has anyone used AA for a long distance flight and BA air

[Dznypal]

I have been checking air fare for awhile for our trip to London and then on the cruise

fares are unbelievable but that should be no surprise

anyways so far AA seems to have the "cheapest fare" with just a slight upgrade

so I was wondering if anyone has flown long distance and how it was--as far as comfort
were already planning on taking the around a 6pm flight from Chicago so well probably sleep on and off
on the way over

not sure if the slight upgrades are worth it thats way Im looking for personal advice

this is just so confusing
thanks for any tips or advice
actually Im mostly wondering like upgrading do you really notice a few extra inches I do like the fact that one upgrades you dont have to pay for luggage depending on upgrade its either one or 2 per person one more also I like to pay for seats so I know exactly where Im sitting at what point in doing the resveration does the choice come in to pay for picking seats I want to make sure I get this also

thanks again

 

[EACarlson]

I think that is it worth it to go from Economy to Premium Economy is a very personal decision that depends quite a bit on size. I'm 6'2" 215lbs, I would certainly like the extra few inches in each direction. PE is 2-3-2, Economy is 3-3-3, so one fewer seat across and then a few extra inches between your seat and one in front of you, called pitch. The prices I see for ORD-LHR next month says it's a 30% increase in price, personally I wouldn't do it. But that's me and my values. If it was a 10% difference, I probably would. On American you choose seats at booking, if you don't have any status with them you can only select from certain seats without paying additional for "premium" seats. You generally get to choose from middles in the back half of the plane, aisles and windows in the back third.

 

[Dznypal]

great thanks for the reply so much to think about
since travel opened up again we were in vegas twice and WDW this Jan so this is the first big trip again in a long time and I just want everything to get great--not looking for perfect but great would be ok

 

[JWelch62]

I have used British Airways for two European trips. Once business class, booked mid pandemic when flights were cheap, and once premium economy. The flights between LHR and San Diego are 10+ hours. I would not be able to do standard economy, it's just too cramped for me. My biggest complaint is that BA charges you for seat selection, even in premium economy. If you don't want to pay, you can select your seats for free 24 hours before departure. On the plus side, premium economy gets you two checked bags (22kg limit). From a comfort perspective the premium economy seats are very roomy, with good leg and shoulder room. I generally don't sleep on flights, but got a solid 2 hours in during our last flight.

 

[Dznypal]

thats all good to know too thanks

I have priced out both AA and BA and it says for some times operated by either AA orBA and yet BA is so much more

Ill be glad when we have our flights

 

[sam_gordon]

Delta allows you to upgrade just one leg of the flight. We have done so a couple of times so the "long" leg is 'Comfort +'. Some more leg room, little bit comfier seats, some more snack choices, etc.

So it saves a little bit of money (because we don't buy for the entire flight), but helps on the long legs. Not sure if AA allows that or not.

 

[Dznypal]

actually thanks for the tip on delta--unfortunatly delta isnt a non stop
but checking between the tiers it seems AA doenst not allow to book in different classes

like I did basic ecomony going and then main cabin and got a message that you cant go one way basic and another way main cabin
I suppose if you want to book sepertly but that would be a lot of extra work
why does this need to be so difficult--
thanks again

 

[sam_gordon]

actually thanks for the tip on delta--unfortunatly delta isnt a non stop
but checking between the tiers it seems AA doenst not allow to book in different classes

like I did basic ecomony going and then main cabin and got a message that you cant go one way basic and another way main cabin
I suppose if you want to book sepertly but that would be a lot of extra work
why does this need to be so difficult--
thanks again

We booked our Delta flights as Main Cabin. AFTER booking, we could upgrade a single leg to C+.

 

[Dznypal]

Oh interesting that you could upgrade after you were dine with booking. Right now I’m still looking at airfares. Thanks for the tip

 

[LadybugsMum]

Often Comfort+ is slightly cheaper if you buy it later. At least it has been on the RDU/MCO flights.

 

[EACarlson]

AA does allow you to buy up one segment at a time. I just had my company book me on an AA flight, when I went to change my seats it was offering me a buy up on each segment. $66 to move to Main Cabin Extra, what AA calls Comfort+, for ORD-MCI

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

I've flown AA/BA to London from Chicago a bunch. On AA the upgrade to Premium Economy would be like getting a domestic first class seat and elevated dining. Sometimes after purchase you will receive and offer to upgrade to Business and Premium Economy in the app. The offers can vary widely. I've seen Business Class upgrades for $5k but have also seem them for $500-ish (which I took). You just need to check every once in awhile if interested. I've read reports on Flyertalk of some sub $300 upgrades from Economy to Premium Economy which is a great deal.

As far as seats within coach, I wouldn't pay up to book the "preferred"seats (green seats on the seat map). They offer no extra legroom...they are just closer to the front. The orange color seats are the ones I'd book if staying in coach. They are MCE (main cabin extra) seats that offer 3-5 inches of extra room. Great if you are tall. You can pay cash or miles once the ticket is booked.

I've really only flown business on AA/BA, but they are a good option if departing from Chicago. Seats/food/employees/luggage costs will all be similar to United. The two benefits I like on AA are the decent upgrade possibilities via the app and the fact that BA/AA have 6 flights a day to London from Chicago. If anything goes wrong with the flight....you have a better chance of getting accommodated due to the number of flights each day.

 

[Dznypal]

Thanks for the great advice on the AA app. I do have it on my phone now but when I tried to set up an account it said there was already an account with my info which I find hard to believe since we just moved 2 years ago and I know we didn’t fly AA since we moved and now it says I should call. But since it said there was already an account I should get the emails about upgrading.


Also great advice about seats. I will pay to pick my own since I like knowing we’re sitting together

 

[ironz]

Thanks for the great advice on the AA app. I do have it on my phone now but when I tried to set up an account it said there was already an account with my info which I find hard to believe since we just moved 2 years ago and I know we didn’t fly AA since we moved and now it says I should call. But since it said there was already an account I should get the emails about upgrading.


Also great advice about seats. I will pay to pick my own since I like knowing we’re sitting together

Hi,
We recently flew round trip to London on AA. We paid for "main cabin extra" which was cheaper than Premium Economy, but more than regular main cabin. I just paid for the upgrade for the transatlantic part of the flight, not for the local part (had to connect in Dallas). It was about $150ish each way. To me, on a flight that long, the several inches of extra leg room was nice, and I'm not super tall.
From what I remember at booking, the option for Main Cabin Extra doesn't show up until you are choosing your seats. And if you are booking through AA website, I am not sure if you can pick seats on a British Airways flight.

Good luck!