starkitty said:

Stop it! You're confusing me more!

I always found I get the best deals by searching the supposed deal sites and then going to the company's (airline or motels) main website. 90 percent of the time they are offering the same deal without the extra fees.

starkitty said:

HELLO

ANYONE?

starkitty said:

What's the question?

2the9s said:

the answer is yes or no.

and really, isn't there always a 50% chance of rain?

starkitty said:

Looks like two different ones. Check out
http://www.londonnet.co.u...ports.html

soooo flying into gatwick and staying at heathrow might not be so smart?

starkitty said:

There is always a 50% chance of rain

Gatwick and Heathrow are two separate airports, Heathrow is in West London with easy access to central London, it takes about 30 mins to travel into the centre of town from Heathrow. Gatwick is over an hour from central London. There are trains that run from Gatwick into Victoria station, (London)

I would prefer to fly into Heathrow, but either is okay.

..
[This message was edited Wed Jun 9 3:20:55 2004 by Lleena]

Lleena said:

thank you Lleena.

the best deal i've found bar none is flying into gatwick and staying at a hotel at heathrow, which didn't make a lot of sense but i'll take what i can get. they offered other packages so i'll have to check the locations out, it may be worth paying the extra money to be closer.

If you're flexible I also like Sky Auction... and if you like a bit of adventure... AirHitch.

cheaptickets.com is good, but statravel.com is even better! When I was trying to find a flight from the UK to US last month, cheaptickets.com found me the cheapest deal online, but even that was $753 (round trip, as I booked a return ticket for December). If you're a student, STA Travel is even better - I got my ticket for £353. However, they also might give discounts to those under 26.

There are a handful of airports in and around London - Luton, Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick, etc. National Express (a coach/bus) takes you to and from most of these places. There's a Gatwick Express (coach) that takes you to/from Gatwick from London Victoria Coach Station (which is a few blocks away from the tube/train station). National Express also goes to Stansted, as does another coach called Terravision (which is cheaper and nonstop so it's faster). They also leave from Victoria. For Heathrow, you can take the tube (but be warned, there are hardly any escalators/elevators so be prepared to haul your shit up and down stairs), National Express, or the train. In fact, you can take the train to/from Luton, Heathrow, AND Gatwick.

I've just realized I've flown in/out of all the aforementioned airports in the past nine months. Like Lleena, I prefer Heathrow to all of the other airports... don't listen to what 9s says! They lost his luggage!

starkitty said:

Most of the hotels around Heathrow are VERY pricey. My parents stayed in a Thistle Hotel for one night and it was somewhere in between £150 - 200. They can afford to overcharge you because if you're staying out near Heathrow (which is in the absolute STICKS, an hour and a half away from central London by tube!) that kinda means you're desperate (e.g. your flight takes off before the tube is running so you can't get there in time). Look into staying in central London if you can. Like you said, it might be worth forking out some extra cash to be in the middle of it all. If you're on a tight budget, there are some hostels around, and try ringing any of the dorms in London - I know my uni rents out their dorm rooms to visitors at very good prices. And they're not all out in the boonies like mine - some are even in Russell Sq.

Oh and p.s.! It's a long flight from the US to the UK, and some airlines offer you better services - like Virgin has radio stations and movies/TV channels on the back of every seat. However, United has shit nothing, so keep that in consideration.

Natsume, thank you for all that info, it's going to come in handy. i've flown to london once before so i know it's kind of grueling (the flight, that is). i tend to get migraines if i'm not 'mentally prepared'.

best deal i've found - philly to london, leave the 23rd, back the 27th, hotel included - $587. that's pretty fucking cheap. but yeah, that hotel's in heathrow.

i'm going to do a little more research.

Natsume said:

WTF? Shut up, fool. They didn't lose my luggage. They just suck ass. The airport looks like something out of 1945. It's a mess. A disaster.

And citing Lleena here doesn't exactly help your case...

Natsume said:

Not even audio? I'm almost positive that United has audio entertainment on their domestic flights, so I'd be surprised if they didn't offer it on international flights.

Anyway, as a frequent flyer (I'm a card-carrying Northwest WorldPerks Silver Elite member), I'm most concerned with whether I'll be upgraded into first class. Northwest is one of the better airlines for this, at least domestically. They offer absolutely no in-flight entertainment on their domestic flights, but my computer and old-fashioned paper reading material help me pass the time. I can watch a DVD, listen to music, read a book or a magazine, or even watch an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (converted to a video file). And after reading the lists of in-flight entertainment options for Northwest's international flights, I don't feel as if I'm missing out on much.

