AA or AB for TATL
 

Flying to Europe in December from JFK, first time doing this via oneworld carriers. My options are (coach both):

AA 44 JFK-CDG on B763
AB 7451 JFK - DUS on A332

I've never flown AA internationally and I've never flown AB at all. I'm flying with my 6-yr old son (actually landing in Europe the morning of his birthday).

Which would you pick? Layovers etc. being equal.

Thanks!

What is your final destination? Because you could also opt for the JFK-ZRH (Zurich) flight leaving at 6:10 PM and arriving at 7:55 AM (+1).

If the CDG/DUS are the only flights you are considering: AA has wider seats 17.2" vs 17.0" on AB. With regards to entertainment on board, both use an overhead monitor if I am not mistaking. But for the rest, its nearly the same.

Connecting on to VIE and then BEG. These were the only routes I could find on short notice for two awards via AA miles.

Belgrade would probably be the 17.55 flight on Niki? If you are flying on Oneworld, I would recommend at least to use DUS instead of CDG because there is "better support" in case of irregular operations. In addition to this, CDG is a mess if you want to connect.

Another option you could consider is JFK-LHR-VIE-BEG (with the first two flights on BA, connect within T5).

Depending your final destination in Serbia, there are also 2 other routes that you could take into consideration and saves you a stop: JFK-LHR and then LHR-Zagreb (Starts 9th of Dec on BA) or LHR-Sofia (daily on BA).

With a six-year-old I would always choose the TATL day flight (AA 142) to London --- and after an overnight in a hotel near Heathrow airport, proceed the next day onward. It generally helps that 142 is also one of the easiest flights to find TATL redemptions on. Given how short a flight it is (often just 5 or so hours in the air, many times not enough time to watch a second movie), it frankly doesn't matter much what they serve or when.

[Without knowing exactly where you're going, it might be worth keeping in mind that BA has a new daily nonstop from London Heathrow to Zagreb starting Dec. 9, departing LHR at 8:25 am. Alternatively you can choose the LHR - VIE - BEG routing on Air Berlin/Niki.]

AB has some A332 with personal screens, so you may be lucky and get on one of them...

AA or AB for TATL
 

Best would be DUS / VIE. AB ha much newer planes and entertainment. The experience onboard is more contemporary. AA is old and tired, and the the service is bare bones. the only reason to go for AA would be that AB might not have a fare from the US to BEG thus forcing you into redeeming intra europe award. Avoid, BA and LHR due to surcharges that will make your redemption worthless.