been an AA emerald, so just dont try anymore!

Depending what fare you're on, you can either call BA and upfare (if it is a through BA fare from, say, London, it may be a lot, but if it is a standalone JFK-LAX fare then it might not be that much of a difference). Alternatively, you can do it at the airport. AA will have no problem processing an airport upgrade as it won't require re-faring. F cabins are often full on this route though despite AA elites not having complimentary access to them.

Of course, AA operationally upgrades passengers to F when J/Y are oversold. But you're right that one should not count on that.

Thank you very much for all your replies - I will try at the airport then :-)

On a separate note: I have heard there might be a chance for asking a Concierge Key transfer to the airplane or pick-up at the aircraft door on arrival? Could you explain what this would mean and confirm whether this can be requested? I will be landing on BA metal and flying onward on AA.

Thanks!

Thank you KARFA, I will report back!

agreed with Krisz. I was a CK off and on but this was before they added other perks like transfers or pre-boarding. that said, weirdly the last half dozen transcons i've had with AA have yielded personal attention, car to gate at JFK, pre-boarding etc etc. i just chalked it up to random, non-busy days for AA if they were looking after a BA GGL (no CCR anymore) pax. basically, i don't expect anything, so i'm pleasantly surprised by all!

but no upgrades from J to F lol! (not that i want it)

I just had a return ticket in J.. outbound was LHR LAX und return was LAX JFK LHR... why so ever the LAX JFK leg was in F - and i must say for me this felt def. different!
The flagship first dining in LAX is super exclusive.. nothing compared to the standard flagship.. very friendly and attentive staff and just super exclusive.. 4 people in the whole lounge.
and of course this 1 -1 config is more exclusive.. so also when you sit down.. it is more exclusive - specially when u travel by yourself.. the onboard service was .. lets say AA.. but nicer than the one JFK to LAX in in J..

still no escorting or special service despite being GGL + CCR and booked on F.. and transferring to that LHR flight..
I agree to that hit or miss theory and dont think you have to be super important.. I had 6 domestic AA flights last months.. and got one CK boarding treatment at JFK on a very late flight to MCO booked in Y.
nothing on the return. nothing in LAX to LAS or SAT to LAX or LAX JFK even in F.. :-)

and... I slept very well in that seat, too :-) if that feeling of exclusiveness is worth money over J ? I dont know.

I got upgraded J to F on the JFK-LAX transcon last July. Very welcome surprise but agree the J seat is more comfortable (though I prefer privacy). I think storms had meant a couple of cancellations. Having gorged myself on meat and potatoes on the previous flights I neglected to try the Wagyu beef, opting instead for a cauliflower steak - I regret it to this day.

You will only get a T7 to T8 transfer if the Concorde Team prevail on AA to do it, so essentially Revenue and Prem. I guess 4 Baftas and 1 Oscar will also suffice. AA don't work out of T7 normally. In the other had a T8 to T8 transfer nay get the CK team involved, even for bog-standard GGLers.

Let us know what you think... except for not having a person next to you, the service is virtually the same. Same poor wine, tad better food in F, but otherwise pretty much the same... Waste of cash/Avios IMHO, but everyone value things differently

Among the best airline crew service I have ever had was in AA transcontinental F a couple of years ago. The purser who did the service could have been delivering Cathay or JAL F service, he was that good. Not exactly your typical AA crew demographic: he was younger than average (early 30s maybe), Black, and very good at his job. I was (and still am) impressed.

The 1+1 seating is pretty nifty; very secluded in-flight. The seat is a like a slightly compact version of the AA 77W J seat. Plentiful overhead bin space, more than one bin each.

F&B has been quite OK in my experience; certainly far better than two-class F.

OP will have access to the FL, but in F he would have access to FFD.

Whether something is "worth" it is not is subjective. Depends on what the money means to the specific passenger. If it is what one drops at a bar after work, it's likely worth it. If it is the difference between losing one's house or not, it's likely not worth it.

In any event, the likely only place to accomplish this is at the airport on the day of travel when AA has control of the ticket.

My understanding is there used to be quite a bit of award space, as AA used to release basically all the unsold F seats even when at the same time J availability was almost impossible to find, but then they realized this was a bit silly and stopped doing this.

Personally, I wouldn't stress too much if you're already in J unless you are desperate to try Flagship First Dining - you're basically paying to upgrade from a poor international J standard product to a middling one. Even as someone obsessed with personal space and privacy I struggle to see the value here, given the similar soft product and the fact that the F seat still feels a little bit cramped.

