jejb

You could try non-US One World Sapphire status. I'm US based, but I found BA Silver surprisingly easy to earn (a lot of transcons on AA earn 140 tier points per leg in paid J, so if you have just one with a connection, it's two round trips to BA Silver). The main value to me is Flagship Lounge access on a domestic AA itinerary. Depending on your flying habits, you might choose a different non-US FF programme (The sweet spot on BA is paid business class travel but the down side is you need two BA metal trips to get Silver).

dll

Aside from the upgraded amenities (bedding and PJs) and improved lounge facilities in select airports, there is not really any difference in AA J and F internationally. Service is hit-or-miss, food is largely identical and the seat is just a bit larger. I personally prefer the J cabin on the 77W, as it's a bit more private than the F cabin. I've flown both pretty extensively pre-Covid and never felt put off if I wasn't able to use an upgrade to get into F. J is an overall good enough experience and is just about as good as AA gets.

With BA's Club Suite I would pretty much make the same argument, although I do still perceive there to be a service difference between Club and First on BA. And, I love the atmosphere of the BA F cabin with its warm blues. When Club was 2-4-2 there was a huge difference between the two cabins.

orbitmic

I’ll sound like a broken record, but it’s not because of the seats, routes or quality of the j product.

DL and UA have no F, so if F is not a huge money maker, AA has no reason to keep it given the competition that matters to them;

AF and LH have F, so even if F is not a huge money maker, BA has a big reason to keep it to avoid making a significant gift to the competition that matters to them.

Neither AA nor BA is in either “terrible cost centre, we really need to plug that hole” or “omg, goose that lays the golden eggs, what a winner” territory, and what differs betwwwn them in terms of tipping the decision is simply competitive scenes.

DeltaFlyingProf

Small correction, it's not necessarily BA metal you need. BA coded flights operated by AA count as much as AA coded flights operated by BA. In any case, those two flights (or four flights for gold) are a minor issue.

Genius1

4 sectors for Silver and Gold, and 2 for Bronze.

Tack

Off Topic I know, but I switched to BAEC for the FL. I travel just enough to the EU to get my BA flights with the rest domestic US. I’m excited to see what BA rolls out in T8 lounge wise. Im definitely a Lounge Lizard when I fly.

Arsey00

Visuals of the JFK overall improvement plans, for those interested. Skip to page 26 for the T8 AA/BA co-location plan specifically.

https://www.anewjfk.com/wp-content/u...m-overview.pdf

Quick overview gleaned from the above and various articles/bloggers: There will be both an Emerald Lounge and an actual F lounge, which presumably will be where our beloved CCR staff are moving. Looks like F check in could connect directly to the premium lounge area (behind current Bobby Van’s), with the new gates 18 and 20 just beyond mentioned by taylopet above, already knocked through. Renderings show BA using these gates but it doesn’t look like direct boarding from lounges. A few existing gates are being converted to wide body gates, as well as 3 hard stands being added. The existing Concourse B Flagship Lounge, FFD area, and the AC together will become an expanded J lounge.

BA begins landing at T8 on 17 November with flight 183. First T8 departure is 178 the next morning. For the subsequent two weeks flights will move over gradually. Last T7 departure is planned for the 114 on 30 November.

dwugson

Hopefully one positive will be improved security with Pre check TSA open for longer hours covering the evening departures unlike T7 with the 'pseudo' and chaotic PreCheck experience in the evening.

scillyisles

The CCR catering and waiting staff at JFK are all being let go - AA are running the new facility and their contract is with Sodexo

orbitmic

That's really sad. Some of them had been there for years (and some were really very lovely).

scillyisles

Yep we were upset when we found out on one of our recent trips through the JFK CCR in the last few weeks- we asked if there was anything we could do to help like email/write to BA but it is AA in the driving seat and their contract is with Sodexo

corporate-wage-slave

This is what it looks like tonight. Bobby Van's Grill is behind me but the right, and also to the right, between the Grill and where I'm standing, is a separate temporary plasterboarding which would be a corridor in terms of shape. That corridor ends where I take this photo, and on the left is gate 14 and 16 combined, though the waiting area on the left was previously for gate 14 only. So the area involved includes the space that was previously used as the waiting area for gate 16. This blocks off the end of the terminal, which is where you turn right in front of the walkway down to the satellite terminal.

MaxFlyer

I’m sure I read somewhere upthread that the staff were being moved over to T8. Looks like things have now changed. Very sad.

andymcdonnell

We’re flying to JFK on 26 Nov on BA173. Was hoping it’d be landing into T8 but alas still shows T7. Flying home on AA100 on 2nd Dec so will be interested to see what’s on offer for BA golds in terms of check in, lounge etc

Donsyb

it wasn’t LPGS for us, I don’t recall what it was but it was nice and better than what is served in J.