Flights to NYC questions.

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

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Looking for flights to New York in October, namely departing on 2nd and returning on 11th and I have a few questions and wondering what are people's opinion. There will also be an internal trip to Atlanta from 7th to 11th. So the return leg is Atlanta to NYC to LHR.

1 - who do I fly with? BA or Virgin Atlantic, they cost about the same, or Delta? I am guessing virgin is the preferred choice crossing the atlantic.

2 - how long is the journey from JFK to Manhattan? Just thinking about departure time (travel from my house to Heathrow), and landing time (hours left on the day to do things).

3 - can I buy flights from NYC to Atlanta now, if so, who with and if I can't, do I buy it at the front desk at the airport?

4 - what are the immigration rules now with regard to entering the US? Do I need a VISA? Fill in any forms before I leave? Or just need my passport?

Thanks.
 
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1) I'd go Virgin.
2) It's not long, I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's really not long.
3) No idea
4) UK citizens can still do the visa waiver. You might need to still fill out the green form, but you do need to register in advance and pay an ESTA. If you're going to work you need a VISA.
 
Raymond Lin said:
1 - who do I fly with? BA or Virgin Atlantic, they cost about the same, or Delta? I am guessing virgin is the preferred choice crossing the atlantic.
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I tend to use Virgin. People whinge about them but I keep using them so they must be doing something right. The entertainment is decent, prices reasonable, happy with them.

2 - how long is the journey from JFK to Manhattan? Just thinking about departure time (travel from my house to Heathrow), and landing time (hours left on the day to do things).
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The best way to Manhatten is to take the Air Train to Jamaica Station and then a Long Island Railroad train direct to Penn Station right in Manhatten. 30-40 minutes tops? Not expensive either.

3 - can I buy flights from NYC to Atlanta now, if so, who with and if I can't, do I buy it at the front desk at the airport?
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Of course you can, infact if you don't you'll get screwed on price! Try Skyscanner.

4 - what are the immigration rules now with regard to entering the US? Do I need a VISA? Fill in any forms before I leave? Or just need my passport?

Thanks.
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You must apply for an ESTA before you travel. You don't need a VISA if you are a UK citizen, you need an ESTA instead.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Looking for flights o New York in October, namely departing on 2nd and returning on 11th and I have a few questions and wondering what are people's opinion. There will also be an internal trip to Atlanta from 7th to 11th. So the return leg is Atlanta to NYC to LHR.

1 - who do I fly with? BA or Virgin Atlantic, they cost about the same, or Delta? I am guessing virgin is the preferred choice crossing the atlantic.

2 - how long is the journey from JFK to Manhattan? Just thinking about departure time (travel from my house to Heathrow), and landing time (hours left on the day to do things).

3 - can I buy flights from NYC to Atlanta now, if so, who with and if I can't, do I buy it at the front desk at the airport?

4 - what are the immigration rules now with regard to entering the US? Do I need a VISA? Fill in any forms before I leave? Or just need my passport?

Thanks.
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1. Delta are fairly cheap. The old saying, you get what you pay for. I've travelled a few times across the pond with BA and had no probs. Good entertainment and service. Never flown with Virgin.

2. If i remember rightly, around 30mins? Actually can't really remember. Not long anyway.

3. I can't see you can't book your internal flights now. I did a mini trip in 2008 and booked everything in advance.

4. Buy your ESTA (Visa type thing) online. That's it now. I went over in Feb and can't remember filling in anymore forms
 
So you know, yes you have to pay for your ESTA BEFORE you fly but it is valid for 2 years.
 
For the NYC - ATL flight use AirTran. Great airline and nearly always the cheapest. I always use them if they fly the route I'm looking for and I know they do nonstop NYC to ATL.
 
[TW]Fox;22140876 said:
The best way to Manhatten is to take the Air Train to Jamaica Station and then a Long Island Railroad train direct to Penn Station right in Manhatten. 30-40 minutes tops? Not expensive either.
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Depending on the time of day you manage to get through Immigration and baggage claim I'd agree with this.

