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

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

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.

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.

I forgot to add that AA also has 767's

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.

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......

CO indeed flies a 757 from CLE to LGW.

I stand corrected, it may be a 777.

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.

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

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

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

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

Martin

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!

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

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

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......

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.

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.

If you're thinking of booking flights now for a trip in July of 2004 you won't find competitive fares at all.
It's way too soon.
615 GBP is not a great fare.
I realize maybe you're just researching the trip itself, but I'd hold off on purchasing the tickets unless budget considerations are not an non-issue.

So Continental DOES fly 757s overseas. I'm sure I was on from CLE.

...that would be <are> a non-issue.

Also, Continental has won numerous awards for being the best American based overseas carrier in recent years.
Virgin is still rated higher, though.

Deborah,

I never said that CO 757s did not fly across the big pond. I was talking about AA. :-)

A non-issue on a 757, I don't think so. There is no seatback entertainment and the plane is smaller than a 767. VS also offers Economy Plus which they may be able to get on a Continental codeshare flight with VS. I flew VS in September and they fed us about 4 times, plus free drinks. Don't know if Continental is offering free drinks at this point. They have been a little stingy lately.

I've flown both CO and Virgin to the UK, and Virgin wins hands down for service & comfort.

Do you prefer to fly out of Edinburgh? If you live in London, wouldn't it be better to pay more & fly out of London?

I fly Continental every year to London and I've been on 757s, 767s and 777s. They typically fly the 757 in the winter to lower-demand destinations like Dublin or Amsterdam, I think. Cleveland-London probably is a good low-yield route for this aircraft as well.

I love Continental but recommend the 767 or 777.

I'm from Scotland so an Edinburgh/Glasgow flight would appeal most.

It's for my honeymoon, so I'm loathe to leave it too long!!!

To clairfy a couple of things (cause I'm a bit confused!!)
The Edi-NY COA flight goes via Birmingham?
It won't have seat back tv's?

Am I right?

Thanks

Martin

OK...Please help me - you guys seem to know your stuff!!!
What do you think is the best deal for me on flights??
As said before it's for Honeymoon next July so would like a bit of comfort - decent leg room, seat back tv - while still in Economy.
Am from Scotland so any flight from London will require me to book a seperate flight there - not a problem, just adds a bit to the cost.
My options...all in GBP per person
Edinburgh to NY - Continental - £484 London to NY - United Airlines - £409
London to NY - Continental - £464
London to NY - Virgin - £526
London to NY - British Airways - £531

All are advertised as 'non-stop' flights.

What are your thoughts??

Many thanks for all your help.

Martin

You are wrong about flying to London on a separate ticket. Most of the airlines you have above will get you to London for the same fare or maybe just few pounds more on the same ticket. Price all the above from EDI and you will see that if the airline itself doesn't fly to EDI they usually have partners that will get you to London/Manchester/Dublin, etc... so you could make your connection there.
To answer your first question about the CO flight from EDI-NYC, as I stated before the non-stop flights will start next June, so it will be a direct non-stop flight. No individual monitors and seat pitch very tight.
Virgin is also very tight in the coach, unless you buy economy plus, but that's usually few 100s pounds more.
A good website to start pricing this trip if www.opodo.com.
Also, again, this is way too early to get the best pricing. I realize you may want to secure the tickets as soon as possible, but I would wait till Virgin/British or any one of the US airlines has another sale in few months. For summer months they usually run a sale around March.

I found EDI-DUB-JFK for your dates, flying AerLingus/British for 500BP per person. I could find many more options using different airines, so just take your time and don't limit yourself to 1 or 2 airlines. I don't know if you have something against American Airlines, but it would be everything you are looking for. You would connect in London, probably on BA, fly a 777 with 34-35" seat pitch, individual screens for about the same price you have above. AA does have the most room in coach.

Good luck!

Thanks for the help.
I don't have anything against American Airlines - they sounds exactly what I'm looking for. Just in my searches in expedia/opodo they haven't came back, but I'll keep searching.

Thanks

Martin

I guess it depends on how much the Scotland-London leg adds to the flight, but the United flight from Heathrow to the US does look appealing at GBP409!

Martin,
We are flying from London to NY this December to get married, but my parents are flying from Scotland so I feel I have been through it all already. There is a direct Continental flight that goes Glasgow to Newark but, as there is only one per day so it is not so easy to get a good rate. If you are willing to fly to London the prices should drop considerably.

Having said that (and looking at your post) there is not really "decent" leg room in Economy. Have flown transatlantic on Virgin in Economy and Premium Economy, I would heartily recommend PE, especially as you can get returns to NY for around £600. The same is probably true for BA World Traveller Plus. Economy class in Virgin, BA, AA, UA etc is all pretty similar - although the American carriers have been making more cutbacks on extras like free drinks.

It is possible to get good flight rates this far in advance, but normally only when you book accommodation at the same time, even if it is only just one night. Have a look on Expedia under flight + hotel - they should be able to give you a quote for July 2004. You could also check Airline Network - we booked all our travel through them (telephone rather than via the web). Given the number of flights to NY from this country it may be worth your while waiting to get a better deal as the chances of them all being fully booked are pretty slim.

Thanks for that.
If I could find Virgin Premium Economy for £600 return, I'd take it but the lowest I can find is over £800 which is a bit out our price range.
I had a look at airline network online but I'll maybe give them a call.

Thanks

Martin

Martin,
Of the 2, Virgin PE is probably more exclusive than BA WTP as Virgin only have 3 cabin classes. We flew LGW-Miami last year and the PE cabin was in the upper deck. Much quieter than in the main cabin and there is a separate check in. At the moment PE to NY will not be available for much less than 800 - 900 but it should come down as the time gets nearer. You will need to get to Heathrow of course.

If you call Airline Network, and you haven't got accommodation sorted, ask them about integrated travel fares as that is often the best deal. Guy I dealt with is called Adam - very helpful.

So if the Edinburgh-New York direct flight doesn't offer what I'm after (seat back tv's etc), do you know if the Glasgow-New York Continental direct flight does? Is it a different type of aircraft?

Thanks

Martin

Best to check the Continental website for plane type - have never flown Continental. It is direct so it will save you time and a bit of hassle but there is little or no price competition and I don't think Continental have an "Economy Plus" class. You pays your money.....

Generally I would recommend BA and their World Traveller Plus (Too tall for comfort in economy), but at the moment for the dates you have mentioned it is £950 inc taxes.
We are flying WTP to JFK for Thanksgiving from Dublin via HEathrow for about £600 so if you can wait prices will drop.
All fares to US rise after end of June so you are travelling in peak season.
Make sure you let whichever airline know its for your honeymoon, there's always the chance of an upgrade.