Flights to NY - advice…
Discussion
Thinking of taking kids (8 & 11) to the US next summer. Would be their first long-haul flight and my first since they were born(!).
Plan is fly to NYC, 5 days in the big apple and maybe 10 or more driving around upstate and beyond (Cape cod, Maine etc). I’ll likely do another thread on that later.
A quick flight search shows the following:
I had resigned myself to Premium Econ, but these sale prices are within budget. The First price seems very attractive and has my “whats the catch” radar pinging loudly.
Questions for the frequent flyers that dwell here:
- are these prices actually good? Or is it the case that nobody pays the face value and sales are perpetual.
- is there a catch?
- are these sales on regularly or do i need to move quickly?
- business class is most probable - BA vs AA?
- optimum departure time? (Travelling with kids). I assume anything that lands you in NYC during the day.
- JFK vs Newark (i believe Newark easier into nyc)
- any general hints and tips on the itinerary welcome
Am i right in thinking it would be a good idea to head back to our departure airport after the 5 days in NYC and hire a car from that location before heading upstate? (I want a nice vehicle). Logic being we dump the car on departure.
Cheers!!!
Plan is fly to NYC, 5 days in the big apple and maybe 10 or more driving around upstate and beyond (Cape cod, Maine etc). I’ll likely do another thread on that later.
A quick flight search shows the following:
I had resigned myself to Premium Econ, but these sale prices are within budget. The First price seems very attractive and has my “whats the catch” radar pinging loudly.
Questions for the frequent flyers that dwell here:
- are these prices actually good? Or is it the case that nobody pays the face value and sales are perpetual.
- is there a catch?
- are these sales on regularly or do i need to move quickly?
- business class is most probable - BA vs AA?
- optimum departure time? (Travelling with kids). I assume anything that lands you in NYC during the day.
- JFK vs Newark (i believe Newark easier into nyc)
- any general hints and tips on the itinerary welcome
Am i right in thinking it would be a good idea to head back to our departure airport after the 5 days in NYC and hire a car from that location before heading upstate? (I want a nice vehicle). Logic being we dump the car on departure.
Cheers!!!
Edited by DoubleSix on Friday 25th October 08:49
Edited by DoubleSix on Friday 25th October 09:46
DoubleSix said:
- are these sales on regularly or do i need to move quickly?
There's regular sales, but the prices change by the minute. Those prices have probably changed already 10 minutes later, so you need to book them the moment you see them.There's no catch, just a way to sell tickets that haven't sold at the rack rate. I suspect there is an element of enticing people to experience a class above their usual one to tempt them to upgrade on other flights.
We did NYC last year (4 of us).
We did premium out and business back. Premium (BA) was excellent - and even though the price difference isn't great, I'd probably choose premium again on the way out.
Business on the way back is nice for overnight flight though - although by the time you've had dinner on the plane and woken up for breakfast, you don't get too much sleep.
We did premium out and business back. Premium (BA) was excellent - and even though the price difference isn't great, I'd probably choose premium again on the way out.
Business on the way back is nice for overnight flight though - although by the time you've had dinner on the plane and woken up for breakfast, you don't get too much sleep.
Sales are pretty common - only you can judge whether the £ is worth it or not
Until recently I used to fly to East US regularly with work - I was pretty ambivalent between PE or business as it was a relatively short hop compared to some of the other travel I was doing and if I had to argue for a business class flight I reserved my battles for the hops over to Singapore instead. That said, for £300 difference I'd likely go business personally - the difference is usually much higher. I've seen prices to JFK then on to RDU at near £7k for business - at that point it's a definite no!
Personally I'd go BA over AA - I grew to really dislike AA
Yes - aim to land mid afternoon, particularly if starting holiday in NYC, getting out of JFK and then into the city isn't the quickest and you'd likely want to be settled in time to go out for a walk and then meal.
Newark is easier than JFK - much smaller and better for it - but fewer flights - never been myself but good friend use to do so regularly.
We did a similar trip, with kids of similar age, a few years ago:
If you can - fly into NY and out of Boston - we didn't and the trip from Cape Cod to the airport was about 7 hours (not helped by traffic - no traffic = 5 hours ) - a long journey before a flight - we were flying using avios so would not have had the hassle of cost differential in not flying return between the same airports - you may find the cost difference is prohibitive but I'd definitely look into it - Boston is about 1.5 hour from Cape Cod.
We hired a car from Stamford - easy train journey out of NYC and the hire offices are in the train station - saves the hassle of trying to drive out of NYC
We then drove straight to our AirBNB in Cape Cod - with hindsight I wish we'd stopped in a couple of places on the way, just to see more of what's around - but I am not sure our children would have approved at their ages
Cape Cod is great to mooch about in, go whale watching from Providence etc - but all pretty easy to research
Be really careful of your optimism in travel plans - the distances are large and you'll be spending a long time in the car if your not careful - NYC to Cape Cod is about 5 hours, Cape Cod to Maine is another 5 hours - you can obviously break those journey's up with stops but will you kids appreciate this (ours would not - they focussed on the swimming pool in the NYC hotel and the beach at Cape Cod - everything else was in the way)
You can find some great food stops along the way, and particularly around Cape Cod - not necessarily particularly expensive - but do your research. And they eat early - we nearly had a problem on night one in Cape Cod when we went out for dinner at the time most of the restaurants were closing (8pm!).
