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Last Updated
03/10/2005
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FLIGHT INFORMATION AND SUGGESTIONS
From our experience in trans-Atlantic travel, we have
put together this guide to help you select a flight. June
in Ireland is a very busy tourist season as it is probably the only time
of the year you have a pretty good shot at some sunshine! Probably
your most important decision is your selection of layover city.
Why? Well as you will see below, it could make the difference
between an enjoyable flight experience and a forgettable one! You do have a wide selection depending on the
airline:
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London-Heathrow (LHR) - By far the
most common layover city since almost all of the airlines do a WAS-LHR
route and also one of the cheapest but of course with good reason.
LHR is one of the busiest, convoluted airports in the world!
It also has a tendency for misplacing luggage and they will not
allow a layover time less than 1 hr because you truly need that hour
to transfer from one gate to another! The only way it is worth
it is if you get a British Airways flight which has LHR as its
hub. By going BA, they have the most control over things in
the airport for scurrying along the luggage and also have their own
dedicated terminal so it makes it a lot more bearable. Also
be warned that occasionally when flying Virgin Airlines, we have had
to collect our luggage and then recheck in at the connecting
flight...hasn't happened everytime but there doesn't seem to be any
pattern about it. This is a MAJOR inconvenience as it means
going through the winding halls of LHR with all of your luggage so
try to make sure this isn't the case for your flight. Just a
warning! It also has some of the most expensive duty free
shops in the world. There are ATM's available in the terminals
but try to use a credit card (all the shops and restaurants accept
Visa) as you don't want to be stuck with too many pounds as this is
the only place in the world you can use it!
-
Amsterdam (AMS) - This is a good
alternative to LHR. It is about the same distance from DUB as
LHR and is not too, too crowded. Flights going through here
would typically be KLM-Northwest and United then Aer Lingus will
provide the trip to DUB. This is also a big airport and of
course the gates are usually on opposites sides of the airport so it
will be a lot of walking! One thing to be careful of is
that they require you to check in at the transfer desks during your
layover...this wasn't made clear to us on a trip once and almost
caused us to miss a flight but keep that in mind! This has
some very nice shops if you are looking for something to do and
there is also a Casino with slot machines!
-
Paris (CDG) - Avoid by all
means! It is as crowded and convoluted as LHR but the main
language is French so it makes finding answers to questions that
much harder!
-
Dusseldorf (DUS), Frankfurt (FRA),
Munich (MUC), Vienna (VIE) - This adds a good hour and a half onto the flight time
but there are some good bargains here for flightsl. These
airports are all pretty easy to navigate and not too crowded. And
they have excellent restaurants and shops! Good prices if you
look for them and stay away from the touristy stuff.
-
New York (JFK), Chicago (ORD), Boston
(BOS) - Both Aer Lingus and American Airlines offer flights by way
of these airports. It is not a bad way to go and they are
typically moderately priced but most of the flights also stop in
Shannon (SNN) and are really a two-stop flight although they may be
advertised as a one-stop. Beware! There is another
caveat about arriving into another US city first...you have to go
through customs in your first arrival city! That means you
have to get off the plane...go collect all of your baggage then go
through customs (which is really long in these airports!) and then
check your baggage back in and go to your connecting flight.
-
Newark (EWR) - This route is
indicative of Continental Airlines which equals BAD! By far
Continental was the most uncomfortable flight and we would never fly
it again!
-
Philadelphia (PHL) - This route is
indicative of a US Airways route which also equals BAD!! US
Airways has gone so cheap that they charge you for just about
anything! They even charge for drinks! And we're not
talking about alcohol...we're talking Coke and Sprite! Make
sure they are a very good deal before you go this route...and PHL is
one of the worse airports to boot! It is huge and they don't
have any shuttle buses between the terminals!!! Crazy!
Although coming through customs was probably one of the best
experiences on the US side.
-
Manchester (MAN) - After Christon's
last experience, we highly recommend avoiding MAN unless it is a
good deal. MAN was very confusing, had no good places to eat,
and almost no shops. Very boring place!
In terms of airlines, here is a rundown
of what to expect:
-
Aer
Lingus - Typically the cheapest of all the flights and you
pretty much get what you pay for! They are slowly becoming a
low cost trans-Atlantic carrier and as a result, they are scaling
back things like drinks and meals service and entertainment.
The seats in economy have some of the least amount of legroom and
seem to be tighter across the hips than other planes.
-
British
Airways - The polar opposite to Aer Lingus! Very
comfortable plane in all classes. On all transatlantic flights
they have nicely spaced seats, personal entertainment screens, very
nice flight attendants and the best airline food. And they
have free alcoholic drinks in all classes. If you go this
route and are flying in their economy class, try to obtain a World
Traveler Plus seat. It has more legroom and an upgraded
entertainment selection. They generally save them for their
frequent travelers but if you ask for it then you can get it.
However, their flights are typically more expensive but if you see
it for less than $650 then you should definitely take it!
-
United
Airlines - A good middle of the road. Not as luxurious as
British Airways but not that far off. Since this has a lot of
non-LHR routes, it is your likely choice if you are going to be
avoiding LHR. United also has a Premium Economy seat which you
can request at check in. It is definitely worth it for the
long trip! It only differs from British Airways in that their
flight attendants pretty much JUST do their job and they also use
older Boeings instead of the newer Airbus which makes for slightly
less space in the seats.
-
Lufthansa
- Pretty much the same as United but without the Premium
Economy. Their food is also slightly less quality but they
also offer some nice options for dessert like German chocolate and
such.
-
Virgin
Atlantic - Used to be one of the better flights but recently has cutback
its perks making it no longer worth the trip through LHR.
However if you are flying first class, then it is rated as one of
the best with actual beds and massages for this transatlantic
flight! Now that is definitely cool! .
-
British
Midland - As stated in the description of MAN airport, we have
not actually taken this transatlantic flight. However, we have
taken the short hop from LHR to DUB and found them to be pretty
decent. Even on that 1 hr flight they offered us free alcholic
drinks, had comfortable seats, and friendly staff!
Okay...so how should you go about finding
the best flight? Well we typically scan about 7 websites over a
two week period to find the best price. It is becoming more common
that the actual website of the airline you are taking has the best price
but sometimes these other sites can have some good deals: Orbitz Expedia Travelocity Typically
Orbitz is the best at finding good deals and offers the easiest method of
searching flights by offering to search a day forward and behind just in
case you are off from a great deal by only a day. BY NO
MEANS USE HOTWIRE!!! Although this is a good concept, it is
very poor at giving international flights. You
should be able to find flights for $700 or less if you include a
Saturday night stay (hopefully nobody will be leaving the morning right
after our wedding!) If you have any questions please feel free to CONTACT
US.
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