Connecting flight options , pros and cons

Murphy_The_Cat

Could anyone offer me some thoughts on these flight conection options ?

I'll be departing from Dublin and I have to have some connecting flights to get me to my final destination.
All options will require we to stay over in Dublin the night before and get to the airport early.

Option a), earliest departure from DUB, 100 min connection at LHR, then 4hrs for Customs/Immigration and connection time at American entry airport, with a later flight available if it all goes wrong !!. Earliest arrival time at final destination. Planes to travel on, OK.

Option b) 2 hour later departure from Dublin, Customs/Immigration completed at Dublin, 90 minute connection time at first American airport (arriving as Domestic), 75 mins connection at 2nd American airport (arriving as domestic), later flight available if it all goes wrong, Earliest arrival time at final destination. One of the planes is a flying shed.

Option c) similar departure time from Dublin at option B, 2 hr connection time at LHR, 4hrs for Customs/Immigration and connection time at American entry airport, latest arrival at final destination. Best plane to fly on longest leg.

Price difference between a), b) & c) is negligible.

bagand96

Couple of thoughts:

- 4 hours should be ample to compete customs and immigration and connect in the US, even at the worst of their airports

- How early is the start for option A? It's a long day travelling so if it means getting up at the crack of dawn it might be a factor against other options

- On option B, what leg is the bad aircraft? If it's the transatlantic sector then it might be a problem, if it's US domestic then not so much? On the same issue, what class are you travelling. If it's economy then again not much of an issue but if you're in a premium cabin then the older aircraft might impact your experience?

Murphy_The_Cat

bagand96 wrote: »

Couple of thoughts:

- 4 hours should be ample to compete customs and immigration and connect in the US, even at the worst of their airports

- How early is the start for option A? It's a long day travelling so if it means getting up at the crack of dawn it might be a factor against other options

- On option B, what leg is the bad aircraft? If it's the transatlantic sector then it might be a problem, if it's US domestic then not so much? On the same issue, what class are you travelling. If it's economy then again not much of an issue but if you're in a premium cabin then the older aircraft might impact your experience?

Opt a), its a 06.40 departure, the other departures are 08.45 ish
Opt b) its a rattly old 757 from DUB to JFK

For this trip I'm having a splurge and going Business Class. The AA 757-200 Business class isn't the finest product.
the AA 777-300ER Business class product in Opt c) is supposed to be the Dogs Danglies.

bagand96

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Opt a), its a 06.40 departure, the other departures are 08.45 ish
Opt b) its a rattly old 757 from DUB to JFK

For this trip I'm having a splurge and going Business Class. The AA 757-200 Business class isn't the finest product.
the AA 777-300ER Business class product in Opt c) is supposed to be the Dogs Danglies.

That would make a difference to me then. If I was treating myself to Business then I'd want the best experience possible. Nothing wrong with the 757 as an aircraft but some of AA's transatlantic ones offer a very poor product (no at seat TV in economy... it's 2016!).

I'd be looking at which itinerary suits me between A and C. Are you happy getting up so early for option A? Likewise, will it make much difference arriving later at destination...

Murphy_The_Cat

bagand96 wrote: »

That would make a difference to me then. If I was treating myself to Business then I'd want the best experience possible. Nothing wrong with the 757 as an aircraft but some of AA's transatlantic ones offer a very poor product (no at seat TV in economy... it's 2016!).

I'd be looking at which itinerary suits me between A and C. Are you happy getting up so early for option A? Likewise, will it make much difference arriving later at destination...

opt a) will be Bus class on a BA A380
opt c) will be Bus class on an AA 777-300ER
opt c) will be Bus class on an AA 757-200 for 7.5 hours DUB-JFK (not the finest product), followed by 6hours on a lie flat seat JFK -LAX on a Airbus 321 transcom, which looks very nice indeed !

With opt a) the first flight leaves at 06:40, and after 24 hours of travel, arrives 20:00 local time
Opt c) departs at 08:45 and after 24 hours of travel , arrives 22:30 local time
Opt b) would have me leaving about 08:45, travelling 22 hours and arriving 20:00 local time

Caz3121

another consideration maybe? (we did this one last year)
DUB-LCY and overnight near London City
BA1 to JFK (with a pre clearance stop in Shannon)
arrive domestic then JFK-LAX on the 321 transcon (which was very nice)
we chose the BA A380 to come back to sleep on the long flight

Murphy_The_Cat

Caz3121 wrote: »

another consideration maybe? (we did this one last year)
DUB-LCY and overnight near London City
BA1 to JFK (with a pre clearance stop in Shannon)
arrive domestic then JFK-LAX on the 321 transcon (which was very nice)
we chose the BA A380 to come back to sleep on the long flight

I looked at that, but it wasn't going to be very straightforward for us:beer:.
BA1 arrives at JFK at 14:10 and the last connection I can take Westbound is 15:30 (doable).
However, that would only give me a 55 min connection time at LAX (squeeky bum time), to connect me to the last flight of the day.
Alterantively, we'd have to leave LCY at 16:00 which would take the trip up to 30 hours. including an overnight stop in LAX.:eek:

& hell hath no more fury than Mrs Cat if I muck up our holidays by trying to be cleverer than I really am .

