LAX - JFK in Business??
 

My in-laws recently paid for a major portion of my wedding (to their daughter), which was an amazing and unexpected gift...

I want to at least partially return the favor. They have always wanted to go to New York. I want to book the trip for them, and I have enough AMEX MR to do it.

I want to put them in Business class for the flight so they are comfortable (they've never been on a plane for more than a short flight).

Whats the best option (remember, using AMEX MR point transfer partners) for an LAX-JFK in business? I'm guessing my main choices are Delta and CO?

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

If you transfer to BA, you can redeem the BA miles on AA for busines-class travel on AA's three-class 767's. However, BA has started to assess its fuel surcharges on at least some redemptions for travel on AA. Don't know whether the fuel surcharges are being imposed for wholly domestic award travel on AA. You could try doing a test booking at ba.com before transferring miles to check this, if you would be interested in having them fly on AA.

In theory, the same thing could be done via a *A airline for redemption on UA p.s. (good luck with the actual redemption). Again, make sure it's bookable before transferring the Amex points.

On Delta's 757's from JFK-LAX, some of them now use the international-style Biz Elite seats, which is a nice treat for a cross-country flight. Also, Delta lets you use the SkyClub at LAX and JFK for LAX-JFK flyers (not for other domestic 1st class tix). Check available flights against the seatmaps at seatguru.com to see which 757's have the recliner seats.

I flew Continental from EWR-LAX and was disappointed to learn that they don't allow access to their 1st class lounge if you're flying that route, and the 1st class seats aren't as nice as the Delta biz seats: definitely smaller, less legroom.

And if you ever want to treat yourself, or others, to a nice JFK-LAX experience, get them 1st class on Virgin America. It's just such a nice flying experience overall, although way smaller in scale than the Delta Biz Elite from JFK-LAX. It has a certain "Ahhhhhh" factor... I sometimes wonder if execs from other airlines fly Virgin America and think, "Oh, *this* is how it's supposed to be done...."

Kirby