Not a great passenger, but want to go UK to USA...

[MrJoshua]

... and back again!

Hi

I've only ever flown short-haul within the EU before... Mallorca, Malaga, Klagenfurt... 10 flights in total (5 round trips). I've never been particularly comfortable on them, getting that claustrophobic feeling after a while and having the "I want to get off soon" feeling after a couple of hours.

80% of these flights have been on 737s and 3 of the flights have been pretty bumpy (one terribly so) which hasn't helped.

One of my friends in the States has invited me over next summer and I really want to go, but I'm a bit apprehensive about the flights. He's only in Philly, so I imagine I'd fly into NY.

I've been looking at flying with Silverjet due to the space and comfort they appear to offer as I think this would really help (being 6'2" and a bit tubby!)... Are they all they're cracked up to be?

Is the 767 going to deal with turbulence better than a 737 (as in stability)?

Any seasoned passengers care to share some tips on how to enjoy the flight?

Valium if all else fails? :rolleyes:

Thanks in advance!

Josh

[Hartington]

BA fly from Heathrow and US Air from Gatwick (and I think, but not sure, Manchester) non-stop to Philadelphia. So if your friend is in Philadelphia itself that may be a better option. If you do go to New York remember there are 2 airports served from London; JFK and Newark. I reckon Newark would be more convenient for Philadelphia than JFK. Newark is servde by BA and Virgin from Heathrow and Continental from Bristol, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh (I think that's the complete list). If they live south of Philadelphia BA fly to Baltimore as well.

The 767 is a comfortable aircraft. I just flew one two weeks ago Heathrow/Baltimore. I'm going home in 2 days on a BA 777 Washington/Heathrow which is even bigger and more stable. Size does tend to matter but even a 747 will get juddered by bad turbulence. All I can say is the flight out was smooth.

You may want to investigate "Premium Economy". BA and Virgin offer it as a separate class; bigger seats, more legroom. I'm 6'2" but I'm not tubby (my BMI is just about OK!) and BA "World Traveller Plus" works well for me. I find ordinary eceonomy (what BA call World Traveller) cramped.

The other thing to bear in mind is that there are daylight flights from Washington, JFK and Newark back to Heathrow. I find them much more comfortable than spending 8 hours trying to sleep in any seat (even First Class!). It's also perfectly possible to fly Heathrow/Philadelphia and return Newark/Heathrow - you don't have to fly to and from the same airport.

I know nothing about Maxjet or Silverjet or EOS. Sorry.

[Monkeytoo]

Mr Joshua, I know my frequently flown routes are different than where you want to go but in my experience you seem to get more turbulance on short flights than you do on long haul ones - probably something to do with plenty of opportunity to avoid 'weather'............but in saying that I don't think I have ever had a smooth flight over the Bay of Biscay:hmm: - anyway I digress - I think you should go and visit your friend and enjoy the flight because (although I can't guarantee it) in all likelehood it will be as smooth as silk - if you can find a cost effective airline flying 777's or the larger Airbuses you will not feel so crammed in - and if this is going to be a once in a lifetime experience, fly premium economy or business class :)

[Avman]

Aircrew, especially the Americans, will do their utmost to avoid known areas of CAT. You can, on occasions, be confronted with turbulence from high cloud. This is generally light chop and nothing to get concerned about. If you don't like flying at night, the advise given above regarding daytime eastbound flights is a good option. I've made plenty oceanic crossings on the B767 and all have been very pleasant.

[Eboy]

You can also fly in to Washington DC. It is about equal-distance from Philly.

I can feel claustraphobic if I am stuck in the middle of a row or at a window, so an aisle seat helps me.

Watching the movies, no matter how bad, helps the time fly.

You could take the Amtrak train from from NY (or DC) to Philly, but I think that would be more of a hassle than connecting to another flight. US train service is not good generally, but the NY(DC)-Philly run is not bad.

I have flown both United and BA between DC and London, and, generally find BA to be more comfortable and roomy in Economy.

[Hombre]

Recently flew to JFK with family on Maxjet which was brilliant. Seats are near horizontal, CC excellent and meals/IFE superb. There are only 100 seats in their 767s albeit they are older a/c and can be a bit noisy on takeoff and landing. Ample room in cabin; seats in 2-2-2 formation.
That said departure from Stansted (which was very pleasant) with VIP lounge both ends. Cheaper than silverjet also.

Would happily fly with them again over the pond.

[The SSK]

"I want to get off soon" - you're going to get that anyway, on any airline, but that will be boredom rather than anxiety. Take a good book or a supply of Sudoku puzzles.

