I used to do a lot more business travel than I have in the past few years. Was United 1K for 3 years PE for 4 years before that, etc. Corp travel has really cracked down, and I agree with you. Used to be any airtime over 12hrs was auto business. Then any segment over 12 hrs. Now NO business class travel. I have miles for upgrade on most US carriers, but not BA and our travel dept. is required to book lowest available or I get a call from finance. Yeah, sucks. If it was up to me, I'd pay the $2K difference for Y+ out of pocket, but the wife has some say in that . . .

Gulf Air codeshares on AA's LAX-LHR-LAX flights

Cheers

BiziBB, no, I haven't had bad travel experiences in general...

you seem to be upset, presumably because your location is Sydney, and a different thread is revealing the overrated qualites of that place. Right? Is that your real concern?

I thought my suggestion of going through Malaysia is a perfectly reasonable alternative to going through Europe, and might even be faster and cheaper.

BA 268 W9 T9 - WT+ is around 1/3 full; all Y classes are available; doesn't look all that full in Y but BA blocks a lot of seats for gate assignment so hard to say.

BA 55 - pretty full across the board; showing W7 T0 so only the expensive WT+ seats left. Y has a lot of unassigned seats but showing Y9 B9 H6 K2 M0 R0 V0 N0 L0 S0 Q0 so the cheap ones are gone. Don't know if WT+ buy-ups are possible but worth a try.

Both BA 54 and 279 are showing W9 T9; lots of open seats in both the WT+ and WT- cabins on both. If you can't buy up, you might be able to get an empty 3- or 4 seat row.

With absolutely no disrespect, as a big guy myself I really think this itin sounds like the DVT express. Do you own some compression socks? If not, get some. Is your employer aware of the potential effects of 2 back-to-back overnight 10+ hour flights? At a minimum I would try walking most of the way to Africa if I were you. Being back by the heads at least means you can mingle with the other inmates. Again, no disrespect, but for me this would be a dealbreaker with my employer.

I know the decison has already been made but it's possible to do it on Swiss (LX) on their flagship A340.

LAX-ZRH-JNB

This may be to late for JTG but hopefully not, and hopefully a reminder...

If this ordeal is your re-entry into frequent flying, then at least you should try to get something lasting out of it besides memories of BA cattle class.

American code-shares on the BA LHR-JNB-LHR legs, if you fly AA transatlantic. While BA won't let you join the BAEC with a discount Y itinerary, AA will be happy to let you challenge on AA-numbered flights. If you're not familiar with AA's "Platinum Challenge" then go to the AA board and read the stickys right now.

Looking on ITA, an itinerary booked through aa.com going LAX (AA) JFK (AA) LHR (BA) JNB (BA) LHR (AA) JFK (AA) LAX for your dates is almost exactly the same price as the BA flights. You'd be adding a connection at JFK both ways, but honestly in coach I think that's a good thing; time to stretch legs and walk around a bit. Plus, AA's 777s over the pond are set up 2-5-2 vs. BA's 3-4-3 in Y, so one less middle seat per row and the same number of aisle/windows.

Here's a link to an ITA fare sheet showing a possible itinerary. http://tinyurl.com/nj7kn By Plat challenging, you'd hit Plat on the LHR-JNB flight, and from that point forward you'd earn double miles. I estimate for the whole trip you'd book something like 40K miles counting Plat bonus. Plus, when you get to LHR on the way back, you could most likely explain your situation to the Admirials Club people and get lounge access at both LHR and JFK on the return legs.

This may delay your arrival at JNB or back at LAX by a few hours, but IMO it's seriously worth that in terms of ongoing status, greater comfort in flying, and making the most of your company's (and your own) investment.