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-   -   Who to fly with??? (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/who-to-fly-with-372399/)

christm Oct 29th, 2003 07:07 AM

Who to fly with???
 
Hi

I guess this is really aimed at people who have flown UK to US...
Who did you fly with and what did you think of them?
We had always thought Virgin was the best (seat back tv's etc) so were looking to book through them. However we can get a Continental flight for much cheaper. How do Continental compare?

Thanks

Martin

TxTravelPro Oct 29th, 2003 07:10 AM

Where are you flying to?
The type of aircraft varies by routing...

ChristieP Oct 29th, 2003 07:12 AM

My husband has flown transatlantic with Continental and was very pleased with their service. He said that the seats had the individual TVs and the plane was roomy. He and I both have flown transatlantic on American and it was also good, but the seats did not have the TVs.

TxTravelPro Oct 29th, 2003 07:16 AM

AA DOES have seat back TV's... It depends on the routing. That's why people should be more specific with travel details. Some routes are 757, some are 777.

TxTravelPro Oct 29th, 2003 07:17 AM

I forgot to add that AA also has 767's

Deborah Oct 29th, 2003 07:29 AM

TXTravelPro is exactly correct. The route determines the type of aircraft. On the flight to Cleveland, I believe CO flies a 757 (no seatback entertainment), but may have bigger planes on routes to Newark or Houston that do offer seatback entertainment. Keep in mind that CO also offers a codeshare flight from LHR to LAX (and they may have other ones as well) that is flown on Virgin metal, so you may be flying on VS anyway. I have flown both Continental & Virgin from US to UK and service was fine on both. Virgin was probably a little more "hip". American does also offer seatback entertainment.

AAFrequentFlyer Oct 29th, 2003 07:32 AM

AA has 777s on 2 transatlantic routes - from/to London and Frankfurt. The 777s have individual screens in the seats.

767s fly from/to Paris. Glasgow, Madrid, Brussels. 767s do not have individual screens.

757s do not fly transatlantic routes.

Both, 777s and 767s do have MRTC - more room throughout coach. If comfort is important on long flights, choose AA. From experience the only BIG difference between AA and Virgin in coach other than more comfort on AA is the fact that AA charges for alcoholic drinks. The food is comparable. Virgin FAs may be a notch better.

Decisions, decisions......

Deborah Oct 29th, 2003 07:34 AM

CO indeed flies a 757 from CLE to LGW.

Deborah Oct 29th, 2003 07:36 AM

I stand corrected, it may be a 777.

Deborah Oct 29th, 2003 07:39 AM

Actually, I don't even know if the non-stop service is still operating now. They may only have service now from Houston & Newark with connecting service from everywhere else.

christm Oct 29th, 2003 07:58 AM

OK...Apologies.
We are coming from the UK so we have 2 choice of routing.
(Not worried bout internal UK flights, I know about them).
1. Virgin Atlantic from London Heathrow to New York (JFK I think)
2. Continental Airlines from Edinburgh to New York (Newark, I think)

Does this help?

Thanks

Martin

Patrick Oct 29th, 2003 08:00 AM

Have you checked with American? Their flights from the UK are often great bargains.

AAFrequentFlyer Oct 29th, 2003 08:22 AM

Also, I don't think CO has a direct flight from EDI to New York(any airport).

christm Oct 29th, 2003 08:25 AM

Yeah - they definitely fly direct from Edinburgh to NY - I have the fare on Expedia on the screen in front of me :-)

Martin

froggy2000 Oct 29th, 2003 08:28 AM

Hello! Don't leave out Aeroflot, the Russian National Airlines. I have flown them many times, and the planes were all new, nice and they serve GOOD FOOD! The attendants were polite and could speak many languages. They took pride in their jobs and were serious about keeping the cabin safe and neat, too. And the tickets were cheap!

TxTravelPro Oct 29th, 2003 08:29 AM

I don't see any direct flights on CO either...
I would double check that info if I were you.

christm Oct 29th, 2003 08:41 AM

Where are you guys looking for flights?

On Continental website now...
Can you guys see this page?
http://www.continental.com/fSearch.a...S=SP&ST=LF
From there enter Edinburgh to NY
13/7/04 to 27/07/04
Check the 'non-stop' button and it should come back with this....

615.20 GBP
average/person
1,230.40 GBP
Total Price

CO37 EDI
10:00 EWR
12:30 757 0 Tue., 13 Jul., 2004
7 hr 30 mn 0



CO36 EWR
20:25 EDI
08:00 +1 day 757 0 Tue., 27 Jul., 2004
6 hr 35 mn 0

Sorry for the poor layout!!

Martin






AAFrequentFlyer Oct 29th, 2003 08:44 AM

No need to get all excited!

CO won't start these flights till 6/10/04 so that's why we didn't know about it.

Anyway, it will be a 757 with no individual screens and 31" seat pitch. In other terms(tight).

VA has about the same, maybe 1 inch more.

AA from London has 34-35" pitch.

You decide......

rjw_lgb_ca Oct 29th, 2003 08:44 AM

The Continental service out of Edinburgh connects via Birmingham (a puddle-jumper operated by British European) to Newark. US-based users of travelocity, orbitz and expedia will have to work hard to see that itinerary. Since I won't do non-jet planes (not for safety concerns-- they're just bumpy rides), that would rule out the EDI-EWR plan for me.

rjw_lgb_ca Oct 29th, 2003 08:48 AM

Oh, I see.... Well, had we known the dates you were planning to travel, we might have seen the new route.

Still, planning that far out, the airlines can change things considerably-- like, for example, eliminating promised non-stop routes in favor of one- and two-stop itineraries. For the record, Continental is fine in domestic US flights. I've never used them for international travel.


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