Which airline to use?
 

I'm currently planning a trip to Paris for myself and my SO. We're both AA PLT, but probably doing very little flying this year--doubt we'll qualify for GLD for next year, based on travel. So I've got a couple of options--fly AA, which would let me go from LAX to LHR in F and LHR-CDG in J (return CDG-Boston in J and Boston-LAX in F). Or...I've heard good things about VS' Upper Class. That would cost a bit more, and it would involve a flight (or possibly the Eurostar train) from London. I've flown J internationally on AA, and it was nice...didn't hold a candle to CX or QF, but it was good. But I've never flown F internationally (on any airline). Thoughts? Experiences? Any input is much appreciated.

why not AF?
 

They also offer First class, and you won't have to deal with the London Zoo (aka LHR).

I hadn't even considered AF. My first thought was that getting the miles on AA would be important. Then I remembered that elite status only drops by one level if you don't re-qualify. So, thinking we're not going to re-qualify, why work toward GLD when we can try a different airline. I've mostly heard raves about VS, so that's why they came to mind. Flying AF in J would be good...flight times less than ideal, but the price is good and flying nonstop would be great. But the F tickets are way more expensive than either of the other options. Still, I'll keep other airlines in mind...it'd be nice to get miles, but the important thing is that the trip is an enjoyable one...and a really nice flight goes a long way in that regard. Thanks for the tip!

Don't know how it stacks up to the competition, but Air India flies LAX-FRA. It may be a good way of getting a slightly different experience and avoiding the LHR mess at the same time.

Not sure how its prices and service stack up, but TN (Air Tahiti Nui) also flies non-stop LAX-CDG. The down side is you won't earn any miles with this airline.

LAX

PS: Another non-stop option is DL if you are thinking about ST (beside AF).

You might try CO. Their BusinessFirst is a very good product. You would connect either IAH or EWR to either a 777 or 767 to CDG. And they're having a sale right now on BusinessFirst fares to Europe. You won't be disappointed with CO service in J. It's probably not as good as the VS service, but the price will be better, too.

Don't know how long you have, but if these are paid premium-class tickets, you might want to think counter-intuitively and head out the other way. Either the NZ-SQ-VS "Escapade" RTW, or the SQ-VS two-carrier RTW products might get you to Paris the fun way at a cheaper price than the AA fare alone. If you can get UA to comp your AA status you could book the SQ miles, and ride Economy+ on UA domestically following the full re-introduction of LRTC on AA. Look at SQ's website here.

AFAIK one can earn AF miles on TN. ^

Interesting that the RTW came up as an option. We did a OneWorld Circle Pacific last year in J--and unfortunately (or fortunately, I guess), I'm completely spoiled now. I've flown AA business from LHR (or maybe LGW) to STL, and as I recall, it was a good experience. As for the other airlines...I've heard that for the most part, the F and J experience is better on non-US based airlines. But my limited experience with AA was fairly good...of course, I find AA's LAX-JFK in J to be generally pretty good. So I'd say that probably, we'll end up on AA unless there's an option with significantly better service.

I know that Air Tahiti Nui is an AA partner, but I don't know the rules for mileage accrual. And I did consider a RTW ticket, but my dates aren't flexible, and I don't have a whole lot of time (probably 8-9 days). So it looks like the RTW is more expensive than a round trip, and it would cut into our time in Paris. Someday, though, I definitely want to do a RTW.

Thanks again to all who are helping.

Really? Didn't know about this one. Thanks!

You are only able to redeem on TN with AAdvantage, not accrue, AFAIK!

LAX