[Pax Vobiscum]

If you do end up in Newark (whether with Silverjet or another carrier), the easiest way to get to Philadelphia is to take the train from the station (linked to the airport by monorail). Trains run every 1-2 hours, travel time is an hour and costs around $65 (single).

[MrJoshua]

Wow! Thanks for all your responses!

I'll have to check out Maxjet as I'd not heard of them before...

I'd prefer to keep the cost of the flights at or below a grand return if possible, but love the thought of being able to recline and chill out.

I've also been advised that the Flying without fear website has some great products that can help, so I'm going to check that out!

I'm glad to hear that 767s are a bit more stable than the smaller planes, that makes me less anxious.

Keep the experiences and advice coming! I appreciate all your comments.

Thank you!

[BackPacker]

Whatever you do, don't forget to inform the flight crew that you're a bit nervous. Don't make a big fuss out of it, but do let them know. They're used to dealing with nervous pax (trained for it actually) and will keep an eye on you. If nothing else, it means you get that extra bit of service and attention.

[jubilee]

Mr Joshua,
As you live in Sheffield, why not go on the train to Manchester Airport,and catch the US Air daily flight straight to your destination.
Regards
Jub.

[Cyrano]

Or take a cargo ship (http://www.strandtravel.co.uk/strand_voyages/search/voyage_detail.aspx?vid=20#content) from Liverpool to Philadelphia (may exceed your budget though)? :cool:

[jubilee]

I thought airfares were bad enough.
Regards
Jub

[Hartington]

Coming back from Washington/Dulles yesterday on the day flight we made our way up the east coast at 41000 and somewhere north/east of Boston began to pick up some light turbulence. The solution? Descend to 39000! I think one of the benefits of transatlantic flying these days is that there is some flexibility in level assignments which means that if you do pick up some turbulence the pilots can sometimes (not always) get out of it by requesting a different flight level.

Thinking about it, I reckon you're more likely to get turbulence eastbound. Why? Because the airlines try and take advantage of the prevailing wind in the jetstream and fly in the jetsream to get the tailwind and that stream, like a water stream that flows quickly, tends to have more turbulence than a calm, slow flowing river. Going west they try and keep out of the jetstream because it causes a head wind which slows them down. However, based on yesterday it seems to me that they are getting better at avoid the turbulence when it does occur.

[10secondsurvey]

Re the above.

The winds aloft are the reason why the return flight from the USA to UK is quicker than when flying uk to USA. Or east to west coast USA for that matter etc...

Maybe a pilot could indicate if it is possible to take advantage of those winds whilst still avoiding turbulence, as I've often tolerated lots of turbulence on the assumption that eastbound it comes with the territory.

[speeddial]

Mr Joshua (I had a teacher called that but you're too young to be him!)

From my experience of seeing other passengers if you can fly in a 737 around Europe like you have done then you are not afraid of flying, do not panic about long haul, there are some people who would never have flown the return leg of their first flight because they're so scared of flying.

The problem you get with long haul is boredom and morale dropping as you get nearer to landing, then frustration when you can see the airport but its still ages until you're out of the aircraft. Flying to the US watching Scotland, Iceland and Greenland keeps me busy for some of the flight, flying back I'm normally so tired from my holiday that after a few glasses of wine I'm asleep for 6+ hours.

If you're worried about getting frustrated, wait until you get to the US Border Control, that'll make the flying part of your journey seem like a 100m sprint!

[flyingfemme]

Consider making the trip with Icelandair.....they stop in Reykjavik so each leg is shorter. They have some good, cheap fares as well.

[Hartington]

Icelandair; now there's a thought.

Good points:

Shorter flights, good fares, departures from Manchester and Glasgow (I believe) as well as London, possibility of an inexpensive overnight in Iceland in one direction.

Disadvantages:

flights east of Iceland in narrow body (757/737) aircraft; west of Iceland can be 767 but not always so check; destinations (from memory) do not include Philadelphia so would have to be JFK or Baltmore.

Might also be worth investigating Aer Lingus. Again, they don't fly to Philadelphia but the transatlantic leg will be on a wide body (A330) and slightly shorter that from the UK and they have connecting flights from all over the UK.

The disadvantage with both these options is the aircraft change and, for my money, unless I particularly wanted to visit Iceland, I would pay extra NOT to have to change planes.

[paulc]

Another plus point with Aer Lingus is that you clear US immigration & customs in Ireland making it much easier when you arrive.

[UniFoxOs]

Paul,

Can you expand on this. Reason is I have been promising the GF a West Coast holiday for a while but we have both been put off going back to the USA again by the terrible hassle at the airport when you arrive. How do Aer Lingus get over this?


Mr Joshua, I have travelled to Newark with Continental (from Birmingham), very happy with them, the Premium Economy (or whatever Conty call it) looked pretty good (we were in ecenomy, about GBP300 return IIRC). In your place I would be looking to go from Manchester with them if Maxjet is above your budget.