Until recently I used to fly to East US regularly with work - I was pretty ambivalent between PE or business as it was a relatively short hop compared to some of the other travel I was doing and if I had to argue for a business class flight I reserved my battles for the hops over to Singapore instead. That said, for £300 difference I'd likely go business personally - the difference is usually much higher. I've seen prices to JFK then on to RDU at near £7k for business - at that point it's a definite no!
Personally I'd go BA over AA - I grew to really dislike AA
Yes - aim to land mid afternoon, particularly if starting holiday in NYC, getting out of JFK and then into the city isn't the quickest and you'd likely want to be settled in time to go out for a walk and then meal.
Newark is easier than JFK - much smaller and better for it - but fewer flights - never been myself but good friend use to do so regularly.
We did a similar trip, with kids of similar age, a few years ago:
If you can - fly into NY and out of Boston - we didn't and the trip from Cape Cod to the airport was about 7 hours (not helped by traffic - no traffic = 5 hours ) - a long journey before a flight - we were flying using avios so would not have had the hassle of cost differential in not flying return between the same airports - you may find the cost difference is prohibitive but I'd definitely look into it - Boston is about 1.5 hour from Cape Cod.
We hired a car from Stamford - easy train journey out of NYC and the hire offices are in the train station - saves the hassle of trying to drive out of NYC
We then drove straight to our AirBNB in Cape Cod - with hindsight I wish we'd stopped in a couple of places on the way, just to see more of what's around - but I am not sure our children would have approved at their ages
Cape Cod is great to mooch about in, go whale watching from Providence etc - but all pretty easy to research
Be really careful of your optimism in travel plans - the distances are large and you'll be spending a long time in the car if your not careful - NYC to Cape Cod is about 5 hours, Cape Cod to Maine is another 5 hours - you can obviously break those journey's up with stops but will you kids appreciate this (ours would not - they focussed on the swimming pool in the NYC hotel and the beach at Cape Cod - everything else was in the way)
You can find some great food stops along the way, and particularly around Cape Cod - not necessarily particularly expensive - but do your research. And they eat early - we nearly had a problem on night one in Cape Cod when we went out for dinner at the time most of the restaurants were closing (8pm!).
Edited by sleepezy on Friday 25th October 10:09
ecs said:
Double check the business seat on AA if you book that flight - on a lot of US carriers, their first class seat is more akin to what a European carrier would call business class (which is why their First fare is a similar price to the BA business fare).
AA only have first on the B77W now, it’s pretty nice.OP, BA business class hard product is better than AA’s on NYC routes because it’s all club suites. It’s marginal though and AA being T3 gets you access to better lounges (eg Cathay and Qantas) vs the zoos that are the galleries lounge at T5. If you go BA from T5 get yourself out to T5B lounge.
djc206 said:
AA only have first on the B77W now, it’s pretty nice.
OP, BA business class hard product is better than AA’s on NYC routes because it’s all club suites. It’s marginal though and AA being T3 gets you access to better lounges (eg Cathay and Qantas) vs the zoos that are the galleries lounge at T5. If you go BA from T5 get yourself out to T5B lounge.
I used to think that people on here were moaning about nothing when referring to the BA Lounge at T5, and then I used it.OP, BA business class hard product is better than AA’s on NYC routes because it’s all club suites. It’s marginal though and AA being T3 gets you access to better lounges (eg Cathay and Qantas) vs the zoos that are the galleries lounge at T5. If you go BA from T5 get yourself out to T5B lounge.
We were only flying to Crete, but there were plenty of people in there flying long haul. It is woeful. Having said that, I did meet (and talk to) Patti Smith when we were there. She was flying to New York. I would have thought someone like that would have the nouse to at least fly with Virgin, but I didn't say anything.
omniflow said:
I used to think that people on here were moaning about nothing when referring to the BA Lounge at T5, and then I used it.
We were only flying to Crete, but there were plenty of people in there flying long haul. It is woeful. Having said that, I did meet (and talk to) Patti Smith when we were there. She was flying to New York. I would have thought someone like that would have the nouse to at least fly with Virgin, but I didn't say anything.
They’ve spent a bit of money on them lately but they’re too crowded still. Initially the Covid status extensions and more recently the double tier points thing haven’t helped.We were only flying to Crete, but there were plenty of people in there flying long haul. It is woeful. Having said that, I did meet (and talk to) Patti Smith when we were there. She was flying to New York. I would have thought someone like that would have the nouse to at least fly with Virgin, but I didn't say anything.
In fairness I never fly with Virgin, I’m a glutton for punishment.
