First time flying indirect, would do it again

[Jakejosh4]

First time flying indirect for us next Easter saved over £300 each and there are 8 of us so a huge saving. Direct with Virgin were silly prices flying Delta out and Virgin on the last leg back via Boston on the way out and Atlanta on the way back.

 

[DLPdaft]

Another fan of indirect flights for the same reason. I'm glad you had a good experience. Many people avoid indirect flights because they believe that they are more difficult journeys, but it's so much nicer to get through immigration before you get to your final destination.

Have a wonderful vacation

we're just back, we did indirect both ways, and to be honest, while i'd do indirect homeward again no problem, i'd prefer direct outbound. We had over 3.5 hours to connect at Chicago for our Orlando flight, and it took that 3.5 hours (we quickmarched to the gate and literally 2 minutes later they started boarding). I found it very stressful, and none of the airport staff were particularly helpful, never mind empathetic.

 

[Cumbley]

Hi - would love some information about indirect flights and logistics of it all! We have always gone direct before but looking at flights next August prices are ridiculous! Looking at going with Virgin/Delta via Atlanta. How easy is the whole transit experience? TIA

 

[ROMNEY]

We normally fly Virgin, but prices were too high, we ended up booking with expedia and flying from Heathrow by Air Canada to Montreal, then Air Canada to
Orlando, on the way back air Canada via Toronto, I must admit I was not looking forward to it, but turned out great

These are the flight s we used, I used this to keep track of the times, first one is the flight to montreal second is down to orlando
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ACA865/history/20150720/1310Z/EGLL/CYUL

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/ROU1872/history/20150720/2200Z/CYUL/KMCO

Upon arriving at Heathrow, I had vowed that I would go to a check in desk to ask questions re luggage going all the way through, but straight away was directed to a machine.

Enter air Canada booking ref, supplied BY EXPEDIA
straight away it comes up with your 2 outgoing flights, get your passports scanned, it then issues your boarding passes for both flights, together with you luggage tickets, go to check in desk, she weighs luggage, and that's it.

On arrival at Montreal, follow the connecting corridor to usa flights
go through security/xray machine carry ons
Then passports are scanned in self service machine (5 mins)
take seat in front of large tv, all the names of your party will be in orange, when they go green that means they have photographed your luggage
proceed 20 ft to Us immigration, took 5 mins, then straight into departures.

coming back was even easier followed connections corridor at arrivals, passports stamped then straight into departures, it was so easy we were like "that cant be it, we must have missed a bit"

Will def do again, the first flight was 6 hours, seemed shorter, and arrival in Orlando was so so easy and the money we saved paid for spending

I was worried the lay over at Montreal would not be long enough, being 1hr 40, but it was fine,

Dave

 

[Cumbley]

Thanks for the info. Got to give it a go I think!!

 

[Kath2003]

Outbound:
Check in at first airport or online. Collect all boarding passes. Drop bags at airport.
At first stop (assuming USA), go through immigration and customs. Collect bags from luggage carousel and recheck them at bag drop for next flight. (Some airports/airlines now check bags the whole way to your final destination - they will make this VERY clear if this is the case - expect to check them).
Upon arrival in Orlando, walk off plane, collect bags.
(We don't check luggage on the outbound - makes for a nice easy transit).

Inbound:
Check in at first airport or online. Collect all boarding passes. Drop bags at airport.
At first stop, go to the gate for your next flight. You don't need to worry about bags - you'll see them again in the UK.
Upon arrival in Orlando, walk off plane, clear UK immigration, collect bags and go home.

For us, there are some real advantages of indirect:
1. Price (around 50% of the cost of direct as we travel at peak times)
2. Quick exit when we arrive in Orlando - even though indirect flights usually arrive later than direct, this makes up for a lot of it. Downside: you could end up checking in with all the Virgin customers who arrived hours earlier when you get to the hotel (we have been stung by this!)
3. Convenience in the UK - we can fly from an airport that is an hour closer, saving an hour travel time each way.
4. If you want to go elsewhere in Florida, like the beach, there are more convenient airports than Orlando, saving yet more driving time.

Usually a connection adds 3 hours to your total journey. By the time we have discounted immigration & customs at the first stop (1 hour minimum) and travel time in the UK (1 hour each way), flying indirect adds 1 hour to the outbound journey and 2 to the return.

