USA Flights

I have flown across the Atlantic on British Airways , Virgin Atlantic and a long time ago on Monarch.

Are Delta and US Airways really second class - a bit like Scotrail to East Coast on Edinburgh to Aberdeen ?

I am looking at going to Orlando and the cheapest fares are not Virgin or BA but Delta masquerading as Lufthansa. Indirect options proliferate mainly via European Hubs.

My prime concern is not so much service but seating (economy) and the chance to be able to pre-book an exit seat.

What about Aer Lingus (clear US Immigration in Ireland) and "The Iceland Option"

Members please recommend - cheapest I can find for next June is about £389 Return.

Delta are ok for international flights. Some of their aircraft are a little 'tired' compared to other operators but you get what you pay for. You can book an exit row or extra legroom seat online when choosing your seat but expect to pay for the privilege. I paid $80 for a bulkhead seat Atlanta-Manchester last time I flew with them and it was money well spent.

I've done Aer Lingus from Dublin once and it was much less stressful than queuing for immigration at the US end. Not sure it would be my no.1 reason for using that route though. I don't know if I have just been lucky but my more recent experiences of US Immigration haven't been that bad.

My personal bugbear is Delta if it involves a connection at JFK. The 767's they operate are great but the facilities at JFK T2 and T3 are poor and JFK is prone to delays and cancellations. They are consistently undercutting BA, Virgin and the like; if you connect through Atlanta you will fair much better.
Virgin would not be my choice, you would likely get a very tired B744 out of LGW.

US Airways LHR to Tampa, changing in Philadelphia is a good flight. I've consistantly found it cheaper, last time the plane was new, and very comfortable. We've used them several times now. They are usually cheaper off websites than their own website, though.

Philly was not too difficult to change at, the flight down is about two hours, and as airports go we like it. Tampa is very easy to get hire cars at.

The Virgin Atlantic 747's are currently having the interiors refurbished - they're also pretty good value for money to Orlando.

Sandy Drew said:

The Virgin Atlantic 747's are currently having the interiors refurbished - they're also pretty good value for money to Orlando.

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For the June departure I'm looking at they are £200 dearer than Delta and £100 odd than BA !!!

I think they were good 10 years ago but now they are becoming more like a budget airline
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Flamingo said:

US Airways LHR to Tampa, changing in Philadelphia is a good flight. I've consistantly found it cheaper, last time the plane was new, and very comfortable. We've used them several times now. They are usually cheaper off websites than their own website, though.

Philly was not too difficult to change at, the flight down is about two hours, and as airports go we like it. Tampa is very easy to get hire cars at.

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When you change planes in the USA are you free to wander the Airport or kept in a specific area.

The reason I ask is I know that some American Airports have still got Smoking Areas.

I've flown with all the US transatlantic airlines at one stage or another, never with Virgin, but a few times BA and KLM. I've never found the US ones any worse, I'd go with the cheapest.

Naw, the only thing is you have to clear security after going out to get back in - and they are strict. I don't know about smoking Airside, it's one of the few vices I don't have.

Flamingo said:

I've flown with all the US transatlantic airlines at one stage or another, never with Virgin, but a few times BA and KLM. I've never found the US ones any worse, I'd go with the cheapest.

Naw, the only thing is you have to clear security after going out to get back in - and they are strict. I don't know about smoking Airside, it's one of the few vices I don't have.

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Some of them still have airside facilites....(lounges or terraces)

Have found a deal that is about a "monkey" each for Lufthansa (via Frankfurt) and two weeks Hotel on International Drive next June. Perhaps prices will come down nearer the time though

Butts said:

Some of them still have airside facilites....(lounges or terraces)

Have found a deal that is about a "monkey" each for Lufthansa (via Frankfurt) and two weeks Hotel on International Drive next June. Perhaps prices will come down nearer the time though

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last time I went, I booked about 6-7 weeks in advance & found the bucket-shop price had dropped by nearly 50% from when I'd started looking. UsAirways website had stayed the same, though!

Flamingo said:

last time I went, I booked about 6-7 weeks in advance & found the bucket-shop price had dropped by nearly 50% from when I'd started looking. UsAirways website had stayed the same, though!

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Yes it's always a gamble - if only they had 1st Class Advances like East Coast

They don't seem to go up closer to the time, I did see that. It is always a difficult call, though.

