LHR-JFK Questions

[B757-200]

On May the 24th i am travelling to New York from London Heathrow for the first ever time. I'm not very smart on aviation so Could anyone please tell me about the turbulence on this route and the average flight-time?. Also the flight is on a weekday so would the flight be probably packed or quite empty??

[seacue]

This question might fit better in the Passengers and SLF forum.

Tuesday is usually the least-busy day of the week, with Wednesday next. Late May is getting toward the summer season so the plane won't be empty.

Isn't the flight duration about 7-1/2 hours westbound? The airline schedule will say. There is a five-hour time difference LHR>JFK.

The great circle course the plane will take goes surprisingly far north and arrives in North America over Nova Scotia or even Labrador. I wouldn't expect much turbulence over that portion of the trip. There could be thunderstorms at the USA end. Seven-day forecasts are updated every day and New York's is at:
http://tinyurl.com/n2g5t You might also want to type Boston, Ma in the box at the top to find Boston weather.

The exact route the plane will take and height it will fly depend a lot on the jet stream / high altitude winds.

[B757-200]

Flying with BA, so would i probably get Boeing 744 or 722??? do BA use 767-300's on this route, i hope not because i hate the damn aircraft!.

[StainesFS]

Like seacue, I assume that you are flying into JFK. If so, the good news is that that route is predominently served by 744s with the occasional 772.

On the other hand, if you are flying to EWR (Newark, NY), then the news isn't quite so good. These flights are all scheduled to be serviced by 77s. However, there have been quite a few occasions recently when a 763 has been used instead, generally on the BA187 service.

If, following seacue's post, you are interested in potential routes, try entering "North Atlantic Tracks" in Wikipedia. Generally, for New York flights, the more southerly of the westbound tracks A-F are used although the tracks do vary a little from day to day depending on weather conditions.

Enjoy your flight!

[PAXboy]

Turbulence is one of those things that is not a problem for 99% of flights and the 1% are very difficult to predict.

However, all carriers use weather radar to it's maximum as they know that pax do not like to be shook up! It is usual to make minor detours and changes of level if the bumps get too big. On a route like the North Atlantic, there is such a constant stream of a/c that there is a constant stream of feedback about the weather at any given point.

The last time I went LHR~JFK in January, prior to departure the Captain announced that we would be taking a route slightly further to the north than usual - in order to skirt aorund a storm. I was able to watch it from the window and there was wonderful 'light show' and zero bumps from it, which has to be the best of both worlds. We also had a very strong head wind for the first half and, as a result, added about 45 mins to the flight but the default is 7.5 hrs out and 6.5 back.

When you book, you will be asked for Advanced Passenger Data, this is the information the Americans require so that they can confuse your name with another and ensure that the aircraft is banned from entering US air space ... ;)

Depending upon cloud cover, once you have left Ireland behind there is nothing to see for a couple of hours but once over Canada and running down the Eastern seaboard it can be very interesting, even at night.

As you are keen to know which a/c, go to BA's website. Select INFORMATION, then TIMETABLES and enter your day of travel. Thursday 24th May shows nine rotations from T4. In the coloum under the DATE, there is a small grey aircraft symbol - click on each in turn and a sub-window opens with flight details, including the a/c type. Bear in mind that the a/c type may be changed at VERY short notice due to technical or booking reasons. This only shows the a/c type that is scheduled to operate the service.

Do check rules about luggage size and weight and the silly 100ml rules. If there are any pairs of scissors or nail clippers that you don't want any more - put them in your bag and they will be removed for you. :}

By the way, the B757-200 is one of the prettiest and downright most fabulous machines of all time. :ok:

[B757-200]

Thankyou so much PAXboy. This information is very helpful, i was desperate to find out which type of A/C i would almost definitely be travelling on, i have never flown on a 747!. To make my first long-haul flight perfect perhaps on the way back to LHR a 772 would be used. Thanks again for all the advice!

[CHIVILCOY]

If you post your flight number someone will be able to tell you which aircraft type you will be travelling on.

[PAXboy]

Not at all B757-200 all part of the service and welcome aboard PPRuNe, don't forget to tidy up after you and doff your cap when the Mods stride down the aisle. :uhoh:

[TightSlot]

Quite correct - however, don't forget to grovel sometimes as well. Grovelling is good.

Also

Begging

and Pleading

Begging and Pleading and Grovellng - very good they are - lots of them please.

:ok:

[PAXboy]

I think that we have all got used to the begging (small mercies, a cup of kindness etc.) and even the p-l-e-a-d-i-n-g to be allowed to talk to our travelling companions when the Mods are trying to sleep but sometimes (just sometimes) the bit that gets me down is being woken up to grovel.

You know how it is - you have just managed to find the right angle in the 15 year old Y seat and the blanket is snug and then ... you hear the dreaded Crack of the whip and you find that it's your turn to get out into the aisle and perform the Dance - whilst lying full length on the floor.

Really, you would have thought that a simple grovel would do but they keep wanting to have their grovelling upgraded and, frankly, when I am in coach I am not going to provide them with biz levels of grovel just so that they can add more Grovel Miles to their log book. :mad:

Crack! Sting! Biff :=
Oh ... apparently I am going to give enhanced grovelling. :eek: