tips of air travel NY to UK?

1. I prefer the 767, the seats have a 2-3-2 configuration. I travel solo, and prefer windows seats. So if I need to use the bathroom, I don't have to climb over two strangers...just one;) 2. I always fly out of Newark: it's closer to me, smaller and more manageable. With the exception of the double decker A380, it handles all the big planes like the 747,777,767 etc. Both airports have delay issues. JFK is a massive complex with 8 terminals, Newark only has three. Parking, even in the economy lots, is brutally expensive. Both JFK and Newark charge $18 a day! 3. It depends. If I have to make a connection to another flight in Europe, I'll choose the earlier red-eye. For London, I would go with the later flight as you arrive at a more reasonable hour. 9am as opposed to 6 or 7 am.

Regarding parking, if you do get a hotel room, check to see if they will let you leave your car in their lot free of charge (and catch their shuttle to the airport). I know people who have done this, so it's worth a check. Also, if you are looking at a direct flight to London (a must, in my opinion), the 9pm is preferred because you will land at a reasonable hour and you may sleep better on the plane because it's closer to your bedtime.

We fly from Los Angeles (non-stop when we can for reasons you stated). After that longer flight we find it convenient to land at heathrow about 11 am, gives you good time to get to London, you can usually check in to your hotel or at least dump your bags; good walk around London, dinner and bed- great for minimizing jet lag. So whichever red-eye gets you close-ish to 11am. if you arrive too early you could really be dragging by bed time

When taking an overnight flight, I try to leave as late as possible... I've flown at 10:50 p.m. or so from NYC to LHR... I prefer that because then I get to London around 11 a.m. or so the next day, and I don't have too much time to kill before I can check into a hotel (for a nap if/when I don't sleep well on the plane).

For question #3 ... Have you considered a daytime flight instead of a red eye? From NY, a couple of the airlines have flights that leave in the morning and arrive in London the same day. You leave around 9am and arrive in London around 9pm (4pm East Coast time). Virgin and Continental both have morning flights out of Newark. American and BA have morning flights out of JFK. I am very partial to these daytime flights and choose them over a red eye any chance I get. The type of plane doesn't matter as much as you are not trying to sleep on the plane. You could look into a package at a nearby hotel that includes parking. Arrive the night before, get a good night's sleep, and fly in the morning to London. I typically take the tube to my hotel on arrival and just stay up a bit late and sleep a bit late the first day. When I take an overnight flight, I suffer from jet lag and lack of sleep from staying up all night on the flight. With the day time flight, there is still a bit of an issue with jet lag, but you eliminate the lack of sleep problem.

I don't fly from NYC, but: 1. Focus on the width of the seat and leg room in the aircraft, not its size. Check a site like Seatguru. Typically, wide bodies offer a but more. If your airline offers roomier seating for a reasonable price, I recommend buying it. 2. If you can sleep on airplanes, then I would opt for a flight that will get you to your hotel close to or after check-in time. That will save you from wandering around in a jet-lagged state. Many overnight flights to London arrive early in the morning, putting you at your hotel before noon. Count on an hour or two to get through the queue at passport control and out of the airport and another hour into London. 3. Nonstops are always better. That said, i'm not sure where a flight out of NYC would stop. 4. Air India and Kuwaiti Airlines often seem to have good fares from NYC to London.

Rather than drive from Ithaca to the NY area to catch a flight, why not look for a flight out of Ithaca. You will have to change planes somewhere on the east coast but it may not be NY. By the time you pay for parking and gas driving down to either Newark or JFK, it might be cheaper to fly out of Ithaca.

One thing to remember is that the flight is shorter from the east coast. You don't want to arrive too early, you probably won't be able to get in to your hotel room until at least 1 or 2, so if you land at 7 in the morning you will have a lot of time to kill before you can get into your room. You could always have the hotel hold your luggage, but I personally like to freshen up after the plane ride before I head out. I would definitely try for nonstop if you can. There should be a lot of options from NY. My favorite plane is the 777. I flew on a 767 from O'Hare once and it was the most uncomfortable flight I have ever had. However, the flight on a 767 from Newark wasn't that bad. they also had a yummy steak place in the terminal :)

Ruth, I was going to send you a Private Message, but decided to make it public... I don't have any info to help you, but I just wanted to tell you - Excellent Question! Very clear, well-thought out, specific. You gave all the info needed for people to answer you with specific, clear answers. No one had to drag the important details out of you, one-at-a-time...that gets a bit painful... This has been one of the easiest Q&As I've read in a LONG time!!! Thank You! Have a great trip.

Doesn't anything go from Syracuse anymore?

Doesn't look like it, Nigel, if you mean direct flights. You could connect through Boston, NYC or Philly, but you could do that through Ithaca. I hate overnight flights. So, if it was me, I'd fly somewhere else (probably Boston), get a good night's sleep and fly out the next morning. That's how I work it from here in North Carolina. I fly from Raleigh to Dulles or Logan, spend the night, and catch a morning flight to London. I come back direct into RDU on the daily flight out of Heathrow. Leaves around 11 a.m. London time and gets me back home in the late afternoon, whereupon I collapse and sleep.

Hi Ruth, I have to agree with Michael. We much prefer the 767 to any of the other equipment, unless you're in first class...then it doesn't really matter. We just flew from ABQ to Edinburgh via DFW and LHR on a 777 and it was quite uncomfortable. The return was LHR to ABQ via DFW on a 767 and it was much more comfortable, and, overhead storage was better.

Newark is a better airport from which to make an "escape" back upstate. I also love the daytime flights, only available to London, not Dublin though.

Agree with previous post, newark is much better to get into and out of than JFK.

I agree with Frank II that you should explore connecting from Ithaca. I've not done this from NY, but I have dealt with the same issue from Chicago. The first time I flew directly from Chicago, but subsequently I've flown out of Madison. The key has been to have a lot of time between the connections on the outbound which has provided peace of mind. It's been less of concern on the homebound flights. The advantage is that I don't have 3-4 hour drives to face at the end of transatlantic flights. Also, I clear security at smaller airport which is always easier. Pam

Wow, thanks for all the tips responses have been amazingly helpful! I really don't mind driving to an airport - and it is sounding like Newark will be our best bet if it means a direct flight (I'm enough of a control freak that I prefer not having to worry about missed connections or luggage missing connections).
Also, one of the problems with having a small market and a super small airport is that airlines sometimes pull out completely, or radically cut back their service, and I've gone through a major ordeal trying to reschedule a trip when that happened (last time resulted in having to endure a 7 hour scheduled wait between flights on a domestic trip). Last time I checked, it was more than $1,000 per ticket more to do the trip starting in Ithaca. That might not always be the case, but if I can get a direct flight with a 4 hour drive and summer driving conditions (and find a park and fly so I can spend the night at the airport when I return) I think that would be my personal preferrence. Again, thanks for the wealth of great info!

I have stayed here, they have a deal on parking: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-deals/ewrnr-renaissance-newark-airport-hotel/ Really close to the airport with a free shuttle. When driving in or out, unless you want to experience all that Elizabeth, NJ has to offer, make sure you have the directions down pat (it is pretty straightforward). Since you are a control freak you should consider driving down the afternoon before the flight, staying/parking somewhere like this, then taking a 9am flight to London. Coming home, you'll probably get in midday and should have enough gas in your tank (figuratively speaking) to make the drive home same day.

Ruth, the 777 is a larger aircraft than the 767, but the actual seating configuration on either will vary from airline to airline. Use a site like seatguru.com before selecting your seats.