Direct but not Non-Stop

[muntiedarlin]

Has anyone been on a flight that is a direct flight, but it is not non-stop? We are thinking of going to Aruba with BA. But the flight first stops off at another island called Antiguah. This means the flight is over 11 hours long.
Or we could fly from Luton to Amsterdam and then a direct flight from Amsterdam. It's about the same time length.

We havn't flown long haul with a family before. The BA flight has an option of 'premier economy' too but it's £210 each extra for the one way. Not sure it's worth it.

Years ago, 1980, I flew from Gatwick to Montpellier and back. Both outward and inbound legs routed via Toulouse. Some pax got off at Toulouse and on the way back some got on. Don't think they were allowed to carry domestic pax from TLS to MPL or vv. We just sat on the plane until the doors shut and we were off again. Much more recently Edinburgh to Stornoway via Inverness. No issue. Don't think they even stopped both engines.

Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Houston and vv stops at Manchester to refuel and slip crew. On that one everybody had to get off at MAN with those going through to SIN reboarding.

Used to be a common thing on UK domestic routes to operate a 'bus stop' service. One was Norwich, Leeds/Bradford, Edinburgh and Aberdeen and, some days, on to Stavanger.

TBH even if you had to get off at Aruba and reboard it must be way less hassle than changing plane/airline and possibly terminal at Schipol.

That's how it works.

I’d be avoiding Schipol because lines for passport checks can be miles long and with long walks to gate areas.

I used to do this living abroad. Muscat to London via either Doha, Dubai or Kuwait. Didn't get off the plane it was a pick up

Schipol is a massive airport to navigate around and often the pitfall of luggage making it onto connecting flights. I’d probably go with the option of BA with a stopover. I’ve been on such flights but always got off at the stopover point!

I've had this a few times. It's just easy enough to sit on the plane while a few other people get off/on. I'd much prefer it to a change.

Yes they are fairly common, I once touched down 3 times before getting off, think a flying bus!

@muntiedarlin It stops at Antigua!!!! That’s on the way. I assume you must have heard if it. This is just a stop en route. You do not get off the plane. It’s much easier than via Amsterdam. We didn’t have queues there last October. However BA for Aruba is better.

Aruba is a bit boring though.,Antigua is nicer.

Yes. A flight to Taipei that stopped in Bangkok. They did make us all get off the plane and then get back on again in that case though. It was still a lot less hassle than a true transfer.

Yep. A BA flight to Grenada that stopped at Barbados.
People just get off and then you take off again. No big deal and took about half an hour. Much easier than a multi stop and actually getting off.

Costa Rica to UK. Stopped in Puerto Rico. You don't get off.

I would avoid European airports that are striking over the summer (unsure if Schiphol is again), but European airports that strike tend to impact other European airports quite severely, particularly those with shuttle services.

You also need to allow at least two hours between flights and having just transited through a main European hub I would honestly suggest three hours because the lines were horrendous.

At least with the non-direct BA flight your bags will be loaded and are more likely to reach the destination with you, there's very little chance of missing the flight (unless you don't board when it's called if you are allowed off).

BA do things differently on different stop over flights, on some flights you will be allowed to disembark and on others you won't, the vast majority of the time you will NOT disembark.

Premium Economy is nice, but it's a waste for young children who don't struggle with space in Economy.

Unsure where you live but Luton is not the easiest airport to reach and return from if you live in London - and if your flight is delayed coming in you may find yourself stuck there for quite some time if you are planning to use public transport.

We’ve had a similar flight and it was fine. Almost everyone got off the plane, we waited 45 mins and then took off again for the final hop to our destination.

I would absolutely do this rather than a change, much simpler and less risk of anything going wrong.

Premium is decent, more leg room, less people, better food. For me it would depend of if it was a day or night flight. Day flights in economy are fine, night flights with a time are something I’d upgrade for, there is a real benefit from more space and therefore better sleep. £210 extra for premium seems reasonable on a long flight.

One other think to consider is, is Luton to Amsterdam then Amsterdam to Aruba a through ticket. Of it isn't you'll need to collect luggage and drop it off, as well as clear the border and you run the risk that the flight from Luton is late and you miss the connection.

@muntiedarlin

As I guess you now know a lot of BA's Caribbean services go on to various smaller islands via Antigua/Barbados.

For info the Cayman islands used to/might still be via Nassau..going the other way Sydney is a direct but non - stop via Singapore (though on that one passengers for Sydney have to get off and then reboard in SIN..)

As a passenger it is usually much less of a hassle to sit onboard a stationary aircraft for 45 minutes or so during the transit than having to get off and change aircraft.

Skiathos has quite a short runway some flights have to top up with fuel on the mainland.
Adds about an hour to the journey.

yes quite normal and far less faff than transferring flights at schipol. At least if the first sector is late you won't need to worry because the second sector will be too as wil be the same plane