Flights to America - need current wisdom please from those who have travelled between the countries in the last year or so

[Earlybird]

Am in the process of booking summer air travel between London and America, and have some questions from those who have travelled between the two countries fairly recently (within last year):

1. Are the kinks with Heathrow Terminal 5 sorted (or likely to be) by the summer, or is Gatwick the way to go to avoid headaches?

1. Given travel restrictions/security, is it a bad idea to travel on two different carriers (ex: BA longhaul, connecting to Delta for US internal flights)?

1. What is your favorite carrier when travelling between US/UK? (Economy class....my days of Business Class travel for work no longer apply.) I'll be on my own with dd (age 7), so cabin comfort/seat pitch/inflight entertainment/meal quality etc are what matters now....

1. What is the minimum time you would allow between flights when transferring from International travel to a domestic flight and vice versa (previous personal 'rule' was 2 hours, but not sure that is sufficient these days).

1. Any new/different 'twists' to either Heathrow Express or Gatwick Express trains between airports and central London?

1. How do you book flights for personal and/or holiday travel? If online, which site do you like/use?

Any other tips/advice much appreciated. Thank you!

Cali - will be very interested to hear your df's opinion on Terminal 5. News has been a bit quiet lately, so perhaps they're getting the issues resolved.

Does anyone know - does the Heathrow Express go directly to Terminal 5? If not, what is the best way to get to/from that terminal via public transport?

Hi I fly a lot with my seven year old to the US. Just got back. Always Gatwick so far but will be using T5 in 2 weeks time. We will only be taking hand luggage though. Still do not trust T5! Try to fly direct if you can because security/immigration can be lengthy. At smaller airports like Boston all US nationals are seen first then they open a desk for aliens.
My top tip is to compare flights only and flight/hotel packages(sort by price) as the flight/hotel package can be cheaper. I use expedia but shop around. Just don't use the nasty motel! We only fly BA and Virgin both are excellent for kids. Think about using the child lock on the entertainment system as i have woken up to find dd engrossed in 'her favourite movie' - attonement. If you have to take an internal flight do a search on JetBlue

Hi Earlybird,

1. Where are you flying to in the US?. BA are not planning to move their long haul services over to T5 until the end of June at the earliest. We are due to fly from T5 in August. BA advise to check their website regularly for updates re T5.

1. Doing a same day transfer within the US can be a PITA to put it mildly. You need bags of time (probably 3 hours to be sure). If you can fly direct to the destination so much the better.

1. BA by a country mile. I have used Virgin as well over the years and do not find them to be as good to pax overall. Their young aircrew can have attitude and staff have seemed more interested in gossiping. Would only use a British based carrier to fly to the USA.

1. Well BAA say 90 minutes to transfer between T1 and T4 at Heathrow but I would double that to be on the safe side

1. Have not used either

1. I use ba.com and book online directly with the hotel.

www.heathrowexpress.com is the website to look at.

From their website:-
From Terminal 5 to Central London (Paddington station)

Trains depart every 15 minutes, with the first train leaving at 05:07 and the last at 23:42.

From Central London (Paddington station) to Terminal 5

Trains depart every 15 minutes, with the first train leaving at 05:10 and the last at 23.25.

not flown to the US for 18mths but have received regular inlaw visits from US

1 - re T5 I think once they transfer long haul over it will be okay

2 - if you are not a US national then not sure it would make any difference. You & your bags will have to clear security and immigration on your first arrival into the US iirc

3 - virgin. ba ok but not used them for ages.

4 - 3hrs?

5 - never use them, we cab it or tube it

6 - check travelocity/expedia but usually book direct with airline

Thanks all for your tips and advice.

We are aiming to travel in July, so not sure I trust that Terminal 5 International service will be sorted by then. Hmmm - that could seriously limit our flight options for BA. (will Virgin be moving to Terminal 5 too?)

My thoughts are to leave at least 2 hours to clear passport control/customs and re-check cases for an internal US flight. Anything less might be pushing it into a stressful situation - especially as I imagine we'll encounter the delays that seem inevitable when flying these days.

As far as whether or not to travel with two different airlines on same trip, would I be wise to stay with 'partnered airlines' (ie BA for International and American for internal US, and Virgin for International and US Air - whoever they are - for internal) - or is that flawed logic?

T5 is for BA only so Virgin won't be using it.

1. No idea!! I am assuming no news is good news?

1. I prefer to travel with partners if poss.

1. BA.

1. I've had to change planes with the same carrier in NY and even that has taken the best part of two hours, so I'd allow three to be on the safe side. I'd rather hang about drinking coffee near the gate than be sweating it out in security!

1. No idea.

1. Expedia always seems to come up cheaper than anyone else, inc BA's own website.

the advantage of partnered airlines is that if you book it all together and miss your connection they will do their best to put you on the next flight

What is the best way to find out who is partnered with who? For example: I have no idea who is partnered with Virgin....

Virgin atlantic by far my fave to fly to usa with.

virgin work with continental

What is your final destination in the US, Earlybird?

Nashville

We usually fly American Airlines as they have a direct flight to where we go - no changing required! The planes are ok, entertainment is improving (now rolling out seat back individual tvs and multi start films in economy). The seat pitch is good. Staff are very friendly - food is ok.

I always book direct with AA.com as they say that they will always have the most competitive prices for their flights at that point in time and you can see what seat availability is like and book seats where you want to sit.