I tend to take a cab from JFK straight to the hotel as I usually arrive at night when traffic is light, but during the day, forget it and take the train.

By the way, a yellow cab is a flat $45 fare from JFK to Manhattan, plus a $6:50 toll fee, with tip on top.

Ignore all the people offering to take your bags by the exit, and go to the taxi rank.
 
just go with the cheapest they are all about the same and it's not a long flight

the method Fox suggested is best value way into manhattan, bit of a pain with large luggage but no big deal
 
Out of the times we've been to the US Virgin have been the best for us overall.

As for transfer from JFK to Manhattan, the way Fox posted is the best value but as Rotty says depending on what you're lugging around it might not be easiest.

We just paid the $50 for a cab ride as we had some awkward luggage (suitcases, ice hockey sticks and kit bags), didn't take that long door to door. Can't remember how much the other options were, but after buying 2 tickets for the both of us for whichever other method it wasn't actually a huge amount more to get a cab.

The drive did make my wife feel a bit ill though, she's not the best passenger anyway and the way the cab drivers hoon around made her feel a bit queasy ;)
 
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Curio said:
For the NYC - ATL flight use AirTran. Great airline and nearly always the cheapest. I always use them if they fly the route I'm looking for and I know they do nonstop NYC to ATL.
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Thanks, but it seems Delta is the cheapest showing on Skyscanner at £174 return.

TJM said:
Anyway, use this website - http://matrix.itasoftware.com/search.htm - to find the cheapest internal flights.
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Well, i didn't know what sites to use or trust, hence the question in the first place so thanks for the link :)

Rotty said:
just go with the cheapest they are all about the same and it's not a long flight

the method Fox suggested is best value way into manhattan, bit of a pain with large luggage but no big deal
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Delta/Virgin/BA are all around the same price, £20 difference between them on skyscanner. So i might as well go with Fox's suggestion and one with most leg room and convenient flight time.

Also , thanks Fox, you do know your stuff when it comes to travel. P.s. my Halifax Clarity card came today :D

Side question, what is parking like in Heathrow? if i drive, i am guessing it is uneconomical with parking charges !

Finally, what Terminal does the Virgin flights depart from and does all BA cross atlantic leave from T5? (looking at trains)
 
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Parking at LHR isn't too bad. Fair few options. I personally have had good experiences with the business parking.

Virgin is T3. All (apart from maybe a handful of destinations) of BA flights are T5.
 
I tend to pre-book one of the shuttle places that are about 10 minutes away from the terminal.

Think it was about £60 for a week last time I went with Q-Park.
 
Don't use sky scanner just use.

http://www.travelsupermarket.com/

It scans them all inc the sites that scan for cheap flights.

Then use topcashbacks etc to book it where ever it shows up cheapest.

As for flights totally depends which airport flying from and time as in general the same plane will fly the same route all the time. Virgin Atlantic flying to and from Manchester have some real sheds. but other airports have some nicer planes. As has already been said I would go with the cheapest very little difference between them all.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Side question, what is parking like in Heathrow? if i drive, i am guessing it is uneconomical with parking charges !
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I never bother, I always just get the train. You are in Hereford right? Direct train to Paddington then hop Heathrow Connect (Not Express, Connect is HALF the price, uses the same line and only takes 10 minutes longer) direct to the terminal.
 
[TW]Fox;22141686 said:
I never bother, I always just get the train. You are in Hereford right? Direct train to Paddington then hop Heathrow Connect (Not Express, Connect is HALF the price, uses the same line and only takes 10 minutes longer) direct to the terminal.
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Well, looking at trains, the site suggest change at Reading to get a train to Hayes & Harlington (which is a rail station nearest to Terminal 1, 2 & 3), so i guess there is a connecting bus service between those.

I've taken trains to Terminal 5 before, there is a bus service from Reading for that.

So far, There is a Virgin Atlantic flight leaving at 14:00. I can get a train that get to any of the airport by 11am, leaves 3 hours for check in/customs and in case of any delays by train. There are BA flights around 11:30/12:30 but that would be playing with fire it think.
 
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