Who did you fly with to start your new life

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

If entertainment matters to you, I'd go for Virgin or BA, which have extensive on demand programming options

[Dave&Roza 748]

My wife and I + the dog used Lufthansa.

The wife used United as the Star Alliance Partner on her first two trips. She missed the connecting flight in Chicago the first trip and her bags missed the connecting flight the second trip. I've flown BA which was good except it was during the possible strike and snow storm over Xmas so they cancelled my return flight 3 days before it was scheduled--so I would have gotten to London and then who knows what. Fortunately the British Midland flight was also cancelled due to weather so I ended up on Lufthansa with an upgrade to Business Class (very nice). The last trip the wife and I flew Lufthansa. Very good service. So now we will always take Lufthansa as they are very price competitive, good service, and direct flights. My second choice would be BA, but they are a bit proud of their service as their prices are usually much higher.

Dave

Edited March 14, 2012 by Dave&Roza

[USArmyWifey 2]

Don't you use a price comparison website or something to buy your tickets? There are a lot more airlines than these that fly UK-US. I like BA though.

I have done once but since i was on the one pass program with continental i always stuck with them unless i was really tight for money. I had to use a price comparison site this time which is where i came across BA and AA aswell.

My only other problem is because i fly to such an "unknown" tiny little airport most comparison sites dont really give me a full idea of my trip because they dont have that airport in their systems for some reason!

You're welcome. And yes it is a shame because I too had really good experiences with Continental (well domestically anyway).

Hehe....7hr flight with no entertainment and no leg room....lol....yeah try that for 13-14hrs - that's what you get with United lol! I used to not care so much because I was just after the cheapest flight I could get and that was nearly always United. They used to be much cheaper than other airlines (when I say much cheaper I'm talking anywhere between $200-$800 for flights from Aust-USA), but when I recently priced tickets to Australia for May, they were within $20-$40 of the three other major airlines flying that route. In that case, the extra $40 to fly with another airline that has seat-back entertainment and better service is a no-brainer lol!

That sounds terribe! Lol! i guess i was lucky to only have a 7 hour flight, but my other two flights were through united aswell so i had a 3 hour flight with them prior to that, and a one hour flight aswell..it was just terrible lol!

I really want to book through united because i am SO close to getting the miles i want for my next trip but i just dont know if i can go through 14 hours of travel time with such terrible service!

Although on the up side one of my smaller united flights i went on the flight atendant personaly welcomed me on the plane because her husband was also active duty military which i thought was a lovely touch!

[Stu4Lee 66]

BA always seemed expensive to me, guess depends on destination.

American seemed to be using old/tired planes in the fleet UK-US, poor entertainment too.

Delta, best entertainment and definitely best customer service, get my vote

[cathy2904 97]

Delta and BA are the only airlines that fly from London to Atlanta so there is not much differential in the price. Both have on-demand entertainment but the food is better on BA.

[KLS2010 30]

That sounds terribe! Lol! i guess i was lucky to only have a 7 hour flight, but my other two flights were through united aswell so i had a 3 hour flight with them prior to that, and a one hour flight aswell..it was just terrible lol!

I really want to book through united because i am SO close to getting the miles i want for my next trip but i just dont know if i can go through 14 hours of travel time with such terrible service!

Although on the up side one of my smaller united flights i went on the flight atendant personaly welcomed me on the plane because her husband was also active duty military which i thought was a lovely touch!

Oh....the 13-14hrs is just for the Sydney-LA leg lol. On my very first ever trip to the US (or anywhere outside Australia for that matter!) I had booked through a travel agent as I had absolutely no idea what I was doing lol. I ended up flying Sydney-LA (13-14hrs), then LA to Chicago (about 4-5hrs I think), and then from Chicago to Houston (another 3-4hrs). Plus it was a 2hr drive to Sydney airport when I flew out and then nearly an hour from the Bush to where I was staying.

But all in all - I guess I can't complain too much - that very first flight was the one that brought me here to meet my now-husband for the first time! So maybe I should really be thanking United for getting me here lol.

