I am about to return to the world of travelling and would appreciate advice on which airline to switch to, following a job change.
Situation as follows:

I am currently a Prem Exec on UA based in London (living near LHR). My previous job required frequent travel all over the US using the cheapest fare available. I therefore used UA because:
- Timetable suited me
- Possible to get to Prem Exec using cheap tickets
- Double Miles
- Found it worth upgrading on the way back when I use upgradeable fares

In my new position I will be permitted to use Premium Economy. I will be focused on NYC, SFO and Tokyo, mainly NYC. Question is which airline to use. It's down to AA or Virgin because:
- timetables to NYC are good
- Virgin has Prem Econ, which I will get as a minimum. Not sure of chance of upgrades (with miles is expensive)
- AA has MRTC. Upgrade with miles is reasonable.

One other complicating factor is that I tend to order a special meal.

I have little experience of either Virgin or AA and would therefore appreciate any advice

I would suggest the oneworld alliance, which includes AA. Heathrow is oneworld's major hub.

AA has a strong international operation at JFK, which would be perfect for what you're looking for. You will be able to make easy connections to SFO. You would have the option of connecting in any of these cities: JFK, BOS, ORD, and LAX. You could also make a connection to SFO in DFW if you depart from Gatwick. As you can see, AA will give you a lot of options for your trips to the US.

For Tokyo, all you'll have to do is hop aboard one of AA's partners: BA or JAL. You will also be able to hop aboard Cathay Pacific if you elect to connect in HKG.

No matter what seat you get on AA, you will always receive MRTC (except 757s and A300s which are not used trans-atlantic).

AA offers a plethora of special meals. To see their options, visit http://www.aa.com/content/travelInfo...ialMeals.jhtml .

Lastly, the AAdvantage program is one of the best in the industry. Just take a look in the AA forum for more suggestions here.

Seeing as you live in London, I'm surprised you aren't giving BA a shot. AA and BA are best friends. People from the Americas tend to use American and people from Europe/UK tend to use British. I would think you would get more out of the BA Executive Club than you would the AAdvantage program just due to your location. They offer a comparable product to AA and will fly you non-stop to all the destinations you plan on flying to.

Thanks tekelberry. This certainly gives me some required information. To clarify a few points:

- MRTC sounds good, although I am comparing it to PE on VS.
- I don't use BA because they don't upgrade if you order a special meal. Of course if I did use AA I would go WT+ to Tokyo which would be OK as it would be occasional but no upgrade to CW makes the Exec Club unattractive for NY travel. Question is whether VS have the same special meal/no upgrade policy.
- In terms of routes AA + Oneworld does have an advantage over VS, although all my travel will be to VS destinations.

I have been very happy with AA in Y flying from London, though if the comparison is to VS PE the equation is admittedly somewhat different. As VS now has redemption and earning partnerships with CO and DL as well as SQ, BD, et al. numerous options are available, though the paid travel routings are perhaps not as flexible as Oneworld.

If most travel is to the US, AA provides upgrades and 100% mileage accrual even on discount US coach fares, and on discount intra-European flights is equivalent to BA. While it lacks a WT+ equivalent, the connection options within the US are much better, both in the event one needs to visit multiple locations on a single itinerary and to provide multiple routing options.

For eastbound flights to Tokyo from the UK, one can still fly and earn on BA for the AA flights.

[This message has been edited by chalf (edited 10-14-2003).]

[This message has been edited by chalf (edited 10-14-2003).]