404FlightNotFound

I'm looking to book AA award ticket from ATL-xxx-NRT-BKK in J and wonder if I should go through ORD (77W) or DFW (787.) I know the J seats are the same (SkySuite, which looks great.) The total travel+transit time is about the same for either route. Is there any reasons to choose one over another? Is 787 more comfortable due to better cabin pressure?

JALPak

You should consider routing through HKG because there's no sky suite products on TYO-BKK route. Seats are angled flat.

Unimatrix One

What time of year? If it's anytime between November and early April I would choose DFW every time. ORD has too many weather disruptions in the winter. (DFW gets winter weather too, but not as often as ORD.)

As for 787 vs. 77W, some people say the 787 is more comfortable due to better cabin pressure and humidity, but I can't tell the difference. I feel equally bad regardless of which aircraft I'm on.

I believe the 77W J menu is slightly better than the 787 menu, with a few more choices on the a la carte menu. Also, I understand the 787 main course is served in a casserole dish while 77W main courses are plated on board. I assume it has to do with limited galley space on the 787. That said, the 787 menu is still amazing for J.

Unimatrix One

Are you suggesting the OP fly AA or CX for the TPAC leg? That's quite a downgrade in quality (compared to JL) just to avoid angled flat seating on the BKK leg. Personally I would still choose JL in a heartbeat, even with angled flat seats on the TYO-BKK route.

JALPak

Absolutely! CX is best for AA redemption and CX fanboys will tell you how CX has the best product and service and one thing you can't beat CX is its frequency.

ganbare

I flew DFW-NRT last month, the main course was plated and the a la carte menu was quite plentiful. I can't speak to other 787 routes, maybe they stepped it up because DFW is new?

AlwaysSunnyInORD

I would do DFW on the 787 since the seat is the same. I find the ride on the Dreamliner to be smoother and more quiet (the closer towards the front the better due to engine noise). The higher humidity in the cabin is also nice and was noticeable to me. Usually my skin and throat feel dry after long haul flights but less so on the 787.

dw

Not sure when you are thinking of taking your trip, but for the next 6+ months, there is a fair amount of J award space on the DFW flight (some flights have 4 J seats available), while availability is spotty to non-existent on the ORD flight.

404FlightNotFound

Thank you everyone for suggestions! I plan to take the trip in December, so still plenty of J award space on both flights. I'd prefer to go via NRT than HKG for a couple reasons. First, I need to pick up something at the NRT duty free which has a much cheaper price than in HKG. Second, I flew the AA 77W J last year (same hard product as CX) and I didn't like it that much; sleeping in the angle towards the direction of travel made it weird. Besides, I would love to try the SS which looks amazing!

I think I will go for the DFW as per unanimous suggestions on here!

jiaotze

I've flown both ex-ORD and ex-DFW, and while the hard product is virtually the same, I thought the food ex-DFW was noticeably better (although ex-ORD wasn't shabby in the least). The number of ala carte selections seemed the same to me.

As someone else indicated, perhaps JL is trying to step it up ex-DFW as it promotes a new route.

I also liked the 787 ex-DFW (but for the tiny lavs), but the arrival time of the ORD flight into NRT is preferable for me, as any delay more than 45-60 mins in the DFW flight can put some onward connections at NRT into jeopardy.

anubond005

I am doing the same route in Nov from ATL. But I am staying in Japan for a day (less than 24hrs). I might take SFO becaz it gets in HND early morning and I will have whole day for touring Tokyo and take next day 12:15 am to BKK. Will save on hotel too.
But if I don't get that flight I will opt via DFW jus becaz ATL-DFW leaves at a decent time like 8ish whereas for ORD u have to take 5:45 one. Also dfw got Cebturion 😀