Best economy class NY-LON route with children

Tinuel

Hi all,

My wife and daugther are coming back to the UK in May. As economy class is what I can afford, could someone recommend from your experience the best economy class on the NY-LON-NY route?
One with an acceptable/reasonable service, food and entertainment for my daughter? Obviously I don't expect much on economy, Lol!!

I always heard that Virgin were the best but I have been reading so many bad reviews about them lately, it seems like they dropped their gloss!!
I have also been reading about rude cabin crews, bagage delays, etc.
Are the American carriers better than the European ones in terms of service?
From your experience which ones are child friendly? IF any!

Many thanks!!

JonQ_2

Nowadays I don't there is such a thing as good economy class. Airlines seem to focus on the business class passengers, forgetting that economy ones have also paid a ticket and some times a costly one.
From my experience, I would say the Asian/Pacific airlines are still the best in economy. In fact, some of their economies are better than the "premium economy" in some American/European carriers!
They still remember that economy passengers also pay for their wages.

Anyway, on LON-NY route, because you have mentioned your daugther, I would still say Virgin Atlantic. Only because their in-flight entertainment is really good and caters for children. There is a kids channel and some kids movies too.

dmg24

JonQ wrote: »

Nowadays I don't there is such a thing as good economy class. Airlines seem to focus on the business class passengers, forgetting that economy ones have also paid a ticket and some times a costly one.
From my experience, I would say the Asian/Pacific airlines are still the best in economy. In fact, some of their economies are better than the "premium economy" in some American/European carriers!
They still remember that economy passengers also pay for their wages.

Anyway, on LON-NY route, because you have mentioned your daugther, I would still say Virgin Atlantic. Only because their in-flight entertainment is really good and caters for children. There is a kids channel and some kids movies too.

What he said! x

Barcode

Avoid, Continental, American, United, U.S Airways (one of the worst). I've flown on all of those several times, as well as BA and Virgin. Virgin was probably the best entertainment wise, but beware the box under the seat which houses the entertainment system, and reduces your legroom. BA has a good reputation for service, but I tend to leave the plane feeling like I want to murder somebody after enduring economy class for half a day or whatever.

Have you thought about considering other carriers that go via LHR, allowing you to join for the NY-LON sector? i.e., Air India (which I wouldn't suggest) do this, whilst some of the pax carry onto India. As odd as it sounds, you might want to look at airlines like Kuwait Airways and Aeroflot (majorly improved and only the ignorant would go on about safety). You might be surprised, and sometimes, it's possible to fly business on these carriers for what you might pay for an economy ticket.

If you fly Continental, you risk going transatlantic on a 757, which believe me, you do not want to do. I don't know about Delta and Northwest, so can't comment on them. You would need to pay me to consider going back on A.A, U.A or Continental. Sure others will have different views.

Zazen999

I'd have to agree with Virgin - the kids do have a better time in general - we took an 8 year old to miami a couple of years ago and she loved the inflight entertainment - when she was awake. The goodie bag was pretty ok was well.

Tinuel

Thanks for your suggestions guys!
Hey Barcode,
As they are coming from Puerto Rico into NY first, I would prefer a direct flight into London. I suppose that with Kuwait and Aeroflot, they would have to fly to Moscow or Kuwait first. A bit too tiring, especially with a 5 year old.

So from your suggestions, avoid the American carriers and choose between BA or VIrgin, correct? A friend also told that U.S Airways is pretty bad for adults, let alone children!!
Do you know if BA and VA cater for children in terms of meals? If so, are they ok?

"BA has a good reputation for service, but I tend to leave the plane feeling like I want to murder somebody after enduring economy class for half a day or whatever".

Why is that?? Lol

Tinuel

Hi Zazen999,

So VA give out a goodie bag?

Barcode

Hey no, what I meant was that they can fly from NY-LON direct with other airlines, i.e., non-American or non-British ones. The plane will stop at Heathrow or Gatwick before going on elsewhere. It might be worth investigating, and people are normally pleasantly surprised by lesser known options.

I find BA economy long haul horribly, horribly cramped. Last christmas, I found a charter flight better in terms of space and service. It's a shame, as their premium product is one of the best, but economy can be a shambles.

But from NY, it's only about 6 hours, so it might be bearable.

Voyager2002

Do check out the Kuwait airlines option. They are one of the few carriers that do NOT serve alcohol, which means that (a) passenger behaviour may be better than on other airlines; (b) many travellers avoid them, which suggests that they can only attract passengers by offering better value for money than the competition, or otherwise there would be lots of free space for your family to enjoy!

Tinuel

Hi Voyager,

Will check them out. Have you flown with them?
In terms of meals and in-flight entertainment for children, seats are they ok?

Barcode

They will be fine. But perhaps a better place to check out the details is FlyerTalk or Airliners.net - go to the Trip Reports section. Or try airlinequality.com.

Not suggesting Kuwait are necessarily better, just trying to make you aware of other options than the major American and British carriers.