Other factors to consider:
Connection times: I look for minimum 2.5 hours on the outbound and 1.5 hours on the return.
Getting off the plane half way is nice. You can get real food! And a walk! And a coffee! And use a real toilet!
You'll leave earlier on your departure day. Some consider this a downside but frankly, on the last day I just want to get home anyway. You will probably land in the UK earlier, too, so have longer to "recover" at the other end before work the next day.
Choose a city where you wouldn't mind being stuck. It's very unlikely, but you could wind up with a delay (the same way that you could in Orlando). We avoid some airports for this reason (JFK, for example, where food & accommodation expensive and the airport hotels are rubbish). Though I dislike MIA intensely (can be a long wait for immigration, dull airport with not much to do), I'll connect through there if going to Orlando because it's easily driveable.
Often you can get stupidly cheap fares for long connections. This can offer you a day to experience another city - like NYC - or an overnight stopover. Overnights are better than I had imagined - we got offered a great hotel rate by the airline (though we had researched the cost ourselves and decided it was still worth it even at a higher rate), got to have a shower and a decent night's sleep and then arrived in Orlando by 10am the next day.
If you end up with a really long connection during the day, some airports have hotels that rent space by the day or by the hour (ask for day rooms).

 

[dixonsontour]

We have deliberately chosen a longer connection on the way back to see the stop over city.

Did it in 2013 - landed Chicago 9am ish from Orlando and not flying out for 11 hours. Got subway into city and did an open top bus tour and had a chicago deep dish pizza. DD had never been. Have booked the same timing for our May 16 fights with a day in Philadelphia.

May flights we were stuck with saturday dates for school reasons. Indirect we've paid just over £400, direct are £750. That saving to us is well worth it.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

It's when your journey involves more than one flight with stop(s) and usually a plane change,between your point of departure and your final destination.

That is properly known as a direct flight.

 

[disneyholic family]

another indirect flyer here....we don't have any other option from where we're flying...there are no non-stop flights to orlando for us...

i have to admit, i'd love to be able to fly non-stop despite what i've heard about the nightmarish immigration lines in orlando, but it's not possible for us..
so we fly indirect...it's fine, although there's always the tiny bit of tension as to whether we'll make the connecting flight...
even when we leave 3 hours between flights, we've had some very close calls as well as misses where we were moved to later flights...
(not to mention the increased odds of luggage going astray)...

but it's fine...as long as i eventually get to the mouse, i'm happy...

interesting that you flew through montreal....which airline did you fly?
we almost always fly via JFK in new york.....though every now and then it's via newark (an airport i dislike even more than JFK)...
and once in a blue moon, via detroit (a very easy airport to negotiate with relatively speedy immigration)...
we flew via seattle this year, on our way to alaska...fastest immigration i've encountered yet......though the airport isn't very nice...

 

[Kath2003]

That is properly known as a direct flight.

Same flight number = direct flight (even with a stop, e.g. for refuelling). There IS a difference between a non-stop flight and a direct flight, in that ALL non-stop fligths are direct but not all direct flights are non-stop.

Different flight numbers = indirect flights.

2Tiggies was correct in her statement because she said it involves a change of plane.

I have never seen a flight to the US which involved a stop which was NOT an indirect flight (i.e. a change of flight number and a change of plane). There's no reason for an aircraft to stop mid-journey on the way to a mainland US city.

 

[Jon84]

I have never seen a flight to the US which involved a stop which was NOT an indirect flight (i.e. a change of flight number and a change of plane). There's no reason for an aircraft to stop mid-journey on the way to a mainland US city.

The only mid journey stops I've ever seen is on USA Internal flights where it'll stop somewhere to pickup more passengers. Bit of a commuter service

 

[disneyholic family]

The only mid journey stops I've ever seen is on USA Internal flights where it'll stop somewhere to pickup more passengers. Bit of a commuter service

'puddle jumpers'....
back in the days of Allegheny Airlines (or "all agony" as we used to call it, before it became US Air), i had to take a puddle jumper to get from michigan to summer camp in eastern pennsylvania.....it stopped every few minutes throughout pennsylvania...
i can't say it stopped at airports, as they were just runways.....
the plane would land on the runway, and in the middle some person was standing waiting to get on.....
no building....nothing....not even a little bus stop shelter...just a runway and a person standing on it, who would run up the airplane stairs...
and then we'd take off again....
only to land 10 minutes later on another runway......crazy crazy crazy crazy crazy....
until we finally got wherever it was we were going (scranton? i no longer remember)....
if i never see pennsylvania again it will be too soon...

but i digress, as usual...



.

 

[ROMNEY]

Disney holic family, we flew on Air Canada AC865, from Heathrow to Montreal.
approx.2.20 uk dept, arrive Montreal, approx. 4.20, leave 6 pm to Orlando.

 

[disneyholic family]

Disney holic family, we flew on Air Canada AC865, from Heathrow to Montreal.
approx.2.20 uk dept, arrive Montreal, approx. 4.20, leave 6 pm to Orlando.

so did you have to clear immigration twice? once into canada and then before boarding the plane to orlando?