First Flight to Europe like your imput

[jrowland]

Know its almost a year in advance but have made a deposit on my first trip to Europe and in order to help me get through counting the days until my trip, I've started some early pre-planning.

 

On area I'm looking at is air flight to Eurpore. I will be leaving from S.E. U.S. and arriving/departing from Ireland.

 

From my initial research, I've noted the following airlines which in all probability will be one or more that I will be using to fly between the U.S. and Ireland.

 

While flight schedules and prices will impact my final choise in ticketing, assuming no great differences , wanted to get your suggestion on which airline(s) offer the best flights/service from/to the U.S.

 

The list of airlines to be considers are:

Delta

KLM

Lufthansa

UAL

AirFrace

 

If you had choice flying with one of the above from the U.S. to Ireland and back, which one(s) would you choose?:rolleyes:

[Gardyloo]

Know its almost a year in advance but have made a deposit on my first trip to Europe and in order to help me get through counting the days until my trip, I've started some early pre-planning.

 

On area I'm looking at is air flight to Eurpore. I will be leaving from S.E. U.S. and arriving/departing from Ireland.

 

From my initial research, I've noted the following airlines which in all probability will be one or more that I will be using to fly between the U.S. and Ireland.

 

While flight schedules and prices will impact my final choise in ticketing, assuming no great differences , wanted to get your suggestion on which airline(s) offer the best flights/service from/to the U.S.

 

The list of airlines to be considers are:

Delta

KLM

Lufthansa

UAL

AirFrace

 

If you had choice flying with one of the above from the U.S. to Ireland and back, which one(s) would you choose?:rolleyes:

Of that list, only two actually fly between the US and Ireland, Delta and UAL. The others are what are called "codeshare partners," meaning the airline doing the flying allows partners to sell tickets on those planes, and to put a flight number designation on the flight, but the actual aircraft (or "metal" as we say) is operated by either Delta (partners with KLM and Air France) or United (Lufthansa.)

 

There are more operators between the US and Ireland, including Aer Lingus (the Irish airline) US Airways and American. Of course not everyone flies from the same US cities.

 

In coach, honestly there isn't much to distinguish between them. Seating is tight, food is so-so. There will be some differences in in-flight entertainment (seat-back screens vs. overhead) but the real difference will be price and schedule. Things are more noticeably different if you're flying in business class, so if that's the case you should mention it.

 

It's very early; if your cruise is in spring/summer 2014 you really don't need to start shopping until this fall at the earliest.

[Zach1213]

Know its almost a year in advance but have made a deposit on my first trip to Europe and in order to help me get through counting the days until my trip, I've started some early pre-planning.

 

On area I'm looking at is air flight to Eurpore. I will be leaving from S.E. U.S. and arriving/departing from Ireland.

 

From my initial research, I've noted the following airlines which in all probability will be one or more that I will be using to fly between the U.S. and Ireland.

 

While flight schedules and prices will impact my final choise in ticketing, assuming no great differences , wanted to get your suggestion on which airline(s) offer the best flights/service from/to the U.S.

 

The list of airlines to be considers are:

Delta

KLM

Lufthansa

UAL

AirFrace

 

If you had choice flying with one of the above from the U.S. to Ireland and back, which one(s) would you choose?:rolleyes:

 

In economy class, they're really all the same, more or less. Just keep an eye on codeshares - Delta, KLM and Air France will likely put their flight numbers on each others flights, as will Lufthansa and United. European carriers are quite similar to US carriers and I wouldn't call any of those airlines "fantastic", having flown internationally on all of them. Service wise, I likely Air France and Lufthansa out of the list you provide, but they aren't good enough that I would say "you really should take Air France because the service is so great". I know that's maybe not the best answer, but you won't notice many differences between any of those airlines when it comes to comfort, service or food.

 

I am not sure if you're flying out of JAX or SAV, but the number of stops is something to consider. For example, Delta can get you to Dublin quite easily with one stop in ATL. Other routings may require two stops, including through a European gateway (for example: JAX-Washington DC-Frankfurt-Dublin, or SAV-Atlanta-Paris-Dublin).

 

If I were you, I would do a one-stop on Delta through Atlanta.

[epixx]

If you can fly from JAX, I'd look into the Aer Lingus/Jet Blue combination. Jet Blue partners with Aer Lingus, and you can purchase a ticket to DUB on the Jet Blue website with a single connection at JFK.

[Scrapnana]

Any reason you didn't put Aer Lingus on the list? You could fly Jacksonville to Chicago, NYC, or Boston and pick up Aer Lingus. I've flown them transatlantic 3 times and liked the flights.

 

United did not impress me at all the one time I flew them transatlantic.

