Hello, Soon to be joining OW via US entering the Alliance. After having long used *A carriers for TATL flights, I'm looking at some options to go NYC-MUC-LON-NYC (not particular about airports in NYC or LON).

Flying in Y, so primarily seat comfort, lounges, onboard service, and help in terms of IRROPS. If things transfer as expected, I'm assuming I'll be a OW Sapphire as a US Gold. I'm looking at these flights, and just curious from an FTer/OWer perspective which would be better:

JFK-LHR-MUC on BA or AA/BA
JFK-MAD-MUC on IB
JFK-DUS-MUC on AB


On the return, most likely looking at BA or AA direct, and tempted to do BA just to try out the 787 into EWR.

As seasoned OW flyers which carrier would you go with. (they're all about within about $100 so price isn't a huge factor)

Thanks, and optimistically looking forward to joining OW! (while pining for all the great lost *A connections and carriers)

I haven't flown AB long haul, so can only compare AA, BA and IB. Pros and cons from my perspective are listed below. For me, considering it is Y class travel, it's a toss up between BA and AA, with a slight lean towards BA.

AA
Pros:
77W between JFK-LHR
Good seats in terms of legroom (particularly MCE if you can get it with status)
Very good IFE
Cons:
Spirits are not complimentary in Y

BA
Pros:
Same Terminal connection if traveling JFK-LHR-MUC
Good Lounges at JFK and LHR
Complimentary alcohol on board
Latest IFE if you're on the B787 to EWR
Cons:
Seat comfort and legroom (unless you get an exit row)
IFE not as good as AA's 77W, particularly as most JFK-LHR flights operated by B744

IB
Pros:
Catering and complimentary alcohol
IFE on A330 is good, A340s being progressively updated
Seat pitch on A340 is OK, exit rows is great
Lounge at MAD T4S is very good
Cons:
Mainscreen IFE on A340s
Service indifferent at best
Seat pitch on the A330 is tight.

Onboard service on all carriers can be hit and miss – IMHO BA would have the edge for consistency, but I've not had any real problems with AA. As noted above, IB crews can be indifferent at best, although better if you speak Spanish.

Can't really advise on IRROPS. I've not had too many occasions where I've needed assistance, however I've always found AA staff to be helpful in adverse situations. Status helps a lot.

Hope you find yourself right at home with oneworld.

I think AA's 77W with MCE would give you the best experience in term of seat comfort and legroom. Plus you can connect to the internet.

Adding to what inasmuchas wrote above:

AB uses 332s across the Atlantic, with refurbished interiors featuring up-to-date in-seat IFE.
As OW Sapphire you'll have free advance access to exit row seats (what AB calls "XL" seats) but getting them requires calling and persistency.
Inflight service is on par with BA, food even a bit better, and there's free alcohol including spirits. DUS connections are painless and quick. Comes recommended, except:
A lot of cheaper fare classes only earn 25% miles in AAdvantage! check the chart here.
Also, some IB deep discount fare classes on other than TATL routes earn only 80% in AAdvantage - chart here.
I have no idea how the earnings translate to Dividend Miles but there's a chance this could be an issue.

AA does serve complimentary beer and wine in Y on flights to Europe (spirits are $$, though).
The AA 77W is a very mixed bag: while MCE is indeed pleasant, it is a very cramped experience with 10-across seating in regular Y. If you're not really a small person, value space/legroom and can't get into MCE or the few (Row 31) good seats in the back (check seat maps using the 'view available seats' on aa.com before booking!), stay away.
The LHR transit from T3 where the AA flights arrive/depart to T5 (for BA connecting flights) is a slog: Long walks, long lines and a bus ride. You don't have access to expedited 'Fast Track' service as Sapphire. LHR security gets a great deal of (well-deserved) hate on these boards as well.

BA offers free advance seat selection for OW elites. As a Sapphire, you get to choose all regular seats for free at the time of booking but have to pay for exit rows (these are only available to Emeralds for free).

IB has free advance seat selection for Sapphires. This should include exit rows. The wording on their website is very unclear, though, and I haven't flown them since the current policies went into effect last Oct.

As a Sapphire, you'll have lounge access anywhere on this itinerary. The BA lounges in LHR are pretty good, as well as the IB ones in MAD. The BA lounge in MUC is decent as well but has no shower. Flying AB would get you into the Atlantik lounge there which does offer showers.

AA does offer complimentary alcohol on these flights. (or at least should do so according to their website):

https://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/intl_beer-wine.jsp

I have no experience on the 77W, did fly TATL on 757 and 767 and it was offered there. Would be surprised it's different on 77W.

About IB:
My experience about their service is OK. Not better or worse that it's on AA. I have no recent experience on BA and no experience on AB.
It helps on IB if you speak a little Spanish. They seem to cheer up if you do your best to address them in their mother tongue.
I loved the IFE on the A330 but as stated by inasmuchas seating is very cramped.

Thank you all for your help/suggestions! I'll post when I return and give my impression.

I've spent more time in Heathrow than many people, so I know it well... It does have a bad reputation, but it has improved immensely over the years.

AA offers complimentary beer and wine only, the rest also serve free spirits.

