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A reservation number or PNR isn't a ticket. You can have these flights show when you search by the PNR but if there's no ticket number you aren't flying, United ticket numbers begin 016.

I think you may be confusing immigration and customs. For decades customs going into the UK involves choosing the blue (EU), green (nothing to declare), red (items to declare) channels and is nothing more than walking through a short corridor.

Priority Pass don't operate their own lounges so the standard can vary hugely but for the most part, IMO, they're on the mediocre end of the scale of airline lounges. If you're used to the airline's own business class/first class lounges then you'll probably be disappointed. Download the Priority Pass app once you get your credentials and it'll let you know which PP offerings apply to you when you search by airport. It'll filter out any restaurants, spas, etc. you can't use. I'm glad I don't pay for Priority Pass because it's something I've used half a dozen times at most in the decade or so I've had it and hundreds of flights that I've taken...

What class of travel did you book and what is your actual routing? The only non-stop from LAX-BCN is operated by low cost airline Level which is a subsidiary of Iberia's parent company, IAG. Iberia flights from LAX only go to Madrid. Codeshares through AA go all over the map...

Excellent summary but this is worth quoting... I consider myself above average in terms of my knowledge of frequent flyer programs, miles etc. but I have used a booking service a couple of times because frankly I value my time and at a certain point it's easier to hand things off to someone who knows what they are doing, not only for searching initially but "servicing the itinerary". On one of my trips the person running the service spotted availability that showed up and proactively rebooked my flights within minutes whilst I was asleep (I was in Hong Kong and they were in Southern California). I've used the booking services when the wife and I have had millions of miles/points across multiple sets of transferrable currencies and when going on much longer trips (NYC to SE Asia) where the options can be many in terms direction, airlines, stopovers, etc. Keeping completely abreast of all the sweetspots in terms of rules and such can be horribly time consuming.

Depends on the airline. Some airlines attempt "Priority" handling by just sticking a bright coloured tag on the bag and it serves no purpose, hence the air quotes. Even on the very best carriers Priority handling sometimes goes astray.

I've claimed a few times from British Airways for 600 Euros. The first time they pushed really hard and I had to file with small claims court before they caved and issued an eVoucher for the full amount entitled (plus costs), which for me was as good as cash since I fly BA a fair amount. Subsequent claims were paid out right off the bat, I don't know if that was because they have record of me claiming before...

Indeed, additionally AMS has been experiencing some "ground" issues similar to LHR.

I do find it hilarious that you have the option to stay in Bali for a few days but are considering leaving right away and hopping on a flight to...Cairns?! If you haven't been to Bali, and even if you have, it's a pretty special place and somewhere I'd choose to spend a few days at any given opportunity...tons of incredible hotels/resorts and amazingly friendly locals. Plus great food, scenery, etc. Just do your research and don't feel tied to Kuta/Seminyak/JImbaran/Benoa...I stayed in Tabanan on my first trip, something family of mine go to Bali a few times a year were rather surprised by but it was perfect. Bali has a ton of one stop options back to LA. You haven't mentioned the cabin you're considering but Cathay Pacific has one of the best quality experiences door to door, now you've not said when you're travelling but COVID restrictions can rule certain options out, that would currently include CX for me.

Bathroom configurations are down to the owner/lessor of the aircraft. Generally the widebody aircraft have a bit more scope for offering larger or even huge bathrooms. AA, amongst other carriers, have large bathrooms on some of their 777 aircraft.

I wouldn't pick one over the other because no airline is immune from the operational issues we currently see. My wife had a DL flight cancelled whilst she was pulling up to the airport and for a NYC-Florida flight was offered 2 stops or flying two days later. I've flown AA hundreds of times and rarely had any issues bar the odd weather/ATC related delay. If you're flying economy then just pick whichever works best timing wise and cost wise. If you're flying first class then there is more potential for far better seating (if you get an international aircraft operating then it could be flat bed seating for example). The Delta website will notate it as such with a little icon. The AA one isn't as obvious but if you see Boeing 77W or 772 or Airbus A321T as the aircraft type then it's flat beds in Business/First.

I guess we use different airports. It's been a few years since I've had to insert my passport into a GE machine. All the ones I've seen lately have used a biometrics camera and then spat out the receipt with no need to even answer the "No to All" questions like I did back in the day...

This year my wife has renewed for the first time, I've renewed for the second time and my 1yr old daughter has enrolled. We live in NYC and my wife was able to snag an appointment at JFK. We weren't able to get one for my daughter so arranged that for when we were in Orlando in the spring. I was only able to get one midweek at Newark three months out so ended up doing the interview upon international entry into JFK T4 last week. I was surprised that at 11pm on July 4th there were around half a dozen other people also doing their interviews but it was the easiest way to do it.

This is 100% it....I watch YouTube videos from an AA flight attendant and she described "getting first class" when actually it was a 777-200 in business class. For the majority of the US flying public anything above economy is first class, ha! There's a subfleet of A321s (known as the 321T) that has First, Business and Main Cabin. The First Class cabin on those is 5 rows of 1-1 seating. They only operate between JFK-LAX/SFO/SNA for the most part. There are some other oddball routes out of BOS (including JFK) that they often operate too. Correct. Thinking back AA has never offered a fully lie flat seat in business class that wasn't all-aisle access. They were some lie flat at an angle options from the mid-2000s but these are long gone. Some of the older 777-200s had 2-2-2 seating in longhaul First Class but again (when AA 777s were divided into "Atlantic" and "Pacific" subfleets) these haven't been around for 15yrs or so... https://www.airliners.net/photo/American-Airlines/Boeing-777-223-ER/125439

I've flown QF a few times but never in PE. (Have always been impressed with their service in the forward cabins) I wouldn't bother wasting miles to get to SFO on AS. Tagging on the short segment is probably negligible cost wise since QF and AS have a ticketing arrangement.

T5A to T5B is about 30 seconds on the train. Add a minute or so for getting up and down on each side and maybe a 2min wait tops for a train to arrive. Terminal 5 gates aren't posted to FIDS until about 90mins before departure by policy but they certainly know which flights will go from where way beforehand. It's a policy to keep those who don't have access to lounges and such in T5A where there are more shops and restaurants for as long as possible. The B and C gates have much less on this front. I'll sometimes ask in the BA lounges where my flight is going from if it's not posted because the lounge in the B gates is often much quieter and the spa (that is now closed) on the B side used to have much greater availability

Going on the geological timescale it is indeed recent. AA have been in T5 for just under 2yrs now but since T3 reopened some of their flights have moved back there. LOL, *all* the US airlines are having issues. Mostly related to staffing due to COVID. One of my clients is an AA pilot and he told me that they are offering six figure signing bonuses to attract new pilots. This past weekend alone I've had family members on JetBlue, Delta and United all have flights cancelled within 12hrs of departure..

Most airlines will put longhaul oneways into the fully flexible category, hence the high prices. You're better off doing one of the following: 1) Booking a return and throwing the return leg away (per Globaliser's advice) 2) Buying enough miles and redeeming for a one-way...ensure there is award availability and your FFP allows one-ways 3) Booking an airline that doesn't charge fully flexible fares for oneways longhaul (Aer Lingus, TAP, Westjet and a few others come to mind. They won't get you to PDX but you can get close) 4) Doing the open jaw strategy.

I was going to say ATL for the same reasons, more flights to your destination is key when you're on potentially shorter connections. Other than that the BA non-stop would be preferable all round.