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Did you have a bad experience? Was it with the airline or the airport?
Many reasons. Firstly, the flight home did not have tv screens in the back of the seats. I paid over $2300 for my family of 4 (at the time) to fly and I had to fly home alone with a 4 & 6 year old and nothing to occupy them. 2nd, the flight attendants were RUDE! It was near impossible to get a glass of water from them. My kids were STARVING by the time they served the 2nd meal.
3rd, RDU is not set up for international flights. You get off the plane after flying for 9+ hours, and then you have to collect your luggage, and then drop it off again so you can go through immigration control - again, not an easy feat when traveling alone with small children....
So both the airline and the airport. I have flown MANY MANY times with Virgin and British Airways and you get nothing but amazing treatment on those flights for about 1/2 the price of the AA flight.
Many reasons. Firstly, the flight home did not have tv screens in the back of the seats. I paid over $2300 for my family of 4 (at the time) to fly and I had to fly home alone with a 4 & 6 year old and nothing to occupy them. 2nd, the flight attendants were RUDE! It was near impossible to get a glass of water from them. My kids were STARVING by the time they served the 2nd meal.
3rd, RDU is not set up for international flights. You get off the plane after flying for 9+ hours, and then you have to collect your luggage, and then drop it off again so you can go through immigration control - again, not an easy feat when traveling alone with small children....
So both the airline and the airport. I have flown MANY MANY times with Virgin and British Airways and you get nothing but amazing treatment on those flights for about 1/2 the price of the AA flight.
The new RDU Terminal eliminates the need to go through security again after Customs & Immigration - but I agree that the 767 aircraft currently used by AA on this route are awful for a long haul flight
Yep, we always try make our trips in the summer season when they're using a 777; we didn't make it this year and had to fly on a 767. Luckily, we have our laptop and our video players and we always choose seats with a power outlet so that we can recharge!
And AMEN that RDU has finally opened the new terminal for international arrivals. On our last trip, we came back on the day before the new terminal opened, so I had the pleasure of arriving in terminal A one last time. And then the baggage belt broke, just to make the experience special.
but I agree that the 767 aircraft currently used by AA on this route are awful for a long haul flight
It's great in business class
In business on the 777, they kind of just plop your dinner tray in front of you, where as on a 767 (where there is no first class), you go through a more elegant process.
They present your meal in courses and cater to you along the way. On the 777, it is more like, "here is your meal, finish it quickly so we can turn out the lights."
I flew to Dublin last week (via Chicago) for $415 r/t.
Gotta love upgrades
Looks like American Airways has another year to rip off Triangle residents as the only threat of competition for direct flights to Europe has been delayed until 2010 - looks to me that flight will never get off the ground
Raleigh politicians need to be made aware of AA's pricing on the London-RDU flight?? If I buy a shirt at Southpoint, and my friend buys the same shirt for less in London, yeah, it might be annoying, but it's nothing to cry to politicians about.
Another poster quite eloquently explained that Americans wishing to travel directly to London out of RDU (i.e., business travelers) have only this option, whereas Brits flying out of London to RDU have multiple options with just a short connecting flight-- and in my estimation, more Americans will want to go to London for business than Brits will want to come to North Carolina.
I read once a few years ago that AA's RDU-London flight is subsidized by IBM and GlaxoSmithKline-- they guarantee they will buy a certain number of seats per flight in order to keep it profitable for AA. Therefore, when you're faced with a 50% empty flight it's not because there weren't takers for the seats-- IBM and Glaxo probably paid for many of those seats, full price. I'm not sure how that arrangement will continue to work in this economic crisis. The fact that the flight was moved to Heathrow probably helps a bit.
Personally, I agree with you that prices are too high for international flights from AA-- therefore, I go on a connecting flight instead. Last time I flew all the way to Detroit first for an international Northwest flight! But it's none of the "Raleigh politicians"' business. If you don't want to fly to Europe, you don't have to. It's considered a luxury.
Another poster quite eloquently explained that Americans wishing to travel directly to London out of RDU (i.e., business travelers) have only this option, whereas Brits flying out of London to RDU have multiple options with just a short connecting flight--
Surely you *must* understand that the same flights Brits can book Americans can book as well? You're comparing a direct flight from a SMALL city to London with multiple connections in the states from a hub to hub flight from London.
Not even apples and oranges. More like apples and camels.
Also I hate to break it to you folks but RDU is not a large international hub. ORD, DEN, DTW, ATL, CLT, PHL, and EWR have multiple flights on multiple carriers to many international destinations. Raleigh isn't in the same league as those airports.
Surely you *must* understand that the same flights Brits can book Americans can book as well? You're comparing a direct flight from a SMALL city to London with multiple connections in the states from a hub to hub flight from London.
The relevant difference is time, and time change. Most flights to Europe, out of any hub, leave in the evening. A business traveler who wants to travel RDU to LHR can work almost the whole day, then head over to the airport at 4 or so. If she (or he) takes a connecting flight then she loses the majority of the day of work in flying to the connecting hub. A whole day of work is lost. So for a traveler leaving RDU, the non-stop is the best option.
For a traveler returning, the full day is already lost. Most flights leave Europe in the morning and arrive in the US in mid- to late afternoon. So for anyone coming from Europe there isn't much benefit to coming in on a non-stop. So you get to RDU at 2 or 3, or you get to CLT or IAD or EWR at 2 or 3 and then connect and get here at 6 or 7. It doesn't make much difference. You still can't get in much time at the office until the next morning.
That is what changes the competitive picture for business travelers depending on the direction of the trip.
OK that makes sense. So what you are saying is the direct flight is more valuable to you as a business traveler. Therefore it should cost more. If you want to save money go to London via a hub, not a small airport. If you want another day at the office pay up! I'm all for the airlines increasing ticket prices, they have been to low for the past decade. Fuel went up almost 10x and eclipsed labor as their #1 cost yet ticket prices barely moved.
I think it's because the earth is rotating in that direction. By the time you get to where London was when you left, it's moved! Then you have to keep going!
Coming home you get to Raleigh before you're ready for it (Darn, I coulda swore it was further!)
(Alright, no flaming. It's supposed to be funny. If it's not, keep it to yourself, please... )
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Delta postpones RDU to Paris flight until 2010
Then you have to keep going!
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