(Tentatively) Booked: American 787-9P Business Class

Intro

Tomorrow begins my next adventure, from the likes of New York, having some alpaca in Lima, and exploring a cartel-run part of town in Quito (assignment). Well, I am currently in a bit of a dilemma, and am having a hard time choosing on which route to use when flying to New York tomorrow.

My Two Options

At the time of writing this, both of these options are currently booked. While I would love to lean into the new American Airlines 787-9P variant, I'm only in the US for another month, and figured that I should use my pluspoints while I can on United...

Option 1:

United Los Angeles-Newark (landing at 1 am) in Business Class. Cleared with Plus Points.

Option 2:

American Airlines Los Angeles- Chicago (787-9P Flagship Preferred Seat 1A) in Business Class, then onto La Guardia (landing at 11:50 pm). The cost came out to 26.5K AA Miles.

To fly on this before leaving the US for 6 months to Russia would be fantastic

Pros Vs Cons Of Flying The New AA

Pros:

• Let's start with the main reason I even booked this ticket. Newark has been having issues at the moment, and the flight I am supposed to be on has been delayed frequently until 3 am. Considering I have to get out to Montauk, I might not be home until 6:00 am...

• I would be able to give readers a review of the brand new 787-9P, even if it is only on a Domestic route, and in seat 1A!

• The driver would only cost me 250 USD from La Guardia, compared to 430 USD from Newark...

• I can use the ticket cost from United for later in July when I fly to Utah...

Cons:

• Perhaps the biggest con to me is the fact that it would be a connection, and a 56-minute one at that. With checked bags (first time in 3 years, moving stuff home), the last thing that I want to do is lose them.

• Pluspoints usage. Going forward, I have 60 more Pluspoints if I decide to cancel the UA flight, and probably won't use them up...

• With basically a 180 USD direct flight in United Business to Newark, spending 26K AA Miles doesn't sound like the best value here.

• Lounge access. While I would be eligible for UA Club and Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge access, I will not have access on American Airlines...

• I only get two checked bags on AA with Platinum status. Not the end of the world as I have to take another trip to New York (JFK) anyway, but more to lug next time.

I have already preselected my meal on both 😂

So yeah, I am sort of confused, and both have been ticketed.

Final Thoughts

I am currently stuck in a very "first world problem" dilemma 😂. Do I fly United on their 757 direct from Los Angeles to Newark in Business Class, or review the brand new American Airlines 787-9P from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then fly over to La Guardia? I can't decide, and it might come down to whether or not Newark improves today...