DH has miles built up on AA, United, and Continental/ KLM/ NW, so it really doesn't matter which brand he chooses for this trip, mile accrual -wise.

Is there a reliable airline you know of and find comfortable to Central/ Eastern Europe? Specific cities not determined yet.

Thanks!!!

L&J

Coach or up front?

Coach Unfortunately.

I'd recommend Austrian Airlines. They seem to have a pretty good network within central/eastern Europe, and I've found their service to be excellent.

Where will you be flying from?

In terms of routing, things you want to keep in mind:

If you want to fly directly to Central/Eastern Europe, you can either fly that country's main airline (like CSA Czech to Prague, LOT Polish to Warsaw and Krakow, Austrian to Vienna, etc) or Delta, which has new flights or have announced new flights to various cities.

But unless you live in NYC, then you will need to fly there first. And many of those flights leave from JFK, which doesn't have the best domestic connections.

Or you can fly from your city or other US gateways to London/Paris/Amsterdam/Frankfurt, and then connect. This is especially useful if you can non-stop flights from home to one of those cities. Also useful if you want to do an open jaw.

Use United miles to fly Lufthansa to most Eastern European cities, through Frankfurt. I have done this several times.

thanks, all!

he'll be flying out of LAX.

i appreciate your rec's and will begin looking into!

L

From LAX the most comfortable coach seat and good service are likely to be found on Air New Zealand's flight to London, connecting there to any of the several Star Alliance partners (Austrian, LOT, Lufthansa, Swiss) that serve eastern Europe. His United miles would be good for a Star Alliance award.

rkkwan:

While travelling through JFK used to be the norm for eastern Europe flights, many airlines now offer better alternatives. For example, OS flies out of IAD & YYZ, and & LO flies out of ORD & YYZ in addition to JFK.

lynnejoel:

Since you'll be flying out of LAX, I'd recommend Lufthansa. They also have a strong eastern/central European network. One more thing -- if I could make a suggestion, try visiting Krakow. It's a very pretty city! Have a great trip!

LT: Thanks for the clarification. I was being way too general in my point about JFK.

But anyways, now we know the OP is flying from LAX; and it does have plenty of non-stops to JFK. ORD/IAD are fine too.

But if they want to fly directly to Europe, LH to FRA is a good choice, or KL to AMS. That is unless they want a personal video screens in coach. BA/VS/AF have better entertainment, but FRA/AMS are easier to transit than LHR/CDG anytime.

Ok, the director says they're flying into Rome. Not quite sure why, but he must have a specific airline and flight in mind to connect over to wherever it is they're going in Eastern Europe. (Yes, I <u>would</u> like to know where DH is going. )

So, out of LAX, it would seem they'll either fly to an east coast hub direct to ROM or fly LAX to LHR or CDG then on to Rome then on to wherever.

Once I find out better details, I'll post back with questions if any remain.

Thx!!