[first_class_please]

If you can, I would certainly try and fly nonstop on the MIA -LHR return flight. No point in buying an extra ticket and making a transfer, unless you really must.

[nevereconomy]

If you come in on BA in J or F I think you should get lounge access if you show your BA boarding card. On the return from MIA, same should apply if you are J or F out on BA from JFK.
Many AA flights from JFK-MIA and return are 777 (check your schedule). On that aircraft the extra space may be worth the extra – in advance often not so terribly much more $. Food won’t be earth shattering, but their domestic F service is usually OK.

[IanFromHKG]

nevereconomy wrote:

If you come in on BA in J or F I think you should get lounge access if you show your BA boarding card. On the return from MIA, same should apply if you are J or F out on BA from JFK.
Many AA flights from JFK-MIA and return are 777 (check your schedule). On that aircraft the extra space may be worth the extra – in advance often not so terribly much more $. Food won’t be earth shattering, but their domestic F service is usually OK.

esselle is correct if you are on a connecting flight – technically doesn’t seem that it has to be the same ticket, and the class of the short-haul flight is irrelevant (ie you would get lounge access even in coach for the domestic flight provided your long-haul flight is business or first class). From the oneworld rules (click “oneworld Lounge Access for First Class or Business Class Customers”):

Connecting between oneworld marketed and operated flights:
* First and Business Class customers connecting on the same day of travel, or before 6am the following day, can access the lounge when travelling between an international long haul (a oneworld international long haul flight is defined as an international flight marketed and operated by any oneworld carrier with a scheduled flight time longer than 5 hours) and an international short haul or domestic flight (and vice-versa).
* Lounge access will be determined on the international long haul ticketed flight (either First of Business Class) regardless of the ticketed class of travel on the international short haul or domestic flight.
* You must be prepared to show your boarding pass or itinerary showing travel in First or Business class on the international long haul flight, in order to access the lounge before your international short haul or domestic flight.

[Keith]

I leave to more knowledgeable contributors about lounge access (except to say its certainly not always available) but don’t confuse First on domestic in USA with First anywhere else in the world Its very basic. We do often buy it for the extra room but otherwise its really not First in any shape or form

[IanFromHKG]

Keith wrote:

I leave to more knowledgeable contributors about lounge access (except to say its certainly not always available) but don’t confuse First on domestic in USA with First anywhere else in the world Its very basic. We do often buy it for the extra room but otherwise its really not First in any shape or form

It is unquestionably better to compare it with business class, but in fairness, apart from the lack of lounge access, it’s generally much better than short-haul business within Europe in that you do genuinely get better seats, rather than economy seats with the middle one blocked off.

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[smith8395john]

Great information. Thank for sharing this.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello Ian,

Yes this is true and the reasons for this have been reported by BT over a number of years.

Indeed I did sample proper business class seats with KLM and Swissair (before the days of Swiss) at the time when they were available on short-haul flights.

However as I always say nothing in aviation is set in stone and this particularly applies in these unusual times.

Today The Independent reports that BA has begun using B787s with flat bed business class seating on routes ex-LHR to AMS and CDG.

Of course I suspect it may not cover every flight and the situation might (and I am sure it will) change but I find this interesting nevertheless.

[esselle]

AMcWhirter wrote:

Hello Ian,

Yes this is true and the reasons for this have been reported by BT over a number of years.

Indeed I did sample proper business class seats with KLM and Swissair (before the days of Swiss) at the time when they were available on short-haul flights.

However as I always say nothing in aviation is set in stone and this particularly applies in these unusual times.

Today The Independent reports that BA has begun using B787s with flat bed business class seating on routes ex-LHR to AMS and CDG.

Of course I suspect it may not cover every flight and the situation might (and I am sure it will) change but I find this interesting nevertheless.

Interesting comments re BA using J configuration on C routes. Does anyone remember turning up to get a shuttle from LHR only to find you were travelling on Concorde?

[DerekVH]

I have to admit I had some inside knowledge but I am managed Concorde NCL/LHR, LHR/BCN/LHR, LHR/CPH/LHR and LHR/BER/LHR.

[AMcWhirter]

esselle wrote:

Interesting comments re BA using J configuration on C routes. Does anyone remember turning up to get a shuttle from LHR only to find you were travelling on Concorde?

THANKS|

Indeed. BA using wide-bodied aircraft on these short sector is surely a temporary measure. We shall see.

Certainly in the case of Amsterdam the Eurostar service is, as we have reported on numerous occasions, cut back to a single daily departure. So increased need for air capacity.

As for Concorde on domestic routes …

There’s an historical photo showing three Concordes at GLA on the day when Super Shuttle was launched in the early 1980s. (BEA’s original no-frills Shuttle had been launched in 1975)

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[IanFromHKG]

AMcWhirter wrote:

Today The Independent reports that BA has begun using B787s with flat bed business class seating on routes ex-LHR to AMS and CDG.

Thanks Alex. I also read that recently Lufty has been using LH aircraft on the FRA-PMI route. We recently took that sector but just a normal European configuration A320 for us…

[Author]

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