UFO

[johnref]

Dublin & Shannon airports have US Immigration in pier B - most if not all flights use it - exceptions being afternoon flights to US I think.

You go through immigration - appararently are then technically in US - and when you land you just bypass the queues at the US airport. Can work really well if you land at peak times.

[derekl]

UniFoxOs:

I travel regularly to the US West Coast. If you enter the US at SFO, I think you'll find the experience OK. There can be queues at immigration, but they really try to get you through. I would, from past experience, avoid LAX.

And the Bay Area is a great introduction to California.

BA have two flights a day to SFO, Virgin have 1 and United have 1. BA and Virgin are 744s. I think United may be a 777.

[UniFoxOs]

Thanks, Derek, I would deffo want to avoid LAX at any price (I've been there before), have seen some occasional tempting offers by one of the business-class-only airlines to Las Vegas, wondered if that was any better?

UFO

[radeng]

I find Phoenix pretty good for immigration/speed/ courtesy. BA flight every day except Wednesday.
And for anyone frightened about flying, remember that the most dangerous part of air travel is the motorway to and from the airport!

[MrJoshua]

Hey all

Well, last night I finally booked my tickets on Silverjet (making use of their January sale!)

As my flights are in late September, I seem to have the pick of the plane to choose my seat. Any suggestions?

I'm currently sat on the very front seat on the port side on both flights:

http://www.tigerstyle-industries.com/images/gotlegroom.jpg

:cool:

[Eboy]

Not familiar with that airline or seating arrangement. For US and some other carriers, I find seatguru.com has good advice. Maybe there is something similar for Silverjet. I can make some general comments.

It is nice to have the legroom on the front row on a long flight IF there is really legroom and you are not jammed tightly against the bulkhead (e.g., some United 757 configurations -- even in First.).

I guess there is a provision for a baby cradle in the seats next to you. That may increase your chances of being next to a crying baby. (Not that big a deal to me.)

All your on-board storage will have to be overhead since there is no seat in front of you. Depending on the legroom, I prefer having a seat in front of me so I can slip my laptop underneath. Try to board early enough to get your stuff stowed overhead.

September is a nice time to visit with regard to weather and tourist crowds. Have a great trip.

[MrSoft]

I generally avoid front rows and bulkheads. I find the layouts are not always trustworthy. Sometimes great but sometimes worse. My view would be, why take the risk on a flight where every seat has decent legroom anyway. Beware bassinets. Also you're near the cloaks. Personally I think (never having had the pleasure of using Silverjet) this seat would compromise my feeling of privacy so I'd probably aim for 4 or 5 A/F (as a window lover). Enjoy!

[MrJoshua]

After looking on SeatGuru and reading the above posts, I have changed to 4A for the flight to the US and 4F on the way home.

Port Out, Starboard Home and all that ;) ;)

[Gonzo]

Mr. Joshua,

I'm sure you'll find Silverjet a good experience. However, having flown on them twice in the last year, I have to say that I would prefer the seats you originally chose.

On Silverjet, none of the seats have storage areas, all hand baggage has to go overhead. However, with it being a 100-seat 767, there's plenty of room for everyone in that regard.

The seats in row 1 have even more leg room than the others. Whilst all the seats are the same in that they recline to an 'almost' lie flat bed, this is only achieved in the other seats by moving your own feet under the seat in front. I found this slightly annoying when laying in the seat face up, as my toes would then hit the bottom of the seat in front, and stop me from fully reclining the seat...So I had to sleep on my side. And I'm only 5ft8.

No such worries in row 1!!!

[MrJoshua]

Hi Gonzo

Thanks for your comments! What is in front of the first row of seats? Is it just a bulkhead, or is there a TV or anything?

I still think I'd prefer a window seat though.

[Gonzo]

It's a bulkhead, but miles away! Enough room for you to fully recline to horizontal with room to spare. The windows seats on row 1 are the same. Each seat has it's own personal media player in a pocket on the side, so there is nothing in front of you.

[bizzy liz]

Afternoon,
US customs, immigration and Homeland security are sited at Dublin and Shannon. All the prechecks are done before boarding, plus Homeland Security fingerprint and iris checks.
Flew to NY in October from Dublin and it worked like a dream. On arrival in NY picked up the bags and straight out the door!

Under the visa waiver scheme a Visa is not required for Irish citizens provided they stay in US for no more than 3 months. As far as I know this applies to UK citizens aswell, but I don't know if US customs, immigration etc. are sited at any UK airports. I'd be interested to know.

Your Foreign Office website should be able to give more details.
Hope that helps,
Lz