Voyager2002

Well, if I were doing this in economy it would be option B, no contest. Clearing Immigration in the USA is not just a question of the time taken, and so the risk of missing a connection, but also standing in a queue for a long time when tired: definitely something to avoid. However, IF your J tickets offer some painless way of clearing Immigration (either jumping the queue or being processed in the lounge) then other options would be worth considering.

Personally I have always enjoyed my flights on a 757...

Murphy_The_Cat

Voyager2002 wrote: »

Well, if I were doing this in economy it would be option B, no contest. Clearing Immigration in the USA is not just a question of the time taken, and so the risk of missing a connection, but also standing in a queue for a long time when tired: definitely something to avoid. However, IF your J tickets offer some painless way of clearing Immigration (either jumping the queue or being processed in the lounge) then other options would be worth considering.

Personally I have always enjoyed my flights on a 757...

Except for one glorious long haul upgrade to Business Class, I've always had to turn right when I've joined the plane .

This is going to be a celebration trip and the only way I'll be able to sell it to Mrs Cat is if we fly Business (& the only way I'll buy the tickets is if one of the semi regular Business Class seat sales comes up ).

p.s. 757-200 with no seat back AVOD - I reckon the kittens would refuse to fly !!

SW17

So I'm assuming you're going to Hawaii and your options are as follows:

a. DUB-LHR-LAX-Hawaii (LHR-LAX on BA)
b. DUB-JFK-LAX-Hawaii
c. DUB-LHR-LAX-Hawaii (LHR-LAX on AA)

Both a and c will involve a terminal change at LHR, as the 06:40 DUB-LHR is operated by EI, so will be a T2>T5 transfer. 100 mins is enough, just FYI. Similarly for c you will have to do T5>T3 to get from BA to AA. Only you know how Mrs Cat feels about such things. Small note that EI has no business class in short haul, so the first leg of option a would be economy, not that it matters too much for an hour.

Regarding the AA 777-300 product, the seating arrangement and personal space are definitely superior of the 3 options (opinions on the seat as a bed vs BA do vary). The only thing I'm not sure about is what the risks are of an equipment substitute is on LHR-LAX, whereby you could end up with a 777 variant with the older business class. Outside of the seat itself, food, crew and LHR lounge provision are a toss-up/personal choice between BA and AA for LHR-LAX. BA probably wins on alcohol.

Option b has the advantage of no terminal changes along the way (assuming none in LAX) and no immigration in US, the downside being the 757 across the pond (which I've never done, so I'm assuming its a downside).

Also consider whether you like evenly-split sectors (option b) or enjoy having one longer flight to enjoy the experience.

Overall on this I might lean towards option B on a shorter overall travel time, no terminal changes and the smoother immigration process, but only you will know how you (and more importantly Mrs Cat) value these against a more luxurious transatlantic experience (whether BA or AA), or whether the 757 alone takes it out of contention.

Murphy_The_Cat

SW17 wrote: »

So I'm assuming you're going to Hawaii and your options are as follows: spot on

a. DUB-LHR-LAX-Hawaii (LHR-LAX on BA) yes
b. DUB-JFK-LAX-Hawaii yes on AA
c. DUB-LHR-LAX-Hawaii (LHR-LAX on AA) yes

Both a and c will involve a terminal change at LHR, as the 06:40 DUB-LHR is operated by EI, so will be a T2>T5 transfer. 100 mins is enough, just FYI. Similarly for c you will have to do T5>T3 to get from BA to AA. Only you know how Mrs Cat feels about such things. Small note that EI has no business class in short haul, so the first leg of option a would be economy, not that it matters too much for an hour. Terminal transfer not a problem, no Bus Class on EI not a problem, plus later flight options available if it goes wrong

Regarding the AA 777-300 product, the seating arrangement and personal space are definitely superior of the 3 options (opinions on the seat as a bed vs BA do vary). The only thing I'm not sure about is what the risks are of an equipment substitute is on LHR-LAX, whereby you could end up with a 777 variant with the older business class. Outside of the seat itself, food, crew and LHR lounge provision are a toss-up/personal choice between BA and AA for LHR-LAX. BA probably wins on alcohol.
Not bothered about the (free) alcohol, but the walk up bar on the AA 777 and walk up snack bar on BA, would be a novelty

Option b has the advantage of no terminal changes along the way (assuming none in LAX) and no immigration in US, the downside being the 757 across the pond (which I've never done, so I'm assuming its a downside).
The pre - clearence is a real plus, but it would mean going on a flying shed . There is a DUB-PHL-LAX-Hawaii option, which would be on a A330 with lie flat seats, but the connection time in LAX is only an hour, which I don't fancy.

Also consider whether you like evenly-split sectors (option b) or enjoy having one longer flight to enjoy the experience..
Evenly split sectors would work very well

Overall on this I might lean towards option B on a shorter overall travel time, no terminal changes and the smoother immigration process, but only you will know how you (and more importantly Mrs Cat) value these against a more luxurious transatlantic experience (whether BA or AA), or whether the 757 alone takes it out of contention.

If AA were using the retrofitted 767-300
on option b) that would swing it for me, (I can hope !)
From digging around, I've found these
opt a) BA A380 Bus class
opt b) AA 757-200 Bus class (best review I could find)
opt c) AA 777-300ER Bus Class

choices, choices, options, options

Coming back isn't a straightforward return, but I'm confident that it'll be very enjoyable for all of us.