Travel from LA to Rome--BA or AF????

Comfort all depends on which style of plane is being flown by each airline. In 2009 we flew BA (granted it was business class) and the seats were very comfy, laid flat, lots of amenities and it was great. This year we flew AF (again, business class) and it was a much older plane and therefore not nearly as comfortable. Just based on my experience, I would choose BA every time. But we were flying out of Seattle - they may fly newer planes out of LAX.

I would fly Alitalia nonstop.

For $800 per person, I myself would get up at 3 AM and not sweat the other stuff.

One other item to this, if I fly BA I get my American miles and they are doubled.

BA is flying a 747 outbound and an Airbus 320 inbound
AF is flying a 777-300ER outbound and a 777-200 inbound, any info on these besides what I found on seat guru would be helpful.

Given my limited vacation time, I always value convenience over cost. But, a $800pp difference??? I'd happily sleep in the airport to save that kind of cash.

QUOTE: "BA is flying a 747 outbound and an Airbus 320 inbound" I don't think so. Better double-check the inbound flight!

You are correct, it is a 747 also.

I fly from Seattle to Europe every summer. I have flown both BA and AF. The time I took BA, we were routed thru Heathrow and found out that all the bad things we had read about that airport were true. The time we flew BA out of Heathrow back to Seattle, BA put my wife on different airplanes. We have different last names but always book as a couple. After way too much time and trouble we were put onto the same airplane but not seated anywhere near each other. Never again BA. We have flown AF the last few years and have nothing but good things to say about them. We have LOTS of Alaskan Airlines miles which we can get from AF and now are trying for frequent flyer seats on AF this coming summer using Alaskan miles. Good luck whomever you fly.

For me, $800 PP is BIG money. I would go for the less expensive seats, even if it meant not sleeping the night before. If spending extra money doesn't matter to you, then I don't have an opinion, as I have not flown either airline.

To save $800 per person I would fly Air France, even though the though of a connecting flight at CDG would give me nightmares. Take GAC's advice and look at non-stop flights on Alitalia from LAX to FCO.

We live in a suburb of Mpls. and we have always flown Delta or KLM but on our recent trip to Italy in Sept. we flew over on Alitalia (I don't recommend)connecting through JFK and our return flight was on Air France. We were flying coach (always get aisle seats) so can't comment about premium economy seat space, etc. but I have nothing but good things to say about our flight, meals and how friendly and nice the flight attendants were on Air France. Previously we had only flown Air France for short flights within Europe but we would definitely fly a long haul with them again.

My concern would be similiar to Charlie's. I used American Airlines miles last year to fly from LA to Italy & one of my choices was BA. I avoided BA like the plague after all the things I've heard about them...especially if you're flying through Heathrow. BA is not known to be very reliable and they've had a lot of issues. Personally, I would fly Air France any day over BA. I wouldn't want to risk the lost luggage problems that I've heard of w/ BA as well as the other issues that they seem to have. Granted, not everyone that flies BA has a bad experience but unfortunately BA's reputation in the airline industry is just not that great right now. Have a great trip.

Air France. It is only one night and you can sllep on the plane. I like my eight hours of sleep and had no trouble doing it in June. Just get your hotel to reserve a transport

Thanks to all who responded to my inquiry regarding Air France or British Air to Italy, we booked on AF and saved over $800 per person.