Delta seem to have smartened up their act recently.

I've flown with them to the USA twice. The first time was horrendous as there were problems on 3 of the 4 flights (no aircond on one of them !), but the last time went like clockwork.

A word of warning if you are flying via Atlanta - the queues there are horrendous ! I would allow at least 3 hours to connect lfights there. [ the upside is that if you end up having to kick your heels there, the Sweetwater Brewhous adjacant to gate A27 is highly recommended ! ]

All the best

Martin

martinsh said:

Delta seem to have smartened up their act recently.

I've flown with them to the USA twice. The first time was horrendous as there were problems on 3 of the 4 flights (no aircond on one of them !), but the last time went like clockwork.

A word of warning if you are flying via Atlanta - the queues there are horrendous ! I would allow at least 3 hours to connect lfights there. [ the upside is that if you end up having to kick your heels there, the Sweetwater Brewhous adjacant to gate A27 is highly recommended ! ]

All the best

Martin

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Was that "Hartfield Jackson" Atlanta ? - I note they have got about 10 smoking areas - nirvana for Butts

martinsh said:

Delta seem to have smartened up their act recently.

I've flown with them to the USA twice. The first time was horrendous as there were problems on 3 of the 4 flights (no aircond on one of them !), but the last time went like clockwork.

A word of warning if you are flying via Atlanta - the queues there are horrendous ! I would allow at least 3 hours to connect lfights there. [ the upside is that if you end up having to kick your heels there, the Sweetwater Brewhous adjacant to gate A27 is highly recommended ! ]

All the best

Martin

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I made a 20 minute connection there recently, and made a 25 minute cross terminal the time before that. Not by choice! Internal connections though.
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Butts said:

For the June departure I'm looking at they are £200 dearer than Delta and £100 odd than BA !!!

I think they were good 10 years ago but now they are becoming more like a budget airline
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When you change planes in the USA are you free to wander the Airport or kept in a specific area.

The reason I ask is I know that some American Airports have still got Smoking Areas.

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You have to go through immigration at your first point of entry, pick up your bags, go through customs and recheck them to the appropriate airline. You can roam the airport because you've immigrated as soon as you land and are then treated as if you were taking any other internal flight.

I agree with Virgin seeming like a budget airline. I find the service inattentive and the 6 kg hand baggage allowance unnecessarily "Ryanair"
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SwindonPkwy said:

My personal bugbear is Delta if it involves a connection at JFK. The 767's they operate are great but the facilities at JFK T2 and T3 are poor and JFK is prone to delays and cancellations. They are consistently undercutting BA, Virgin and the like; if you connect through Atlanta you will fair much better.
Virgin would not be my choice, you would likely get a very tired B744 out of LGW.

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Horrendous connecting onto Delta at JFK! The transit doesn't seem to link to the terminal! Can't comment on the quality of economy, business class was fairly average.

US Airways have actually turned their reputation around in my eyes. About five years ago I flew from Glasgow to New York via Philadelphia and they lost all my luggage, with virtually no compensation (apparently their liability excluded pretty much everything I was carrying, except basic clothes).

However, since then I've been persuaded to take more flights with them based on cost - despite being the last of the big "legacy" airlines to form (through the merger of a number of east coast regional airlines and then the Arizona-based America West) and despite having had some seriously difficult labour relations, they now operate with some of the lowest staffing overheads of the trans-Atlantic airlines, and that means low fares.

All US Airways flights (including their seasonal services from secondary cities like Glasgow) go through their two east coast hubs in Philadelphia and Charlotte. For Florida you could go through either. I like PHL a lot and used it several times. My wife used Charlotte and had a terrible experience at customs (even though she is a US citizen) and swore never again. It could all depend on which agent you get on the day, but I would be minded to prefer PHL over CLT. Once you're in the US and flying domestically, their Airbus fleet is one of the world's largest and youngest.

Regarding the other airlines, for Florida Virgin have lots of direct "sunshine" flights to Florida, but they can usually charge a premium for the convenience of flying direct. Aer Lingus have really upp'ed their game, and the advantage of US Preclearance in Dublin is substantial. It makes arrival after a long flight so much more pleasant.

Delta are ok - just ok, in my experience; you will likely find some good itineraries via the hub they share with KLM in Amsterdam from one of the fifteen or so regional UK airports they serve, but they're not likely to be cheapest.

