Best airline to fly to London?
 

I was wondering which airline is the best to fly to London? I flew Delta last time...it was nice, but I was wanting to know what other people have experienced.

Flying coach? Go with American Airlines. Took them this past June and they had their extra space between the seats all the way to the back of the plane. It was very nice on an 8 hour flight.

In my opinion, the one that doesn't stop anywhere else and doesn't break your budget, on which you can get a decent seat (preferrably bulkhead window).

If they fly non-stop from your location, and you are flying coach -- American, no question.

Would again have to recommend American. Best overseas flight in coach I've ever experienced.

Fly Virgin if you can!

My family just had a fairly disappointing experience with Virgin within the past few weeks. Return flight to Boston for myself and my husband was cancelled due to mechanical problems - but they left us trapped in restricted areas of Heathrow from 1 in the afternoon til 10 at night before the cancellation was official - rest of the story totally nightmarish - we were finally put into a hotel room at 1.40 am and told to be back on the bus to the terminal at 8 am for an 11 am flight - plane took off close to 3 pm -just did a lousy job of managing passenger info, etc. Our son just flew back with them a couple of days ago and he stood in line at the Virgin counter at Heathrow to check his baggage for over 2 hours and almost missed his flight -said they kept apologizing for the delay on the loudspeakers. Our impression was that the ground staff at Heathrow is under trained and not nearly large enough. We all felt the legroom in coach was about the worst we've come across in recent years. Sorry Virgin...dont think we'll give you a second chance.

British Airways was very nice. There was alot of room space and the meals were good too.

American was the worst. I am not tall and I couldn't fit into their seats.<BR><BR>Then they got the message and went overboard the other way.<BR><BR>There is actually some room here.<BR><BR>Now American.<BR>

Lone dissenter here on American, but I've got a special caveat. When travelling with children, Continental was the best experience we had. The reason is that they have extra-large overhead bins. When you travel overnight with a young child, you have to bring a lot of entertainment on board, and being able to put that stuff in the overhead bins and free up the legroom under the seat was priceless.<BR>The food wasn't great, but again, with more of a carryon allowance, bringing our own was no problem.<BR><BR>Remember that BA and Virgin have extremely strict *weight* limits on carryons, which US carriers don't enforce. A few jars of baby food and formula will put you well over Virgin's limit. Also, carriers based in the US will let you use your child's carseat on board, while many foreign carriers will not.

Hate to be repetitive--but without a doubt--American Airlines!

another vote for American

This is getting to be boring, but who wouldn't appreciate all that extra space that American offers.

I haven't flown on American .<BR>But I have flown on Northwest ( both coach and business class, on TWA ( coach) and on US Air ( business class.)<BR>I like US Air business class very much, roomy seats and individual entertainment centers.<BR>Northwest coach , as I recall was not too bad..biz class was fine . I sat in the upper deck of a 747 so it was less crowded than the lowerer deck biz section, fewer people moving about at night made it easier to get some sleep.<BR>The TWA flight, a 767, was cramped and hot. According to the flight attendants the temperature in that particular section of the plane is a beef with them , too.

Could I please hear some more positive about Virgin? I am already booked (non-refundable) and the deal was too good anyway. Should I just assume it will be bad?

Hi - I'm the person who complained above about Virgin. Once we got in the air, the flight was pretty much like every other airline - cramped, hot and boring - but the attendants were perky and pleasant. Pretty good movie choices, etc. We actually got in ahead of schedule on the Boston to London leg (check in at Boston was wild, but everyone in line eventually got on the plane). Our problems all took place on the ground. My advice is get to the airport even earlier than you might otherwise plan to avoid the chaos we experienced on both ends - and if they start muttering about mechanical problems, take a deep breath and find a comfortable roosting spot!

le:<BR>I fklew to London on United in a new 777. The leg room was fine, seats comfortable, food adequate and plentiful. (Ice cream, cookies, full cans of soda, snacks galore) Private video screens.<BR>Best part... Left and arrived safely and on time.

American - hands down. It provides 1 -2 more inches of legroom than any other carrier. While other carriers try to make more money by cramming extra rows into the economy cabin, American is at least attempting to increase passenger comfort. Maybe if America's marketing approach works out the other carriers will pay mor attention to passanger comfort.

I have flown Virgin 5 round trips from the west coast-9 to 11 hours each time-and will do so again next spring. Superior service and attitude.

lea - I must speculate that you are not tall or else you couldn't have flown Delta (in coach) and said it was 'nice'. I agree with everyone else that American is good. Actually, I've not had a bad experience with any airline EXCEPT Delta. I had bruises on my knees for 2 weeks after a flight from London due to their seats being so close together. Never, ever again...