zagat4

Which is superior, or are they both ok? According to seat guru, BA has surprisingly not-great reviews for business class. Trying to see what saver awards pop up on both airlines and wondering if there is a clear winner here.

Yoshi212

BA's J class hard product is behind the times, even behind UA. The PMCO J, in my opinion, is far ahead of the PMUA J product. BA J on the A380 & 787 are nicer as they are fresher versions but still an inferior product compared to today's J standards.


Service on BA has generally been good in J but there is always off times for crews.

Mwenenzi

If you find a business class saver award NYC London on any airline take it before some one else does. Hard to get. If you blink it may be gone.
Look all NYC city, London or even other UK airports.

Yoshi212

When is this travel planned for?

BA's off-peak awards are a great value if you're traveling during it.. The award calendar has an option to show peak & off-peak periods. BA tends to have pretty decent J awards on this route with the large capacity.

LondonElite

This is actually more nuanced than you might think. I have spent a lot of time in both BA and UA J seats and, at the moment, there is no clear winner. (By the way, the regulars on the BA board will lynch you if you refer to the airline as British or British Air! It's British Airways or BA.)

There are several things to consider:

- If you can secure one of the several coveted seats on the BA services (please see the BA dashboard for this), for example 64A/K on the 747 UD, these are generally superior to UA
- BA is generally laid out 2-4-2. Most BA window seats, as well as those in the middle, require you to step over someone to get out
- I have no experience of the Polaris seat, but the old UA (ie pre-merger) seats are very narrow (again, you'll need to step over someone if you're in a window or 'middle'). I also find that you're very close to your neighbour (BA is much more isolated).
- It is true that the BA product is behind many others, though not necessarily UA.
- JFK (BA only) vs EWR (BA/UA) may also be a consideration. BA has a service into LGW, but there are no other London airports to consider.

Personally, I sleep very well on the BA club seat. It is wide and spacious enough for me. For such a short haul service, I really have no interest in food or drink and aim to get to sleep as quickly as possible.

Yoshi212

Some additional comments
-In general BA lounges > UA Club for NYC.
-BA has a 23:00 departure which can help maximize sleep and arrival into LHR is a 11:00+1 day which can make it better for hotel situations vs an early morning arrival which is better for business.

LondonElite

Yes, BA lounges are much better. I usually take the last (2300) service to LHR. This gives me a full day in NYC, an unstressful ride to JFK at ca 2030, and a light dinner in the lounge. A nice whisky on board and it's off to sleep.