Surprised she didn’t have the status to afford her the galleries first lounge, not that it’s much better.
DoubleSix said:
Whats the story with Virgin? They position the themselves above BA based on comments here?
Better service?
Better planes?
Upper Class is the poshest class on Virgin, equivalent to BA Club World, so there is no First Class equivalent.Better service?
Better planes?
Service wise - Virgin all the way.
Virgin Lounges (Heathrow and JFK) are fabulous - much better than BA. So much better.
The Upper Class check-in at Heathrow is effortless. The check-in staff will unload your cases from the boot of your taxi and there's a dedicated security setup, so it's 5 minutes from arriving to being sat in the lounge.
Planes - I think it depends on the plane and whether or not it's the latest cabin. Virgin planes normally have a bar in Upper Class, so you can leave your seat, sit at the bar and chat to people.
I will always fly Virgin if I can. On one work trip to Tampa, we flew Virgin to Miami and then took a quick internal flight to Tampa. The alternative would have been BA direct to Tampa, but with the Ying and Yang seats.
DoubleSix said:
Cool thx.
So i assume VA ‘premium’ is a direct equivalent to BA premium econ?
If VA is head and shoulders above BA, why do folk bother with BA? Cost? Or fewer routes?
https://simpleflying.com/ba-vs-virgin-atlantic-the-battle-for-premium-economy-in-the-uk/So i assume VA ‘premium’ is a direct equivalent to BA premium econ?
If VA is head and shoulders above BA, why do folk bother with BA? Cost? Or fewer routes?
We have always flown Virgin across the Atlantic to NY, LA and Caribbean.
Mainly Premium although next year using points we are flying Upper both ways to St Lucia for £1600 for two!
Edited by craig1912 on Saturday 26th October 14:48
DoubleSix said:
Whats the story with Virgin? They position the themselves above BA based on comments here?
Better service?
Better planes?
They try to. The virgin soft product is better than BA’s. They used to try and pitch upper as being better than business class on other airlines, they’ve fallen a bit behind now in terms of the seats. For my money BA club suite is better than any Virgin upper seat but as others have mentioned the upper process at T3 has been nailed and the service onboard is generally superior so for occasional leisure travel they’re the obvious choice. The thing that pushes people like me to stick with BA (or more accurately oneworld) is the route network and the fact that my loyalty gets me perks which if I split would see me with no perks with anybody. So nothing against virgin it’s just not a wise choice for me with my level of travel. If I travelled either a lot more or a lot less I would be tempted to use them more often.Better service?
Better planes?
belleair302 said:
No First Class in American Airlines. It is a premium or not so premium business class. Many of their flights code share with BA. BA Business is now much improved with the mini cabins. NY however has become very expensive with regard to dining and entertainment.
Are you saying that AA doesn’t have a first class or that you don’t consider it to be a first class? The first is incorrect, the latter may well be correct but you’d need to explain.Virgin has stood the test of time, I used to work for them 15 years ago and always sat on the breadline then. Getting Delta involved probably wasn't a bad idea.
As staff we was only allowed to do the Lounge before departure (if on Upper tickets), upper class check in was great back then specially when they moved into T3 and you saw the big virgin logo.
I did upper in 2006 before I worked for them on full paid tickets for another company and the limousine was just at the time an Addison Lee equivalent but the drop off of bags and check in at terminal was utterly brilliant.
It isn't the same on the other end though, that bit always felt a bit of a let down, but I do remember they were investing in better check in experiences and lounges continually in destination airports.
Good I miss Virgin Flights at 100 quid return.
As staff we was only allowed to do the Lounge before departure (if on Upper tickets), upper class check in was great back then specially when they moved into T3 and you saw the big virgin logo.
I did upper in 2006 before I worked for them on full paid tickets for another company and the limousine was just at the time an Addison Lee equivalent but the drop off of bags and check in at terminal was utterly brilliant.
It isn't the same on the other end though, that bit always felt a bit of a let down, but I do remember they were investing in better check in experiences and lounges continually in destination airports.
Good I miss Virgin Flights at 100 quid return.
4Q said:
I’ve just flown with Aer Lingus from Manchester to JFK & paid £1600 return for business.
I flew Aer Lingus business to Boston in May, in terms of seat quality it’s pretty dated albeit very comfortable, if you get one of the throne seats then you get a lot of space, otherwise not so much. The food is ok, the service is ok, the lounges are ok. I bagged a load of tier points for it and having flown via Dublin and cleared US immigration there and seen how valuable that is I’d happily do it again but and it’s a big but, it’s not a patch on just about every other business class experience if this is a one off treat.For what it’s worth BA are offering business flight and 4 nights hotel in NYC for £2k which is pretty good. Dates will be the issue of course. Always worth considering an ex EU from Dublin. Both BA and Aer Lingus occasionally do crazy cheap deals from Dublin to the US. TAP are another that will occasionally try and steal some custom with sub £1500 deals.
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