United (which now includes Continental, with whom they merged a few years ago) have lots of daily direct flights from regional UK cities to Newark. This is another hub worth considering; marginally preferable to transiting in JFK. Like US Airways, maybe United flights from regional UK airports use narrow body Boeing 757 aircraft, which means just three seats either side of a single aisle. Some people prefer a widebody plane (with two aisles and a middle block of seats) but I always hate being stuck in that middle block. The smaller 757 always load and unload quicker and I don't find the single aisle gets congested.

American Airlines - no idea, but the company is having serious labour disputes right now and although they're big in Florida they fly some of the oldest planes domestically and regionally.

Note that one alternative you might not have considered is Air Canada via Toronto or Montréal. They're often cheaper if you carry on to the USA rather than landing in Canada, and you get to pre-clear US Customs in Canada.

To get the best fares, play around with Kayak and Skyscanner, or consider launching a contest on Flightfox.

Delta were actually the cheapest for the period I looked at , closely followed by Air Canada.

Cheapskates on the Alcohol - but hell if you've saved on the fare who cares !!

Recently flew with United and apart from the lack of free booze I was very impressed. Flight was on-time, staff were friendly and I paid to upgrade to Economy Plus, which was around £70. Boy was it worth it! The legroom was fantastic and I could lay out and snooze quite easily (often tricky when you're 6ft tall!).

Also flew with Air Canada recently and had a lovely flight. Great choice of entertainment on the personal entertainment system, tasty food, reasonable choice of beer plus I was allocated an exit seat so had loads of legroom again! Just be aware if you are changing in Canada that you will need to collect your bag and check it in again unfortunately, in contrast to changing at an airport in the USA.

Max said:

Recently flew with United and apart from the lack of free booze I was very impressed. Flight was on-time, staff were friendly and I paid to upgrade to Economy Plus, which was around £70. Boy was it worth it! The legroom was fantastic and I could lay out and snooze quite easily (often tricky when you're 6ft tall!).

Also flew with Air Canada recently and had a lovely flight. Great choice of entertainment on the personal entertainment system, tasty food, reasonable choice of beer plus I was allocated an exit seat so had loads of legroom again! Just be aware if you are changing in Canada that you will need to collect your bag and check it in again unfortunately, in contrast to changing at an airport in the USA.

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Did you pay for the upgrade at the Airport or beforehand ? - can you pre-book exit seats on United or Air Canada. I am over 6 foot and so is my son.

You can pre book seats on both. On United you pay for the upgrade in advance and select your precise seat. On Air Canada I was lucky enough to get the exit seat pre-allocated so I chose not to alter it!

Also, see seatguru.com for detailed and accurate info about legroom and other seat pros/cons. It was completely accurate both ways for me.

Max said:

You can pre book seats on both. On United you pay for the upgrade in advance and select your precise seat. On Air Canada I was lucky enough to get the exit seat pre-allocated so I chose not to alter it!

Also, see seatguru.com for detailed and accurate info about legroom and other seat pros/cons. It was completely accurate both ways for me.

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I'd also check the Airliners.net trip reports forum - A.net is down at the moment for me but that gives opinions on the various airlines

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/

Max said:

You can pre book seats on both. On United you pay for the upgrade in advance and select your precise seat. On Air Canada I was lucky enough to get the exit seat pre-allocated so I chose not to alter it!

Also, see seatguru.com for detailed and accurate info about legroom and other seat pros/cons. It was completely accurate both ways for me.

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Yes you can purchase the preferred seating as they call it on Air Canada (about £60 extra on my flight that takes it to about £540 return for an exit seat - also applies to both legs of flight)

As a comparison BA is £625 return for normal economy - annoyingly you can't book exit seats in advance (at time of booking) with them or Virgin. BA Flight is direct though.

Only thing putting me off going via Canada is their draconian smoking laws - via USA (south) looks a better bet for a "stopover burn"

Butts said:

Was that "Hartfield Jackson" Atlanta ? - I note they have got about 10 smoking areas - nirvana for Butts

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Yes but they also have 5 terminals! It can take quite a while to get from one end to the other but you don't have to go through security. If you end up at Newark it can take an hour to clear immigration and customs then you normally have to move to a domestic terminal, which could have long security lines to get in.