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Don't. Save the money to spend on a future vacation. Remember - it's just 8-9 hours out if your life. Meaningless (unless you are 6'4", seriously obese, infirm or have physical challenges.)
I'm 59, DH is 73. Neither of us are in great physical shape. Okay, honestly, we're in lousy shape; he had back surgery 2 years ago and a knee replacement last year, we both get too little exercise and it shows. We travel coach every single time - and we can afford to upgrade. Including last December's flight back from Cape Town. Three planes, total trip (airport to airport) 32 hours, 27-28 hours sitting on a plane. In coach. Obviously, alcohol was involved.
ETA: hate to admit it, but That Cape Town journey REALLY convinced us that in flight entertainment does make a big difference. In that specific attribute, Emerites was sensational.
For the money I spent on upgrading to business class, I could buy a LOT of booze in coach.
(I guess it also helps to get up and walk around a lot.)
I'm going to take an extra battery for my phone and a cigarette lighter charger in case my row has power. I'm trying to get my travel agency to put me in a row that is supposed to have a power connection. But they are moving really slowly.
I've flown AA's 767s across the Atlantic several times and am not impressed. With the absorption of USAir, I have also flown some of "their" planes and they were much better. As for Heathrow, you can end up in queue (you are in the UK after all) for quite a while to go back through security. And, be advised, their security is very thorough. What you might be able to sneak through TSA security will be found in Heathrow. So, don't dilly dally when you get to Heathrow and make sure to get into the security queue is as quickly as possible.
Thanks. I've been checking out Seatguru. I don't see info about the boxes where we are sitting but I'll check again. I am really tempted to just bite the bullet and upgrade to business but on the direct flight I'm not sure it's a whole lot better.
I'm a little limited what I can pick because I'm not paying full price for my flights. If I booked directly with the airline it would be a lot more expensive and I'd have three flights instead of two. So I'm happy to be on the direct flight even if it is a little uncomfortable. Fortunately there are several more flights LHR-NCE that I could get on if I miss my flight.
That's interesting because everything I've seen says the 767 is on this route?
On seat guru if you check for the yellow seats, one of the reasons is due to a A/V box at that seat. It's only every so often. If you don't have a yellow seat at your location, it should be a normal, average seat.
Your reasoning about getting to Europe in one flight is sound, that's why we picked that flight when we went. The friends we went with on the trip were leaving from another city and had to go to Newark, then on to LHR. They got delayed due to weather and then got their flight cancelled because the airlines don't care about one of dozens of flights to Newark a day and missed their connection. They were extremely lucky and were able to rebook the entire leg onto three new flights after being on the phone for a couple hours and talking to people at the airport. They finally arrived several hours late, but at least they didn't miss leaving on an excursion we had planned the next day. We were on the direct and left about an hour late due to the passenger issue and then a storm with lightning hit, but we knew they would definitely fly that day and we could choose from a dozen flights to Edinburgh which was our final destination, but we made our connection without issue anyway.
The aircraft on this is the 767, they just switched from June 1 last year until sometime this past winter during the work and they used the 777. The flight attendants we spoke to were all hoping they would be able to keep the 777 but I'm sure they just couldn't justify it.
And yes, they were quite thorough on their security and immigration questioning, but not too horrible and probably more effective than TSA. I will say the one thing I was surprised about was the signage at Heathrow directing you from the arrival gate to the customs area was not super clear and it is a looooonnnnngggg walk.
I also found their departure gates interesting in that you are closed in a walled off area at each gate.
For the money I spent on upgrading to business class, I could buy a LOT of booze in coach.
(I guess it also helps to get up and walk around a lot.)
I'm going to take an extra battery for my phone and a cigarette lighter charger in case my row has power. I'm trying to get my travel agency to put me in a row that is supposed to have a power connection. But they are moving really slowly.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Isn't alcohol free on that flight? It's been free on every international flight I've ever taken, regardless of the airline.
We take ambien - very safe perscription sleeping pill. Decades ago, I used Xanax. Before that, in my rwenties, it was valium. I MUCH prefer the ambien.
(PS I deel a need to explain. In 1988, on a flight between Newport News, VA and Philly, I was in a mid air drop on a flight that was long enough to drop the oxygen masks and make page twelve of the NYT. That episode led to a low level phobia about flying; hence, the need for perscription drugs. I've recovered from the phobia, but still prefer to sleep so I take ambien.)
I have flown AA RDU-LHR couple of times, and the only advantage being, it is a direct flight and saves time.
The plane is quite old, no entertainment, and it rattles, makes loud noises, and frankly a little scary.
I flew coach with kids, and did not notice Business class to be any better, so save your money.
I would prefer Emirates going via Boston, Newark or JFK if my final destination is not London.
Emirates or other Asian airlines really rock when it comes to service.
Right. But the liquor isn't free. They don't even have good scotch, just Dewars. I wonder if they have olives in coach, can I get a vodka martini? (Probably not, no vermouth, no olives).
I'm going to research the wines to see if any of them are good. But of course, they could change any of them between now and the time of my flight.
Right. But the liquor isn't free. They don't even have good scotch, just Dewars. I wonder if they have olives in coach, can I get a vodka martini? (Probably not, no vermouth, no olives).
I'm going to research the wines to see if any of them are good. But of course, they could change any of them between now and the time of my flight.
Umm, they're free. How good do they have to be?
Or, buy a snack size pouch of green olives to bring on the flights with you.
Last edited by Jkgourmet; 02-23-2016 at 11:37 AM..
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