[b_cruise]

I read an interesting article today and it noted differences even in coach on different airlines for seating. It really got me thinking as I went for the best price and got pretty squishy space on air Berlin when I flew to Venice. I think I would of been better off paying more for more space. I just flew air Canada coach Toronto to Vancouver and the seats and space were impressive. This is coach too. In this article , it said to look at seat guru ...it will tell u the space, positions of tv 's etc.

[slidergirl]

If I'm flying anything over 5 hours, I don't go for the cheapest fare. I do take into consideration plane type (I can't deal with 3-3 or 3-4-3 seating because i get a little claustrophobic), seat space (on AA, they have little to no foot space), type of "entertainment" (those big screens, the couple little overhead screens or individual screens), food, flight schedule, things like that. I'll gladly paid up to $50 more to be as comfortable as possible in the cattle car...

[alcpa1]

Whatever airline, or combo, you choose, pay particular attention to connection times.

For example, if you fly via Atlanta you will change concourses. If you are connecting via JFK between Jet Blue and Aer Lingus you may have to change terminals. If you have to deal with a change in London, Paris or Frankfurt you need far more hours do comply with their security checks and transits.

If you are already familiar with Delta and Atlanta that might make the most sense. Plan on 2 plus hours for your connection going and a little more coming home. JFK will take longer on both ends.

Start monitoring prices and selecting preferred airlines. You can use Kayak for this. Once you are comfortable with a fare and airline(s) book. Then monitor your itinerary for changes.

[Zach1213]

If I'm flying anything over 5 hours, I don't go for the cheapest fare. I do take into consideration plane type (I can't deal with 3-3 or 3-4-3 seating because i get a little claustrophobic), seat space (on AA, they have little to no foot space), type of "entertainment" (those big screens, the couple little overhead screens or individual screens), food, flight schedule, things like that. I'll gladly paid up to $50 more to be as comfortable as possible in the cattle car...

 

A blanket statement like "on AA, they have little to no foot space" is just incorrect. Like other airlines, it really depends on your aircraft type and exact seat. A bit of research can go a long way in picking the right seat.

[twoputt.plusone]

Whatever airline, or combo, you choose, pay particular attention to connection times.

For example, if you fly via Atlanta you will change concourses. If you are connecting via JFK between Jet Blue and Aer Lingus you may have to change terminals. If you have to deal with a change in London, Paris or Frankfurt you need far more hours do comply with their security checks and transits.

If you are already familiar with Delta and Atlanta that might make the most sense. Plan on 2 plus hours for your connection going and a little more coming home. JFK will take longer on both ends.

Start monitoring prices and selecting preferred airlines. You can use Kayak for this. Once you are comfortable with a fare and airline(s) book. Then monitor your itinerary for changes.

 

This is an excellent post.

[slidergirl]

A blanket statement like "on AA, they have little to no foot space" is just incorrect. Like other airlines, it really depends on your aircraft type and exact seat. A bit of research can go a long way in picking the right seat.

 

I based my comment on numerous AA flights TATL, with 777 and 767 planes. The entertainment hardware sits under the seats on the aisle and window seats such that you really lose your underseat space. If you have a middle seat, you may be OK. Definitely NOT my favorite long-distance airline.

[griffy116]

If you can fly from JAX, I'd look into the Aer Lingus/Jet Blue combination. Jet Blue partners with Aer Lingus, and you can purchase a ticket to DUB on the Jet Blue website with a single connection at JFK.

 

We are in Atlanta. Because of the unbelievable price on Aer Lingus last June, we booked AirTran to JFK, then Aer Lingus to Rome ($803 pp RT).. (with a layover in Dublin). It was our first time to fly Aer Lingus and we were nervous but the price won over nerves. The flight was unbelievable. In Dublin, they saw that everyone had checked in, and to our amazement, loaded the plane and we were on our way early! They were feeding us or giving us a snack or asking if we needed anything more than I've seen since the 1960's. Prices look like they have increased a good bit so even getting a good deal from ATL to JFK, it looks like Aer Lingus will probably be out of contention for our next flight. Can't hurt to look at the prices. They fly out of Boston, JAX, JFK and a few more, but I can't remember which cities (maybe Miami..???). Give it a look.

[VMax1700]

Aer Lingus flights from/to JFK now use the Jet Blue terminal (5?) so that should help with transfer times and baggage check thru'.

 

Aer Lingus flights are from JFK, Boston, Chicago, and Orlando. They do a pretty good up grade price for the transatlantic element, to business class.

[tvmovielover]

As said above, one economy flight is about the same as another these days. Aer Lingus is a great airline, sometimes cheaper and has many fly and stay in Ireland deals. Additionally, it is easy to fly to other airports in Europe from Dublin and they have US customs clearance for many of the cities they serve in the US (when last used by us they did not have it for JFK but some have said they do now). They also have partnerships with US airlines (not sure which). If you are going to Ireland anyway, you should keep an eye on their website for deals.