If I understand this right, there is no chance to use AVIOS to upgrade a non BA metal flight... you can get the full ticket with AVIOS if available.. but you cannot upgrade a BA ticket operated by AA

As a regular on the JFK-LAX route, here is my take:

1. The F Class seat is a slighlty modified version of the CX & AA 77W international business class seat.
2. They will upgrade from J to F but because the upgrade list is based on AA EQDs and Transcons are heavy with AA EXPs the chances of non-AA elites getting an upgrade to first is probably low. I would not be surprised if the route is popular with AA EXPs looking to cash in their SWUs as well.
3. As the EQD list is dynamic the upgrade list can be pretty fluid almost up to departure. The Transcons also have a lot of flexible travellers. It is frustrating to see 4 empty seats, be number 4 on the upgrade list 20 minutes before departure and then a higher EQD person comes along............
4. AA has a lot of media corporate contracts which is why F is on the Transcons, I think Disney is one of the biggest. So if celebrities are your thing there is a good chance of meeting one in AA F. They are usually boarded separately.
5. The J seat is not too bad, lie flat, and although 2-2 I have met some very interesting people on these flights.

Good luck to the OP if he gets lucky then it is a nice experience. The AA Flagship dining in the lounge is usually good and in the small side lounge with bar the staff are excellent.

Joining the chorus of the "I'm not sure it's worth it..." brigade here. About one-third of the time, the flight attendants in F aren't even aware transcon first is a different service rom shourthaul F. Once I asked about the salad course (after they skipped it), and he said, "Oh, so THAT'S why I have so many salads left over up here." Super friendly - no complaints there - just unaware Transcon F was different from the regular shorthaul F service.

Celebrity sightings, yes, very true point there, if you're into star gazing. My experience has been the first two flights Monday mornings from LA to JFK have the highest chances of seeing someone famous.

Good luck with the upgrade, but my advice would be not to pay a lot for it - you might be disappointed.

Obviously it is very subjective and personal how much an individual values Avios/money. I, personally, would not call it a waste, in terms of both Avios or money (depending, of course, upon what the difference between J & F). Wines are definitely better in F (although I prefer the sparkling wine in J to the champagne they serve in F)..

Sure! TO be honest the only reason I was thinking about upgrading (if possible!!) was the privacy factor - as I have flown in J before and didn't enjoy the lack of it.

Thanks, not counting on it though!

Yes - between landing on BA metal and continuing on AA to LAX I have 3 hours so I should make it to the gate at T-45 ;-)

Just to clarify this, you can only UuA where you have a BA 125-... ticket. If you have an AA flight on the booking you can UuA it but only if the AA flight is in the following selling classes J, C, D, W, Y - which is obviously quite restrictive!

If it is an AA flight that you're looking to upgrade, then yes.

Not for AA flights. AA uses C for business class (domestic first) upgrades and A for first class upgrades on 3 cabins services. Searching for reward availability on ba.com will show U and Z availability only, which will be of no use for you.

This only applies to BA flights KARFA. lavar56 wants to upgrade an AA flight.

Just to clarify.
As Andriyko pointed out, for "AA ticket" J to F transcon upgrade, LAX-JFK (or SFO-JFK and vice versa) is probably one of the easiest route for upgrade for AA elites or not, due to A bucket is used for upgrade, but you will need to use either AA miles or SWU. There is NO complimentary upgrade for J to F transcon. Not many ppl will be on J to F "airport upgrade list", because either they got upgraded prior to airport or F cabin is full (which is not rare). As long as there is 1 F seat for sale, AA typically will release the last "A seat" couple hours or even days before flight.
Note, Y to J upgrade and Z reward are completely different stories. Those are hard to come by...

Honestly wouldn't bother, the F seat is basically the J seat without a neighbour. And the 321 is terrible in that airspace anyway - it'll feel every bump magnified.
Sorry to sound like Eyore. :)

FWIW I'm going to join in with the "not really worth it" crowd, at least for the red eye. I've now flown twice SFO->JFK and both times had a broken seat (one time didn't fully recline, one time some weird gap between the two "halves" of the flat seat), both times mentioned it to the crew and both times they've said the seats in J break less frequently. I dislike people being next to me but dislike the seat being broken more.

On the other hand if flying JFK to SFO you do at least get a decent meal in JFK (SFO has no useful lounge to speak of).