One other thing to consider may be a potential higher mile earning on some of these airlines due to status: for example as a BA Gold/Silver (OW sapphire or emerald) you earn twice as many miles (avios in BA speak) when flying with BA or TATL JV partners IB, AA, but not with AB.

if you can get on the 77W in MCE i would definitely take that

Just to report back, I had the following routing in the end:

JFK-LHR-MUC on BA 747-400

Pros:
-BA Galleries lounge at JFK was great, but a total zoo.
-Easy connection at T5
-Galleries Lounge at T5

Cons:
-Abysmal security lines for BA premium & status pax. Much easier and quicker to go to the normal security line in the main check in hall
-Horribly uncomfortable seat, I actually might take a Ryanair slimline non reclining seat over flying a BA 747 again (though I usually love the aircraft itself, just not on BA)
-Tiny IFE screen which cut in and out throughout the flight


Return was meant to be a BA 787 LHR-EWR but it was cancelled due to the aircraft being taken out of service. BA was woefully inadequate during IRROPS. BA.com wouldn't allow any rebooking online, and when the automatic rebooking finally came through it was for 2 days after the originally booked flight. It took 2 tries and over 2.5 hours on the phone with BA to get in touch with an agent, who warned me "You are aware if I book you on an AA flight, it is not a BA product and it is an inferior level of service to what BA provide."

Turned out to be a very interesting statement in the end....

Finally got booked on an AA 773 service but it took 12 hours for the ticket to be reissued, not allowing for checkin, except at the airport, and missing out on an MCE seat.


LHR-JFK on AA 773

Pros:
-Seat was very comfortable
-Fantastic IFE
-Better policing of boarding and bag stowage by cabin crew
-Best AA crew I've had in a long time
-Quickest Immigration/Customs and Baggage Reclaim I've experienced at JFK

Cons:
-Admirals Club at T3 (vs. Galleries at T5)


From now on, unless at a real push, I likely will not be considering BA on any long haul journeys. Their short and medium haul is great, but I wouldn't get in another one of their 744s again. The lounge experience on both sides is great, but not enough to make up for their inferior hard product.

IME that's the New British Airways - in terms of pax care on the ground (irrops, bag handling, interlining with 'foreign' carriers like Iberia, etc) the boss seems to be engaged in a race to the bottom with the likes of Ryanair. A harsh exaggeration, perhaps, but in any case a world away from the behavior one would have expected from the proud British Airways that was once one of the best in the world. RIP.

The BA lounge at T3 is pretty decent.

Yeah, those 744s are showing their age, and as much as I like the type in general, I stay away unless I'm on the upper deck or in Row 1
But not all longhaul is as bad as you experienced: their A380 is actually very decent in Y, especially when you can snag an exit row on the upper deck or 25D (the 'throne seat' downstairs). Give that a try should you fly to LAX!

Since nobody has answered about IRROPS:

My experience with IB on the ground is abysmal. Typically, customer service is not a concept they grasp, other than one baggage desk woman at BCN, who is positively brilliant, Er, probably was, as I can;t imagine they can tolerate that for long.

One LAX-MAD flight in Business Plus, a minor discrepancy in Lady JDiver's ticket (we were allowed to fly out of SFO on AA with it, IB had assured me it would not be a problem, and we once again had no problems with AA on the return, nor with IB at FCO nor MAD).

The upshot is they could not deal with it (didn't want to deal with it) for the hours the check-in TBIT desk was open, and their final offers (supervisor) was I could fly, Lady JDiver could not. On our 45th anniversary, that would have been brilliant (and likely not conducive to a 46th). It actually took my calling AA, who contacted their liaison to IB, who called LA and told them "let my people go" or the like. We made the flight with less than a half hour to spare. (I do speak Castilian Spanish fluently - language was not the issue.)

This has been the same with Iberia for the decades I have flown them.

BA - I have had several issues with BA over time, where basically the translation of the poor English and/or inability to hear my questions (or to reply noncommittally that basically, what had happened was beyond their ken and purview) was basically "pound sand, sorry".

AA - I have had a couple of incidents over the years, one in which I called the EXP desk and was told not to worry, I was protected on the next flight and all I had to do was, now that I called, proceed to the DFW Admirals Club at my leisure to recover the boarding passes associated with our new flight. At the Club, I was told nothing had been done, and was disbelieved about calling until I was able to show the number and time on my cellular. I did not get out on the desired flight, nor any time that day (by that time, all seats were gone).

But in the muchness, I have found AA to be more responsive, particularly if I had done my homework and called them with alternative flights, etc. (Yes, I saved them the time and effort and made it easier for them to do their job; that works for me.) So I have a pretty high percentage of AA doing things right, but not to perfection.

Interesting comments from everyone. Thanks.

On the IRROPS note:
Do any of the OW airlines Elite phone numbers recognize other OW Sapphire/Emerald numbers?

(i.e. Is there a way not to wait for hours on the phone?)


.

I agree that AA's ability to handle irrops is superior to both BA's and IB's. But I must say the best irrop handling I've ever experienced has been on US - I have grateful memories of angelic club agents not only pulling out all the stops to rebook me, but even on one occasion to get somebody to retrieve my checked bag from the great underbelly of PHL. So this is one area where I feel the new merged carrier will have a great pedigree from both sides of the family.