Europe to US destination non-stop options
 

Hi fellow fodorites. I would like some help with planning part of an upcoming trip please.
I am reasonably familiar with planning air travel to/from Oz but now need to look at options from Europe to somewhere in the US . After completing a Dordogne horse ride in late June we need to be in San Francisco for my son's wedding some 9 days later.
We had to cancel a trip to the Western USA National Parks a couple of years ago and are wondering now if we could possibly fly into somewhere like Denver perhaps and then drive up to SF via GC etc?
My question really is about good options for the transatlantic flight? Would prefer to fly non-stop to somewhere and road trip to SF but bearing in mind our time limitations probably have to be further east than the obvious NYC ( although I would love to drive east to west coast �� )
Would we be better looking at LHR as a departure point or are there good options from Europe? Barcelona? Paris?
Any suggestions for which US arrival point?
Will be flying Qantas/Emirates to Europe and home from LA probably so would prefer to keep in Oneworld family unless more cost advantageous to book as separate flight?

Thanks so much for any help.

British Airways ( One World Alliance ) departs LHR about 16:00 non - stop to DEN.

Think the BA flight is the only non-stop option - and you'd have to get to London first which would probably mean travelling to Paris then flying to Heathrow - which negates the point of a non-stop flight.

You could consider the one stop Icelandair flight from Paris to Denver via Keflavik

Thanks guys, the other option would be to fly into somewhere more northern ? Chicago and do Yellowstone/Grand Tetons/Yosemite into SF?

I guess what I am really looking for is the furthest west I can get with a non stop flight and be cost effective?

I have no experience of Icelandair, who are they comparable to quality wise?
Flying from London wouldn't be too onerous because we could probably fly Bordeaux to LHR maybe, I haven't looked into that yet.

Salt Lake City is another option, with flights from Paris, and starting next May also Amsterdam.

Wikipedia is often a very good source to see all the possible non-stop flights from any given airport.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_La...tional_Airport

Further south, Las Vegas is another option to look into. It is a good hub airport for the big US parks in the Southwest - Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon if those are on your list.

This trip might be ideal for a Round The World ticket. You could get a Global Explorer RTW ticket from OneWorld that costs AUS$3299 plus taxes and fees that allows you to travel 26,000 miles. Although the rules can be a bit complex, the ticket gives you more flexibility than most -- you can change dates without charge. You would be limited mostly to OneWorld airlines (so no Emirates).

You could, for example, fly from Sydney to Paris via Hong Kong. Unfortunately, there's no convenient way to get to Bordeauz (near the Dordogne) on this fare. Then, after your time in the Dordogne, fly from Paris to Denver via London. Drive through the US Southweat (Colorado, Utah, GC). You could then save some time by flying from Phoenix to SFO, or you could continue driving to SF. Then finally fly home from SFO to Sydney via LAX. For info, rules, etc., see oneworld.com

<i>You could get a Global Explorer RTW ticket from OneWorld that costs AUS$3299 plus taxes and fees that allows you to travel 26,000 miles. Although the rules can be a bit complex, the ticket gives you more flexibility than most -- you can change dates without charge. You would be limited mostly to OneWorld airlines (so no Emirates).</i>

This is a good idea that might be worth pursuing. Here['s a sample route that might work for you - Sydney to Paris via Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific) then Toulouse to Seattle via LHR. Car trip to San Francisco - Mount Rainier, Columbia Gorge/Mount Hood, Oregon coast, California redwoods and wine country - easy and gorgeous with a week - then home via Los Angeles, or, if time permits, you could stop in Hawaii en route.

Here's a similar route but one which avoid several hundred dollars in British Airways fuel surcharges. http://tinyurl.com/m4y3klj Here you'd return to Paris from the Dordogne (a couple of hours on the train) then fly on American Airlines to New York, then on Cathay Pacific from JFK to Vancouver, BC. Drive from Vancouver down to San Francisco (only 3 or 4 hours longer than from Seattle) and return home via Honolulu.

There are many such alternatives, depending on your preferences.

http://tinyurl.com/p7m8o8s

Sorry, got my maps reversed. The one on the bottom is for the first itinerary.

To me this is not a simple question of a non-stop flight from Europe to the USA. When you add the desire to do a road trip, you change the equation.

For example, suppose you fly into Denver and rent a car for your road trip. That means you are now adding a one way rental into the equation. The drop-off charge is likely to be a considerable amount of money. So that has to be factored in to what you look at. You may also want to book hotels as well.

So for example, it might make sense to talk to someone like United Vacations and plan a multi-stop trip either from home to Europe, on to the USA and back home or just from Europe to the USA or from Europe to the USA and back home to Australia with a car rental pick up in Denver and drop off in San Francisco included as well as hotels along the way.

In other words, a package price may well work out better than doing everything individually. I know that United Vacations used to do 'fly drive' packages that featured no drop-off charges on car rentals for example.

I would not try to work this out myself on their website, it's too complicated, I would phone them and discuss it. I suggest United Vacations only because I have some prior knowledge of what they used to offer but there may well be other options as well to look at.

Bottom line is you need to look at the whole thing, not just one part of your total trip.

http://res.vacations.united.com/search/default.aspx

>>That means you are now adding a one way rental into the equation. The drop-off charge is likely to be a considerable amount of money.<<

Not usually an issue for visitors from overseas. There are several rental brokers that offer travelers from Oz all-in quotes much cheaper than they can get booking in the States and they almost always include one-way drop off and full insurance.

As for non-stops - airports more convenient to the GC, Utah Parks and/or Yosemite that have nonstop flights include LA, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Francisco.

But You'll likely have to connect <i>somewhere</i> either in Europe or the States. I mainly look at the total travel time.

The RTW's look like a great option.

Seem to me that you might be focused too much on a non-stop Europe to USA flight than figuring out where you actually want to go when you get here.

Thanks everyone, managed to get an RTW through Qantas for what I consider to be a good price for us Down Under!

ADL/DUB/CDG (Emirates) then BOD/Gatwick, LHR/DEN (BA) road trip to San Francisco and then SFO/LAX/MEL/ADL (Qantas.) Even the Bordeaux to Gatwick flight was with BA so worked really well.

mrwunrfl, perfectly focussed on either southern parks or northern parks - could never fit it all in but very happy with this option (apart from the fact it will be a bit warm.)
Good weather for weddings no doubt :)