I will, however, admit that I liked something that Air France displayed between movies and TV shows when I flew them back in 1992: a map showing the plane's present location, the path it had flown so far, and its current speed.

I should start packing soon... flying to Indianapolis for the weekend, and then I'm flying to New Hampshire later this month....

starkitty said:

For air travel

If I have the time, I check all of the "big three" online travel agencies (Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz). Usually what I find is that all three are offering the same best price, which I can also get directly through the airline's website without paying a service fee. Occasionally, though, one of the big three is offering a deal that nobody else seems to have.

(Disclaimer: In the end, I usually don't price-shop when it comes to plane tickets, as I'm pretty loyal to Northwest Airlines and their frequent flyer program.)

I second Natsume's suggestion about STA Travel if you're affiliated with an educational institution or under 26 years old. They have access to exclusive fares that are often (but not always) the best deal. I used them on multiple occasions when I was eligible and got some great fares (incluidng one-way tickets that were 1/2 of the round-trip ticket... try getting that from a "regular" travel agency or the airline).

For hotels

If I want a specific hotel (e.g., the W Hotels chain), I check Expedia, which often has exclusive rates. The catch is that such deals require immediate payment and are non-refundable, but thus far, I've never been in a situation where that's been a problem. I then check the hotel's own website, which might also offer a special non-refundable rate.

(Consumer tip: All other things being equal, book directly with the hotel's website. If you book through Expedia, your reservation gets faxed to the hotel, and I've had my reservation lost twice. Now I always call the hotel a few days in advance to confirm Expedia reservations.)

If I don't care which specific hotel I get, then I often use Priceline. I've gotten some great deals this way (e.g., $40 for a DoubleTree near Detroit). Bidding for Travel is a must-read before using Priceline, however. The site contains bidding strategies (the "free rebidding" tactic is crucial), lists and reviews of hotels that people have gotten through Priceline, and reports that will help you decide how much to bid. This information makes Priceline much less of a gamble.

Priceline and Expedia-exclusive rates always seem to get me rooms that are at the very end of the hall, have a lousy view, are oddly-shaped, or are otherwise undesirable in some way. (My most recent Priceline hotel room, at the Adam's Mark by the Indianapolis airport, looked as if it was decorated around the same year I was born.) However, when taking into account the price I've paid, I usually feel satisfied with what I get.

matt said:

United had TVs I think, but you got like one awful movie and I remember watching a surfing documentary (which sounds exciting but it was actually very very boring) early in the a.m. The food was awful and even though it was a 10 hour flight, they only fed us once. Virgin is incredible. They fed us four times, there were a dozen movies to choose from, as well as TV shows and Nintendo games!



There wasn't much leg room but that was the only drawback...

btw 9s you poo! Heathrow is much more convenient than any of the other airports. It looks great - way better than Stansted! What would you suggest??

JDINTERACTIVE said:

Seriously though, we are the cheapest online hotel bookings company on the internet. That's a fact.

...and to settle the other serious matter in hand....

toss pot 1. n. a jar for keeping toss in. 2. n.A person held in low esteem, a fuckwit.

JDINTERACTIVE said:

Now explain what a fuckwit is.

thanks for bumping this, i hadn't seen matt's advice, which looks good.

JD... hello! since you work for the company i need a hook-up.

also i'm not too concerned about the in-flight entertainment, at least on the trip over. i plan on taking some sort of narcotic so i can sleep. the flights look to be overnight and maybe i won't have too much jet lag if i can sleep a few hours.

that aside, when you think about it, flying is pretty terrifying.

starkitty said:

Natsume said:

I, erm, I mean, a friend who has trouble sleeping on planes has found that this works well.

matt said:

have you ever bid on priceline for a flight?

you ain't new either

Milty said:

huh?

starkitty said:

oh sorry...i was responding to some newbies' threads...i got caught up in the hysteria

Milty said:

want some wine?

starkitty said:

mmmm..that sounds great!

matt said:

I just got back from Indianapolis yesterday, and I must say that after a few drinks, the "Visualizer" in iTunes, combined with some good .mp3's, really keeps me entertained.

BTW, on my breakfast flight from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Seattle (I had to spend the night in the Twin Cities due to a missed connection), I had two screwdrivers and two glasses of wine. Melissa said she could tell I was tipsy the minute she spotted me coming up the escalator to the baggage claim area.