LHR - New York

[wanderingdon]

Hi Guys/Girls

Fairly simple question for you. Travelling to New york from Egll in Feb. Fares start from about 330 for american, a little more for delta and continental, about 380 for virgin and 400 for ba.

Flying economy, so just asking for opinons on what is the best carrier to go with. looking for comfort, good service, facilities etc

Any opinions?

[Final 3 Greens]

looking for comfort, good service, facilities etc

Best book business class, then ;)

If flying economy and the aim is to save money, I'd take the cheapest.

[phineas]

I've brought this up before, try to travel midweek. I guess february is a quiet month, and tuesday wednesday are the quietest days of the week so you could end up with a half empty plane.

Can anybody confrim that transatlantic flights are quieter midweek.

Phineas

[L'aviateur]

Flew LHR to Houston last year with BA (B747) with a total pax count of 4!
Realistically economy is economy, a few little variations but seriously for a few hours of your life it isn't a real hassle. I fly 60 - 70 long haul economy sectors per year with various airlines, eventually you become immune!
Business class varies massively from airline to airline, often without a noticable difference in price. Expect lie flat beds, cubicals, champagne and great service with one, then a little bit bigger seat and no alcohol with another (well at least most of the smaller middle eastern airlines!)

[greggx101]

Flew LHR to Houston last year with BA (B747) with a total pax count of 4!

Wow - how many cabin crew did you have ?

Realistically economy is economy, a few little variations
I'm not sure, most US carriers you will pay for refreshments and headphones.

Id say Virgin or BA - With Virgin you will get free alcohol, refreshments a good entertainment system and guaranteed 4 engines for a while (which my wife likes - silly I know)

[wowzz]

I would endorse Greg's comments [although my wife is less worried about the number of engines and more concerned about the wine choice!]
Having flown with all the carriers mentioned, I would say that BA and Virgin would be my preferred choice, even for £30 or £40 more. I know that both can have off-days, but normally the service levels, choice of food and free drink, plus IFE are superior to the US carriers.
OK - purely subjective, but isn't that the point of this forum?

[keltic]

Any airline which allows you to select your seats online. When travelling coach you should try to hunt all these seats close to the emergency exits to have more legroom. It´s hard, and sometimes are blocked by airlines either because they are given to passengers paying full economy or given directly in check in (they need to know if the passenger is fit enough to be able to open the emergency door, and understands the language of the airlines: English in this case). Sometimes these seat can be booked paying an extra.

Generally speaking, I would rather fly any airline with two seats rows either on the left or right if you travel alone, than the regular three seats rows of B777 or B747 which is particularly packed in coach. Less people to disturb to get out if you want to go to the toilet, or be disturbed if you travel on the aisle.

So my choice is either Virgin Atlantic (you should have a look to the premium economy options for discounts when booked well in advance), or B767 on Delta, or Continental.

[dubh12000]

Can I just muddy the waters a bit further by adding the "which NY airport" factor.....personally, as we are under budget restrictions, my choice is WT+ (premium economy) into Newark. I find this the least stressful option by far

[aeroplanejohn]

If cost is the prime factor in selecting an airline to fly you to New York then have you considered Kuwait Airways? They offer a 777 from Heathrow to JFK in February for £284 in economy. Mind you they are a "dry" airline but do offer great fruit cocktail drinks!

[wowzz]

Fully endorse the Newark option - so much better than JFK.

[Power-Attitude-Trim]

IFE are superior to the US carriers

Not necessarily true - Continental has on-demand IFE on 777 and 757 (more choice on 777 - over 200 movies!).

[vonmises]

Hello,

I fly across the Atlantic twice a year, and have done for three decades. I seek out Virgin Atlantic, regardless of the price. The service and entertainment are just that much better. Plus, even when they screw up they are just so darn cute. Facetious comment aside, I have never had a bad experience with that airline. As a rule I don't fly any US carriers international...they flight attendants simply can't stay happy that long...I don't know what it is.

Also, fly into Boston not NY coz NYC is the armpit of the USA hahahah

ok in all seriousness fly Virgin. Enjoy your trip!!!!

[Thedonkeycentrehalf]

I'd take Continental into EWR any day over Virgin into JFK