AA or BA for Business?
 

Hi folks

We're going into Chicago and coming back from Miami. Business. Which airline out of AA and BA has the better product in your humble opinion[s]?

Thanks for your time!

TG

I think this is about personal preference. From my perspective it would come down to the Aircraft you get. For me I would look to get a AA 787 Out and then a BA flight back as i find that I get far more sleep on a BA flight than a AA flight, but that is my personal preference. Miami is not a Club World Sleeper Service so you will need to eat on board. AA meal service will typically last until between 230 and 3 hrs into flight. BAs is quicker, for some less enjoyable for some. Really depends on what you are looking for. I am sure others will have there view too.

AA for the west bound flight, BA for the overnight east bound flight.

This gives you the best hard product for a day flight (AA) and the optimum option for sleeping on the return overnight from MIA.

If sleeping on the return is not a priority then a mid-J 747 with old IFE out of Miami may not be the best.

Am I the only one having a hard time figuring out where the OP is traveling from and to?

I assume connecting though MIA and ORD in each direction.

On the ORD route I believe BA uses Do&Co for the catering in both directions so could also be worth consideration.

I was pleasantly surprised by AA.

I had a great crew and felt the food was head and shoulders better than BA.

Only thing I noticed was a shakey J seat : when the person behind me moved or left their seat my seat moved too.

Your routing opens up quite a few options, with a variety of aircraft types, cabin arrangements, and seat types.

If you are travelling between now and the end of October, these are the flights to choose from

LHR-ORD
AA47 Boeing 789
AA99 Boeing 788
BA295 Boeing 744 (86J)
BA297 Airbus A380

MIA-LHR
AA38 Boeing 77W
BA206 Boeing 744 (56J)
BA208 Boeing 744 (56J)
BA210 Boeing 744 (56J)

Personally, I’d go for the BA295 on the outbound. The 747 upper deck offers an experience unmatched by other aircraft. The quality of natural light you get on day flights is fantastic.

Inbound, I’d probably settle for the flight that best suits my schedule, aware that with BA’s 56J aircraft there’s a chance of an unrefurbished cabin. Not such a big deal on an overnight flight though.

But overall there are no bad choices here.

That's on the 788 Zodiac seats - pick 1D&H, 5A&L to avoid that.
Not a problem on the 789 as they are fitted with the super diamond seat

Without getting too detailed, I would choose AA for the seat and I’ve never been disappointed by the FAs (in fact, usually impressed, but that may just be our personalities). Food possibly slightly better, too (and I adore the Ice Cream Sundae!).

But the BA 744 u/d could persuade me otherwise, because we really enjoy 63A/B.

Though, as we don’t know whether the OP has either the status or the fortitude to willingly pay BAs eye-gouging seat assignment fees to secure a seat on the upper deck, I’d probably reign back the “BA 744 Club World is FAB* !” advice a bit .... :p

* Providing you get an Upper Deck window seat

If it's purely based on product then AA every time but a couple of pretty dreadful Eastbound delays with them has tilted my preference towards BA for the EU delay protection in that direction.