[Al and Patricia 23]

I will preface by saying I worked for Continental and now United and actually, many of the planes used are still Continental's, they merged after all but, I think the bigger question for you is what POE do you want to go to? I have flown many different ailines and have good and bad on most. I can do 6 or 7 hours on any of the major carriers but, I hate connections and long layovers

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

We always fly Continental and have found the differences are more in the not-as-great perks of United that have been adopted like baggage charges, expiring frequent flyer miles to name a couple. I flew BA twice and they did give complimentary liquor but that may have changed in the many years since I flew them. They still feed you free on trans-Atlantic flights and give the first checked bag free, a carry on and one personal item. They have all the fancy entertainment systems pretty much in place on the non-stop trans Atlantic flights. They charge as of the merger on domestic flights but probably don't on on the international. Don't know.

Your profile says your POE is Houston and hopefully on Saturday 3/31. You can save a bundle on Continental/United by flying three days later on Tuesday 4/3.

My suggestions--

1. Fly non-stop when possible. Worth it. You don't transfer to little puddle jumper planes.
   
2. Pick a departure and return on Tues-Thurs for cheaper flights
   
3. Don't pick a return after mid May because the higher summer prices seem to kick in about then. Don't pick holiday weekends. March 31 is the Saturday before Easter week so probably lots of spring breakers. Trying a variety of dates will often give you better prices.
   
4. Collecting miles is worth it. BA don't really offer a way for the commoner to accrue miles.
   
5. Check the airline website for prices after you've narrowed it down. You get bonus miles for booking on some airline sites.
   
6. Go with the cheapest because any airline can have a grouchy flight attendant, delays, etc on any given day. None offer exceptional legroom. Or if service is your priority, pay for first class. It's awesome. (Got that with frequent flyer miles once.)
   

So what is you exact departure city (London?) and what's your final destination if not Houston?

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

[*]Collecting miles is worth it. BA don't really offer a way for the commoner to accrue miles.

Collecting miles is easy with BA these days. You can also collect American FF miles (or any other One World partner) flying BA.

[GVick87 0]

My wife chose to fly with Delta each time she flew from the UK to the USA. They always seem to have good rates and decent service as well.

She also compiled a list of different airlines and their regulations on her blog which you can find here: http://leapacrossthepond.blogspot.com/2012/03/big-movestress-reducers-for-packing-up.html?m=1

[jlisakay 2]

I've flown many airlines BA Emerites Malay and Quantas amoung others to Aust and US Delta to US always good and Iceland Air if you travel Economy no free food traveled Economy plus gave me 2 x 70lbs for suitcases best looking on line try supermarket travel.com they ususally good and you find a good price book as far in advance and travel mid week usually cheaper good luck

[ekistler 1]

The best airline I have flown with from EU has to be Lufthansa hands down.

I'm flying United this time because my time window is tight and it was easier to get the tickets.

I always fly first class though on transatlantic and transpacific flights though... I can't deal with those little seats in coach for that long. LOL

[TorLex 1]

I always fly Delta because they have always been the cheapest for me to my destination. I have never had any problems with them and they've always provided wonderful service. And with all the miles I rack up on my Skymiles card, I'll stick with them.

[newlyweds2010 208]

AirFrance isn't bad, although I don't love Paris Charles De Gaulle airport. BA is pretty good. So is Lufthansa (although on long haul flights to the US, you'd probably end up traveling on a United aircraft). I would avoid all other US airlines (American, US Airways, Delta). They are often late, generally have older planes, rude cabin crews, and they make you pay for booze...

Also, from a legal standpoint, European companies have more stringent rules with respect to passengers' rights in case of overbooking, delays, etc. I got delayed once with Delta, and I didn't receive any assistance (all they gave me was a traveler kit with an XL T-shirt and a toothbrush...) and got my bags 2 days later...

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

I like Qatar Airways, both for comfort and the entertainment. Plus I am not one for layovers or waiting. I would rather put up with the long flight, than do a layover and risk not making the flight due to some cicumstance.