Indirect flights

[Miffy2003]

Thanks Miffy...
I just tried that on continental site...but its still giving me a price of £2500 for 2 adults and 2 kids....Maybe Iam looking too early..they haven't released late august flights yet...ideally I'd like 20th Aug for 10 -14 nights for under £2000...iam not having much luck
Really love to hear from the OP on how she got her price...it sounds great.

We paid £1500 for 8 nights* for 2 adults and 2 children return Bristol - Newark - Orlando this August (going out and back in school holidays) so it should be doable under £2k. As you rightly say the flights back for your window are not yet quite released.

*(10 nights or more would have been even cheaper as this would have taken us back into the school term, just mentioning this as you quote 10/14 nights in your post)

 

[poohmadmum]

For everyone who has done a stop over, how long would you suggest to allow as a minimum time between the flights?

 

[wayneg]

I would say 2 hours but AA have have changed our stopover to 90 mins for next month, I know it is possible but its a rush, prefer to have 2 hours for comfort, just hope we are not delayed on transatlantic leg.

 

[Pootle]

Another thing in favour of stopovers is that the awful overnight last leg of the journey is very short if you are travelling from Newark, JFK or Boston

I know we are mostly talking Continental here, but AA has been mentioned and I think their website is one of the best. Just love the way you can check what seating is available even before you book.

 

[disneyholic family]

I would say 2 hours but AA have have changed our stopover to 90 mins for next month, I know it is possible but its a rush, prefer to have 2 hours for comfort, just hope we are not delayed on transatlantic leg.

into JFK you need more than that....i think it depends on the airport...
JFK is a notoriously slow airport for getting baggage out..
and you have to clear immigration and customs in the airport where you enter the US....then it depends on the airline what you do with your luggage from that point...
usually you just give your luggage right back to the airline at a connecting desk, which is very convenient.... (except for Northworst airlines - if you're transfering to NWA at JFK you have to take your luggage and check it in again - big pain in the derriere)....

 

[jen_uk]

The flight I priced up was going on the 5th August 08 and returning on the 20th. It was flying from Heathrow with Air India and then connecting with Continental I think in Chicago.

 

[wayneg]

The flight I priced up was going on the 5th August 08 and returning on the 20th. It was flying from Heathrow with Air India and then connecting with Continental I think in Chicago.

Yes conncting in Chicago going and in Newark on return. That is a geat price for August, I would do it if my dates came up at that price. Its even worth the hassle of me driving too and from Heathrow.
Have you checked other sites also? Opodo are not always the cheapest.

 

[castanea1985]

into JFK you need more than that....i think it depends on the airport...
JFK is a notoriously slow airport for getting baggage out..
and you have to clear immigration and customs in the airport where you enter the US....then it depends on the airline what you do with your luggage from that point...
usually you just give your luggage right back to the airline at a connecting desk, which is very convenient.... (except for Northworst airlines - if you're transfering to NWA at JFK you have to take your luggage and check it in again - big pain in the derriere)....

JFK is a 'mini city' of an airport!! There are not many airports where you have to take a bus to the next terminal! LOL

 

[disneyholic family]

JFK is a 'mini city' of an airport!! There are not many airports where you have to take a bus to the next terminal! LOL

actually there's now a train that connects the buildings...
and it's really not a bad airport at all to get around...i prefer it to many others (i'm probably one of the few people in the world who prefers JFK to newark - i HATE newark for some reason - maybe it's because i hate continental and the two are sort of intertwined in my mind...also newark is a bit of trek into the city....i prefer the distance to the city from JFK...)..

anyway, the problem in JFK isn't getting around the airport as much as arriving in the international terminal and crossing immigration/customs....that can sometimes take quite a while....
as i said, they're VERY slow about getting the baggage to the carousel...and you have to get your baggage to clear customs....

 

[richard_andmel]

I won't weigh in on the indirect thing really. But as far as Continental goes... I am an American living in Birmingham, and with the majority of my family in New England I have flown Continental about 15 times in the last 8 years out of Birmingham. The flight attendants are great for the most part, I wouldn't fault them in any way.

But because Continental is the only way to get to the states out of Birmingham they use the crappiest oldest Airplanes they have. The food is dire compared to BA, Virgin, AA, Lufthansa, and Aer Lingus. The inflight entertainment consists of one new film and then a few crappy older films. When I traveled in June there was no kids choice at all, and the new film was Music & Lyrics, followed by Maid in Manhattan (2002). Talk about one place an airline doesn't need to be cheap.

I fly them because sometimes I travel on my own and I don't want to go down to Heathrow by myself. Plus as I am going to Maine and there is no direct flight anywhere to there. I have to have a connection somewhere. But that is the only reason believe me. I would never choose that Bham flight with Continental if there was any choice at all.