I'd say layover time required depends on which city you are flying into and how big the airport is. Check out the arrangements at the airport you are flying to. Where we go to in the US all passengers arriving on international flights have to go through a security check point before being allowed into the terminal! (Like when you are flying out of LHR). They scan all your hand luggage, shoes off, scan you etc before they let you into the terminal to collect your luggage!! This adds on a lot of time on arrival as have to queue up for whole plane to go through!

Getting through Immigration into the USA can take a while. If you have not been there in the past few years they may want to finger print you and iris scan you!

I don't know what "hub" you are looking at - I have been through Chicago before. It is a nice airport and think we had about a 3 hour stop over there. Would not fancy a 3 hour stop over in JFK! Also be aware if flying via New York that they sometimes think nothing of you transferring airports i.e. flying into JFK and out of La Guardia (LGA). The two airports are not very far apart (think less than 10 miles) but it is a very congested area and traffic can be a nightmare! I presume there is some sort of airport transfer bus.

Another common "hub" is Dallas/Fort Worth - but not been through there!

For Nashville, the obvious is to use Delta airlines - from Gatwick to Atlanta or Cincinnati (personally I wouldn't use Cincinnati though, as flights from it are very expensive), and then to connect using their local affiliates.

However, whatever you do, you will have to clear customs and immigration at the US gateway, so it doesn't matter too much about changing airlines. You will still have to handle your bags and recheck them.

When you book flights, they won't usually book you on a connection that it too tight (eg less than 90 minutes). If you do miss your connecting flight, they will not be fazed at booking you on the next one.

We flew Virgin to Boston last summer and it was pretty uneventful. I don't agree with whoever said that Boston processes US citizens first and then aliens. Just like Heathrow and Gatwick, there are desks for different categories of passengers. If one clears completely, they will let others through - all the agents are qualified to clear everyone. Having flown internationally into Boston, JFK, Newark, Atlanta, Cincinnati and Miami, I can confirm that they all have alien desks.

Oooh ScienceTeacher - sounds like you know your International travel/carriers well.

Interesting to know that Cincinnati flights are more expensive. I wondered if it would be a more 'civilised' point of entering/exiting America (meaning less crowded/manic), as it is perhaps not a traditionally 'desirable' International destination....?

I used to live in Cincinnati, and a lot of people used to whinge about the price of flights, and would travel to Louisville or Dayton to get cheaper ones. They only have about 3 international flights a day, so the international terminal is fairly quiet.

Check out the prices yourself - it may be that the price difference was just Cincinnatians being cheapskates!

1 we flew to the States from T5 earlier this month (within a week of opening). we had a great flight - everything worked well, and our luggage came with us and arrived with us.

2 I think carrier restrictions are pretty much all the same, but what varies ime is the airport restrictions. Check out the relevant airport operator sites to see what they recommend re: transfers.

3 don't know. we flew BA, but did go business. The staff were fantastic (dd1 is autistic, dd2 just 14 months) and served kids meals when we wanted them, rather than at set times etc. All very helpful, and pleasant. haven't flown any other carrier to the states in recent times. Meals were very good, and they were able to reasonably accomodate food restrictions on our part (gluten/dairy free for most of our party)

4 again, I'd check operator websites to see what they say

5 don't know

6 we booked direct through BA, but that's because we were using up airmiles (hence luxury business class!)

hth

Sorry science teacher, I regularly fly into Boston with BA and twice this year so far there has only been one desk open and US passport holders are seen first. In Orlando last week a new fingerprint machine also slowed down immigration as now all digits are fingerprinted. I'd reiterate again that it's best to fly direct as security/immigration can be lengthy and not pleasant with a tired child. It can cheaper to book in advance with BA but expedia has always come out cheaper IME.

BA is great flown multiple times transatlantic with them on my own. United now flys direct to Denver from Heathrow. So you may get a good connection with them. Have a suggestion - fly Virgin from Gatwick to Orlando and then change to Southwest for a direct flight to Nashville - it is a 2 hr flight and cheap enough. Southwest are a good airline and not in Chapter 11 unlike others. Orlando Int is a good airport, plenty of seats, food etc and loads of natural light and the Virgin flights are brilliant.

And it would help if I could spell . You will clear Immigration in Orlando and that's geared up to Brits on the Holiday "visas" so is much quicker than other airports.

I did the flight from lhr to lax twice a year at least from when the kids were born until I moved back to la. Dh still does the flight every other month. Without a doubt, if you are flying with children, BA is the only way to go. They are far more child friendly than any of the other airlines. If you are flying alone, Virgin is ok, but actually BA seats are more comfortable. It is important to book everything with one person so that internal flights are on same ticket as transatlantic even if on different airline. This helps if there are problems or missed connections. Also, my aunt is a travel agent and she feels that it's well worth booking through a travel agent, because if there are any problems, they will help sort them out for you. They charge a small fee ($25, I think), but it's well worth it in my opinion. If you book directly with the airlines, you are more limited. (if you want aunt's email/phone for booking flights, just CAT me)
Dh flew into Terminal 5 just a few days after it opened and despite dire predictions and BA's willingness to book him on another airline into another airport, he had no trouble at all and in fact found that he got his luggage quicker than usual.
Regarding customs/passport control, Dh has some visa issues and does not travel on a visa waiver. He has not foudn any difference at all between airlines, times or day or times of year. It almost always takes under and hour from leaving the plane to getting outside to be picked up.
If you are traveling with a few people, it's probably cheaper and so much easier to either get a minicab to the airport, or if you are only going for a few weeks, do the long term parking/shuttle bus option.
Also, with the new open skies agreement, you may be able to take BA the whole way. or another airline.