wco81

Checking some dates for next August (late) and September.

No direct SFO-LHR awards. Instead, you have to take Y to ORD or IAD and then board the TATL.

There are also LAX-LHR and PHX-LHR on BA 744 in J.

Then there is the one SJC-LHR on 789. Only bad thing about this one is that it departs at 20:09 and arrives at 14:25 so if you connect to Europe, you arrive in the late afternoon at the earliest, around 17:30.

So I would assume the 789s are nicer or at least newer than the 744 J cabins? Putting aside the schedule, the 789 seems a better bet?

But I've heard pretty bad things about BA J product in general, how narrow the seats are, etc.

Of course no availability ever of J saver awards on intercontinental AA metal.

Not any better for close in availability, like late October or early November of this year.

eponymous_coward

789J is 7 across, 744 UD J is 4 across (and some seats like 62 A/K are basically open access with no going over people's legs). So newer yes, but maybe not preferable if LAX/PHX timing is better and you can find a good 744 UD seat. UD 744 is considered the best BA J product. Problem is it's more $$$ to reserve the best 744 seats unless you have BA/OW status.

wco81

Hmm, thanks for the breakdown.

So upper deck is all J?

I see the awards there but I would not want to fly to ORD or further in Y just to connect to it.

I'll have to look at the PHX and LAX routings again.

I'm about 6600 miles short for a round-trip J saver TATL so would have to spend a couple of hundred dollars too.

JJeffrey

I'd also check over on the BA forum for updated opinions of the BA equipment in business class, 744 vs. 789, etc.

AA is playing all sorts of dirty games with award availability now, including married segment availability and the elimination of most sAAver awards to/from Europe within 14 & 7 days of the flight depending on the route.

But looking at just SFO-LHR I did find almost 40 days with availability in sAAver business class, AA metal, between now and March.

craigthemif

I'm surprised this wasn't a rant about surcharges on BA metal.

BA don't release much close-in award space in J/F. Too many people would book PE/J and upgrade at the last minute using Avios.

There are supposed to be 2 J award seats on every single BA flight. But given the popularity of SFO those can easily be snapped up at T-355 days.

wco81

eponymous_coward

Correct.

Would recommend booking as two one ways, BA doesn't charge as much on a Europe origin. But your surcharge will be substantial, even more so if you're paying $$$ for additional AA miles and $$$ for a good seat.

Seating Queries: Club World

A 744 would have to be serious "wow, this is garbage" to make 7 across J > 4 across J for me (when that 4J UD config has extra storage when you're in a 744 window seat). So far the CW product is mostly universal across the fleet, with better IFE on the 789s than on some of the 744s (they are refreshing IFE on some 744s).

Not having to connect and just flying out of SJC might be tempting, though the problem of getting in at a late hour is problematic.

guv1976

This is a case where you need to fasten your seat belt before you board the plane.

JDiver

The 787-9 has the Rolls Royce engines - the ones with the extra maintenance requirements. But I think BA has done a better job keeping most 787 schedules operating with Dreamliners, rather than subbing in bush airlines crappy metal on ACMI leases.

I’ve git SJC-LHR coming up in ~three weeks. Much cheaper than one way Bay Area - Lisbon, even with the onerous YQ. Be sure to check the BAEC forum dashboard for seat configurations. There are definitely better and worse seats in J, including window seats that one can access the aisle without clambering over someone else.

HLCinCOU

Well that's not really a fair comparison given the widths involved. The upper deck just has less floor space to work with. As you noted it looks to be the same seat on both aircraft, so the only real difference in terms of space would be the width of the aisles.

That said, if you take routing out of the equation I would absolutely take the 744. I've never been on the upper deck, and everybody I hear (and read) talking about it makes it seem pretty darn slick. Tiny little cabin with a "private plane" feel but the quietness of the front of a jumbo. Just sounds great to me. Meanwhile the 789 hard product would be inferior to most all the international J I've flown (most of which was on AA) and not really offer any unique experience.

But on the...uh...third hand, Would I fly a midcon in Y to take the 744 over a direct with poor timing on the 789? That's a lot harder question. I might take that mid-afternoon arrival in LHR and stop there for a day or two. Or I might decide the idea of the upper deck was just too powerful and remind myself I fly Y midcons plenty. Hard telling I guess.

amm

flyer0123

I have been on both 787 and 744 (always n Upper Deck) few times. I would take the 744 in a heartbeat, if I can get the UpperDeck and select my preferred seat 64AK or 62AK. Some of BA's most frequent flyers claim they prefer this to First Class

As others have said 744 entertainment screen is not good and also in general I find BA's content lot less than competitors in any type of aircraft. I am happy to sleep in my private cabin of 64AK

I would be careful about BA's surcharges. I have found them to be unreasonably high and haven't used BA for an award ticket in the past few years. However I have been able to find BA J ticket at reasonable prices compared to any competitor

wco81

Well I finally tried pricing these BA J saver awards.

$1450 in fees/taxes for those awards.

What a joke.

Of course no J saver TATL awards on AA's own metal.