Direct International flights from RDU ????? (Charlotte, Raleigh: airports, food, best)

[Tina888]

It seems that most of the international flight goes via other states. That means boarding smaller planes to some other state every time you are flying overseas.
I had lot of bad experience on smaller planes. Turbulence, BAD turbulence, temperature going crazy, no food and lot of engine sound etc etc .. I am really scared to board 30-60 seater plane. I know that it is riskier to drive on road than to fly in air but I AM SCARED..

Do you have any direct economical flights for Europe??

[19yearsincharlotte]

As far as USAirways, there are plenty of direct flights overseas-- departing from Charlotte. Sorry.

http://www.usairways.com/awa/content/routemap.aspx

[Radiojoe315]

If your that petrified, ride out to Charlotte. Or get a ride To Charlotte and fly from there. Don't put yourself in a position that you're going to be too frightened.

[leighbhe]

I know raleigh has direct flights to london, but I don't know where you are going in europe. When I flew to new zealand, we did have a hop to charlotte (20 minutes) but it was on a large plane. I think if you call the airlines, you can tell them you want a connection that is a larger plane.

Leigh

[RaleighRob]

RDU flies directly to London (Gatwick) and Toronto. That's pretty much it as far as international flights. Most other Euro flights would need to be via DC, NY or Boston I think.

[bta]

Originally Posted by Tina888

It seems that most of the international flight goes via other states. That means boarding smaller planes to some other state every time you are flying overseas.
I had lot of bad experience on smaller planes. Turbulence, BAD turbulence, temperature going crazy, no food and lot of engine sound etc etc .. I am really scared to board 30-60 seater plane. I know that it is riskier to drive on road than to fly in air but I AM SCARED..

Do you have any direct economical flights for Europe??

If you fly USAirways and go through Charlotte, the flight from RDU shouldn't be on a small plane. The USAirways non-stops from RDU to Charlotte are on Boeing 737-300s and Airbus A319s. These are pretty big planes (125 seats). The smallest plane you'll get is a Canadair Regional Jet 900 - that still seats around 80.

As a side note, the Canadair Regional Jet is my favorite plane for short flights. I fly to Washington, DC (DCA) and back every week on this plane. It's small (boards fast), it's quick (400-450 knots), it's very stable, and it's quiet. I prefer it over the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A319 for short flights.

[raleigh_life]

I travel A LOT for work, and I can tell you that the little planes leaving from Raleigh really aren't that bad. If you're connecting for an international flight (and you're not going to London from RDU), the smaller plane that's going to get you to the bigger city is seriously going to be so quick, you're not going to have enough time to get annoyed. Maybe scared, but trust me - it's not a big deal.
DC, BWI, and Philly are less than an hour flight (and the NYC airports aren't that much further). And like bta said, the Charlotte flight on US Airways is a big plane and only takes 20 minutes.

[Comedian]

AA has a direct flight to London every evening at 6:45pm using a huge Boeing 777 aircraft - from London Gatwick you can get cheap flights to almost every European city. I want everyone to use it so they don't cancel the flight lol

[Radiojoe315]

Getting to most Northeast Airports (Philly, NY, ect.) are full sized planes. MOST flights are that way. I know Southwest is good for that. But like US to PHilly is a smaller plane.

[Tina888]

I travel to Europe/Asia almost once a year and also try to visit my family with in USA. I guess I just have to try different airlines to figure out the best one..

I will try to go by some of the suggestions...

Being in Boston, that was never been a problem.