 

I mentioned this on another thread-is not Orlando just as close for Brunswick as Atlanta? There are direct Aer Lingus flights from Orlando to Dublin. You could go from JAX if you wanted but it is only another 2 1/2 hours to Orlando (we do this often from JAX area to avoid multiple stops). Orlando is a pretty good airport to come and go from.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

UAL might be the best for you ..

[Viv0828]

Check a multi airline site like kayak or orbitz and choose the least expensive flights with the best connections. Just remember that flights do change so you might want to wait a bit before booking

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[FreedomSeeker]

Use www.seatguru.com

 

Not only will it tell you the best flight combinations and check prices on about 12 different websites (and allow you to book any of them), but it will allow you to check what aircraft and configuration will be on each flight number by airline, give seat reviews and information on things like inflight entertainment, and tell you which seats to pick (and more specifically which are not recommended).

 

You can do one way, return, multi-city or even open-jaw.

 

It will also point out connections that are long or short.

 

And you can do economy, business or first.

 

It's pretty cool.

[waterbug123]

if you fly via Atlanta you will change concourses.

 

Probably, but not necessarily. And for the OP, changing concourses at ATL is not complicated, so please don't let that alone deter you. The concourses are in a a line, one after the other, and connected by an underground train that runs in both directions about every 60-90 seconds with less than a minute between each stops at each concourse. Considering the layouts of some airports, it really a simple layout and system.

[Zach1213]

Probably, but not necessarily. And for the OP, changing concourses at ATL is not complicated, so please don't let that alone deter you. The concourses are in a a line, one after the other, and connected by an underground train that runs in both directions about every 60-90 seconds with less than a minute between each stops at each concourse. Considering the layouts of some airports, it really a simple layout and system.

 

Yeah, Atlanta is so incredibly easy to connect in, especially when you consider how massive it is in terms of traffic. I would say that, when you factor that in, it's just about the best laid out airport in the country. Heck, I usually walk in between the concourses when I have the extra time, which is especially nice if you've been sitting for many hours.

[UKBayern]

Check a multi airline site like kayak or orbitz and choose the least expensive flights with the best connections.

 

Always use ITA Matrix. They do not have a commercial interest to change the prices depending on your internet search behaviour.

 

Use www.seatguru.com

Yes, it is a pretty cool site. I use it to determine where the wing is and what the really cr*ppy seats are. I would however never base my decision to fly which airline only on the seating pitch. When I flew last month (decided on a number of factors: price, service quality, time of flight, better terminal in Munich) I received a seat change at the gate because they did a last-minute aircraft change. I worked for the airlines a very long time and I can tell you this is pretty common. If you based 100% of your dceision on seat pitch, you might be disappointed.

 

I would also like to point out that Seat Guru is pretty independent when it comes to seat info, but NOT if you book through their site. They are just an affliate of a travelagent or consolidator who does not necessarily has to have the best rates or conditions. The booking frame looks very much like an Expedia set up. Seat Guru of course also needs to make money too somehow to keep their site going.

[FlyerTalker]

I would also like to point out that Seat Guru is pretty independent when it comes to seat info, but NOT if you book through their site. They are just an affliate of a travelagent or consolidator who does not necessarily has to have the best rates or conditions.

SeatGuru is owned by TripAdvisor. Caveat Emptor.

[UKBayern]

Check a multi airline site like kayak or orbitz and choose the least expensive flights with the best connections.

 

Always use ITA Matrix. They do not have a commercial interest to change the prices depending on your internet search behaviour.

 

Use www.seatguru.com

Yes, it is a pretty cool site. I use it to determine where the wing is and what the really cr*ppy seats are. I would however never base my decision to fly which airline only on the seating pitch. When I flew last month (decided on a number of factors: price, service quality, time of flight, better terminal in Munich) I received a seat change at the gate because they did a last-minute aircraft change. I worked for the airlines a very long time and I can tell you this is pretty common. If you based 100% of your decision on seat pitch, you might be disappointed.

 

I would also like to point out that Seat Guru is pretty independent when it comes to seat info, but NOT if you book through their site. They are just an affliate of a travelagent or consolidator who does not necessarily has to have the best rates or conditions. The booking frame looks very much like an Expedia set up. Seat Guru of course also needs to make money too somehow to keep their site going.

[UKBayern]

Sorry for the double post, no idea how that happened

[FreedomSeeker]

SeatGuru is owned by TripAdvisor. Caveat Emptor.

 

Thanks! And to UKBayern too.

 

The things you learn on CruiseCritic!

 

Bottom line I guess - do a lot of research, and never rely solely on one source.

[FlyerTalker]

Bottom line I guess - do a lot of research, and never rely solely on one source.

Actually, there are times when I do follow a single source....when Mrs FT speaks, I'm like the guys in the old EF Hutton ads. ;)