JulieAgain

Thinking about booking BMI from Chicago, but it flies into Manchester. Anyone know how folks get between Manchester & London?

Do most fly BMI or take ground transport, such as a train?

I try not to have a stop when flying to Europe because that increases the possibility of lost or delayed luggage - horrible thought!

Want BMI because of the much extra seat pitch in Premium Economy than the other P.E. carriers (Virgin & BA are only other ones I know about).

Thanks

JulieAgain

Also, if we fly between Manchester & London, our BMI options are:

Inbound arrive in Manchester at 8:05am. Flights from Manchester to LHR are 9:20am, 10:30am, & 12:50pm. Think it is necessary to take the 12:50pm to ensure enough time?

Outbound leave Manchester for ORD at 11am. London to Manchester option is depart LHR at 6:55am & arrive in Manchester at 8am. Think that will work? I've heard horror stories about LHR!

If those won't work, that means I need another method to get between the 2 cities or fly another airline!!!???

Appreciate your advice, opinions, and/or experience.

AAFrequentFlyer

You can take the train from MAN to Manchester Piccadilly station (about 20 minutes and 4BPs) and transfer to Virgin train to London Euston (about 2.5 hours and 13BPs). The MAN-LON trains run every 1/2 hour.

rkkwan

Train fares in the UK vary even more than airline fares in the US. You <b>absolutely must</b> book well in advance for the long distance routes, which is Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston.

AAFF may see a &pound;13 fare right now, but a last minute walk-on fare can cost up to &pound;115! [Though daysaver at &pound;61.40 may also be available.]

That train fare, if you don't book in advance, can easily wipe out any money you save by flying to MAN.

flanneruk

For the plane, simply book a one-ticket ORD-MAN-LHR flight on bmi. If the transatlantic sector's late, bmi will rebook you on a later flight. They'll PROBABLY do that if you book separate tickets - but that can't be guaranteeed. BA won't be as helpful if you miss the flight you're booked on and Jet2 takes you to Stansted. Manchester has virually no record of losing luggage. Nor has bmi.

BUT on the train, most real cheapo fares apply only to the train you're booked on: miss it - for whatever reason - and you have to buy a new ticket unless you're especially good at charming ticket inspectors. Walk-up Manchester-London fares aren't cheap.

If you've got a few hours to kill, play with the fare options at www.nationalrail.co.uk (input a date no more than 3 months out to see how the system works). It really will be easier to stay with bmi.