American Airlines Long-Haul Question

[Iberia A340-600]

Hi all,

I am looking into the possibility of visiting a friend of mine in Shanghai/Taiwan in early January. My current flight options consist of either American from JFK-LAX-PVG-TPE(CX)-NRT-JFK for $985 or Turkish from JFK-IST-PVG-IST-JFK (+China Easter PVG-TPE-PVG for $292) for $1019. I have flown American domestically multiple times and am a OneWorld member with 5,986 miles however I have not had the chance to experience their long-haul offerings in Y on the 777. If I fly American, #1 they are the cheaper option by $94, #2 I get to try both China Eastern (346) and Cathay Pacific (333), and #3 I accumulate close to 16,000 miles, which puts me close to Gold status.

My question is has anyone experienced Y on the American 777 and would recommend it for a 10+ flight? I'm not a big fan of their domestic product but they are the most convenient and cheapest option most times between DCA and JFK.

I have flown Turkish domestically and loved my flight and have heard great things about their new product aboard the 777-300ER, which would operate all four legs of my trip and I would gain miles with United. The one downfall of Turkish is an 8hr layover in Istanbul, where I will find myself again in March for a longer stay (via KL/AF).

Suggestions? Thanks!

[heeshung]

I've flown on AA's 777 three times. JFK-NRT, NRT-ORD, and JFK-LHR.

As for seat width and seat pitch, nothing special, just standard long-haul economy seating. What is nice is that the seat configuration is 2-5-2. The 2's on either side are nice. Avoid the middle at all costs; I can't imagine being sandwiched on either side by two people. Of course, there is an IFE at every seat, however it's not an "on-demand" type of system. They played the loop movies on each channel, and you switch between channels; there is no way to pause, stop, fast/forward the movie, etc. As for food and meals, prepare to be undernourished. The meals schedule is like any other 10+ hour flight, with a dinner, then snack, then breakfast. However, portion sizes during all three are very small, and other than peanuts and the usual snack fare, there isn't much to eat between meals. I remember being hungry most of the flight. In comparison, I flew JFK-NRT and back on ANA before, and meals were slightly larger, but there was much more to eat in between, from bananas to cookies to Pringles etc.

Dinner
http://horriblephotography.com/albums/AA%20Meals/DSCF1178ps.jpg

Snack
http://horriblephotography.com/albums/AA%20Meals/DSCF1181ps.jpg

Breakfast
http://horriblephotography.com/albums/AA%20Meals/DSCF1184ps.jpg

[puckstopper55]

I have flown the AA 777 a bunch of times from JFK to LHR as well, and liked it. The review above is 10000% correct, except the snack box they gave me was pretty cool. Its a nice big plane which allows you to stretch a bit, but as mentioned AVOID the middle! One thing that stands out in my mind was a trip back into JFK where the pilot says "Ladys and Gentlemen ... I have some good news and bad news...JFK is closed due to heavy fog and only accepting class II (or III, I cant remember) landings. The good news is that this plane is more then capable of making that landing". I didnt really know what that was, but I remember watching the GPS screen via the IFE screen and out altitude said 200 ft and I couldn't even see the wingtip. Next thing you know we touch down and come to a stop. I still couldn't see the wingtips. the piolet says "for those of you who have never seen a plane land itself, congratulations. This was your first time"

My advice is sit on the wings or forward (the engines are very noisy), bring an ipod with good headphones, grab an aisle seat and relax.

[heeshung]

Personally I don't like to sit on the wings as they block much of the view, but it is the most stable part of the airplane with the least fluctuations; if you're going to choose an aisle seat the the view obviously won't matter.

The categories the pilot mentioned was probably ILS categories. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrument_landing_system#ILS_categories

[mirrodie]

$94 difference is not terribly relevant IMHO.

I dont know what points you'd accumulate with Turkish(not al all familiar with them) but I know and use OW.

You say if you go with AA, it'll get you up to Gold.

The biggest consideration you should be making is.....are you going to fly enough to take advantage of Gold status next year? If yes, then go for it.

THe AA 777 review above is pretty spot on. Flown in a few times in Y on 5+ hour flights. Comfortable. IFE decent. For me, its time to sleep and catch up on reading.

[Iberia A340-600]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Long-haul doesn't sound so terrible on the 777 however it looks like there are no available window/aisle seats on the return flight, hopefully something will open up 24hrs before!

Good point, Mario. I plan on studying in Chile next fall while my parents will be living in either Miami or Madrid so chances are I'll be getting some benefits out of Gold status!

[T-Bird76]

I've done Y on the AA 777 a few times overseas, its a decent product...I'd highly recommend an aisle seat vs. a window seat. The window seat has the A/V box that blocks your leg room. The IFE on board however blows so load up your iPad with movies and games. J and F on AA's Intl routes are fantastic, did London recently in F....awesome and did J before that, very good product.

[Matt Molnar]

I agree, the AA 777s are pretty solid as long as you are on the window or aisle. I got stuck in the middle of the 2-5-2 on LHR-JFK once and it was sucktastic. I've never flown Turkish or China Eastern, but I will say AA's food is quite good, and better than most of the foreign carriers I've tried.

[Iberia A340-600]

Thank you again for the input, guys. Because of the lack of a window/aisle seat available on the return flight/the long layover on Turkish I opted to pay $200 more and fly on Cathay Pacific via HKG so hopefully that will be money well spent! Definitely looking forward to my first trip to Asia and flight on an Asian airline.

[mirrodie]

Wait, so to clarify, you went with One World carriers, (Cathay and AA?)

I know Tom did CX at some point. Good things.

Should all go toward your status, so reap the bennies!!

Best wishes!

[JZ]

I am sure you will be satisfied with CX's service. If you have a few hours of layover in HKG, do check out the observation deck and you can definitely get some good shots. If you want more info, please PM me.

[Iberia A340-600]

I went with Cathay Pacific for JFK-HKG-PVG-HKG-JFK so I won't be flying American at all but still *hopefully* be getting an equal amount of miles. I say hopefully because I booked with Student Universe. I won't have much time in Hong Kong unfortunately but I still look forward to experiencing the airport. I've also booked with China Eastern and Air China for PVG-TPE-PVG so all in all it will be a very Asian adventure!

[heeshung]

I've got some tips for spotting in TPE if you're gonna be doing that.

[Iberia A340-600]

I've got some tips for spotting in TPE if you're gonna be doing that.

I'd appreciate that! I'll be with a friend who has family in Taiwan so it might be hard to coax her into some spotting but if I have the opportunity I'd love nothing more.