 

[paulfoel]

Ive just priced up flights to Orlando next August on the Opodo website and it came up with £384 for an indirect flight with a stop in Chicago. Ive always flown direct but at that price it is tempting to try indirect!

What are anyone elses experiences of this?

Absolutely no problems at all. We've just got here yesterday and we always do it.

We fly from Bristol to New York and then on to Orlando...

One advantage is you do all the immigration stuff at New york which is usually a bit quieter than Orlando. And, of course, you can have some food and then its just another short flight to Orlando.

 

[paulfoel]

Tinker74 - I am guessing TigGem has booked her flights for Continental as B'ham - Newark - Orlando is one of their routes.

I have always found it cheapest to book Continental flights direct with Continental: www.Continental.com

For that sort of price savings I would definitely go for that Jen, what a bargain for August!

We had always flown direct with Virgin / BA / charter in the past until our local airport started flying to Newark most days.

I don't like charter flights as I rarely want to, or are able to travel on the dates or number of nights they dictate to me.

For us, living down in the South West makes the journey to Gatwick long and adds additional costs as we have to stay in a hotel the night before. The journey home is very long and unpleasant when you are jetlagged and want to get home.

Now, we travel an hour to Bristol in our own car, and are through security much quicker than Gatwick. The same applies on the way back when we can be at home putting the kettle on two hours after the plane touches down. With Gatwick in the past we would have been lucky for that to have been under eight hours.

The flights are cheaper and more flexible than charters. I think the Continental staff are fabulous - we have done seven flights with them this year and they were excellent on all of them.

Of course the snag is the longer travel time but it's nice when you get to MCO to not have to do customs and immigration.

We use the time at Newark to look round the shops, have a relaxing bite to eat and the last leg down to Orlando passes in a flash.

Taking all into consideration, I would err towards flying indirect if it meant avoiding the trek to Gatwick, even if it wasn't cheaper

Good advice above about leaving plenty of connection time!

Another recommendation for Continental for me...

We live in Newport so its not far to Bristol for us. Much better than driving from Gatwick...

 

[Revtel]

We have flown indirect several times, with US Airways, American and United.

Travelling this November with United through Chicago.

I would never allow for a turnaround less than two hours, and would prefer two and a half. Even then, a slight delay in departing UK and problems at immigration can lead to a frantic run through an airport terminal.

Having said that, we have always made it, and the ease of exit at MCO is wonderful, as we arrive on an internal flight.

Given the potential huge savings in cost, I would have no qualms about this.

Enjoy!

 

[paulh]

I would never allow for a turnaround less than two hours, and would prefer two and a half. Even then, a slight delay in departing UK and problems at immigration can lead to a frantic run through an airport terminal.

:

Always tought this was only in the movies,untill it happened to us.Missed our conection by 1 min one year
Paulh

 

[wayneg]

Always tought this was only in the movies,untill it happened to us.Missed our conection by 1 min one year
Paulh

This will be us in 3 weeks, Arrive Terminal 5, Chicago then 1hr:35mins to get to Terminal 3 to Vegas. Hope we arrive early from Manchester.

 

[Revtel]

Check out "Home Alone".

The family rushing through the terminal were actually filmed at O'Hare.

Hope that's not a premonition, but that does sound like a tight turnround!

All the best...

 

[Jakey Rowling]

This will be us in 3 weeks, Arrive Terminal 5, Chicago then 1hr:35mins to get to Terminal 3 to Vegas. Hope we arrive early from Manchester.

You're a braver man than I

What's the fall back if you don't make the connection?

 

[wayneg]

You're a braver man than I

What's the fall back if you don't make the connection?

The next AA direct flight to Vegas is 6hrs 40mins later. arrives 11.05pm
There is one only an hour later but indirect via Dallas/ Fort Worth arrives 8pm

I have checked the flight history and it has an average of 22 min delay. Just hoping for a good delay on it

When we booked it was over 2 hour in Chicago but AA sent me an email with new times a few weeks back.

We have gone thru Chicago twice before and never had a problem but I prefer 2 hours.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

Reason I asked was four of us went through O'Hare a couple of years ago and took the hop to Cincinnati with less than 2 hours to spare.
We made it OK but the bags didn't.

Didn't bother us too much but we got a few looks later in the day, we seemed to contribute to the atmosphere wherever we went.

Since then I usually take a spare tee shirt and underwear if things look dodgy.

 

[wayneg]

Something always seems to go wrong for us going to West US. Last year we missed flight from Heathrow, Virgin were fantastic just put us on next flight 3 hours later. I just know something will go wrong again.