flights

Wow has only just started its North American service out of Boston, so probably be a while before the reviews on it start to show up. It is a discount carrier where you pay extra for most things other than seat, air, and toilet access during the flight so factor that into account. You even have to pay for 'overweight' carry on baggage.

Ugh. Remember you get what you pay for and if you slum it with any of those listed, well, be prepared for a crappy trip. You'd be better off with United! Singapore Air is an excellent company- we use their first class but they do have economy class seating which would be far better than a cheapo airline and much more comfortable.

As far as I know, except for Wow, the others are national carriers, not budget airlines. Iceland Air generally gets very good reviews, I don't know if Turkish Air has upgraded its fleet recently, have not flown the other two.

Sorry, but you don't have to be on a slum airlines to have a crappy flight. United, USAirways, Delta...are all more than capable of delivering as much misery as you can stand.

Nowadays there is not much difference between airlines. As long as you fly economy aka sardine class it is crappy. What I look for: direct nonstop flights; if not possible then max. 1 change and of course price. Out of your airlines I flew Iceland Air (that's usually {or always?} with change of planes in Reykjavik) and you pay for meals and Turkish Airlines. They were not worse or better than any other airline in US.

Thanks for the replies. A friend has flown Turkish and had a great experience. I too have had crappy experiences on US carriers. Hoping to book flight this week. Thanks again.

Friends of ours here in Seattle prefer Icelandic Air over all other choices to London. just be aware you will have to pay for your meals.

I've flown Iceland Air a couple of times and I like them a lot. You can bring your own food or buy theirs, I always bring my own food on any airline. Flight changes in Reykjavik are easy and quick.

I do have to say that if I lived in Boston or the DC area, some of those Wow ultra-discount sub-$300 flights to Iceland would be quite tempting for a short secondary vacation, even if I had to pay a modest fee for overweight cabin baggage.

My Turkish Air experience was far superior to any US airline I've used to Europe. If I were going to Turkey or someplace not too far away, I'd use them again without hesitation (I almost used them for my upcoming trip to Israel, but in the end decided to splurge for nonstop flights). Almost all reports of Turkish Air match mine - even in coach, the food and service beat the US carriers, hands down.

The problem is timing - from the US to Istanbul to London (or most of Europe, for that matter) is a lot of doubling back and takes forever. In addition, sometimes the layovers in Istanbul are very long and/or inconveniently timed (like landing in IST at 11 PM and flying out at 7 AM the next day). It's up to you if saving money is worth those inconveniences.

People are also pleased with Iceland Air, and those connections are much shorter. I have no personal experience with them, but people have posted that Keflavik Airport is set up for tight connections, so don't worry if you only have 50 minutes to change planes. Most of the negative reviews of Iceland Air are rants by those who objected to paying for food. As stated above, there is no free food or drink on Iceland Air - not a problem if you're prepared.

My experiences with Turkish Air were excellent and recommended if going to Turkey, but as Harold points out, you have to travel way far east to double back to London. We had good experience with Icelandic, too. On the other hand, my last experience in business class on a major carrier had a heavily asleep, snoring, mouth breather too close to me in the lay-flat beds. I'm not sure you always get what you pay for--oh my ticket was with miles, so maybe I did get what I paid for!

"Nowadays there is not much difference between airlines."

My partner and I flew Lufthansa to Frankfurt last year and came back from Munich on United (no choice, we were using United miles). We definitely (and I mean definitely) saw a big difference in service. She would never fly that long on United again.

In the last 15 years, I have flow Lufthansa, United, USAir, and Delta to Germany. Lufthansa was by far the best; USAir was the worst. Delta was 13 years ago, so things have probably gotten worse, but I don't remember disliking the service.

According to SkyTrax, which rates world airlines, WOW, Norwegian, and Iceland are all 3* airlines (Norwegian, as well as WOW, are Low Cost Rated Airlines). Turkish, as well as British Air, are 4* airlines. Lufthansa has a better rating (4*) by SkyTrax than any of the others, but I don't think it flies directly to London. Changing in Frankfurt would be a pain.

My husband thinks I should fly a "known" airline - US ones or major western Europe. Thoughts? And is there a better time to buy tickets? Headed to UK in September. Thanks.

Iceland Air is a well 'known' airline that has been flying from US to Europe for years. I would not hesitate to fly on them again (as I have in the past). Turkish Airlines is also a 'known' airline but their flights usually go through Istanbul and take forever.

All of these are "known" airlines - perhaps WOW is one of the newer ones, but I'm not sure what you're expecting them to be like. I've flown Iceland Air and Turkish Air and found both of them to be modern and comfortable (food was provided for free and much better on Turkish Air though). As far as when to buy tickets...continue checking prices over some time period (I would say a few months) and see where your sweet spot is - once the ticket price goes below a certain threshold (that only you can decide you're willing to pay), just pull the trigger and don't look back. If price is more important than a familiar airline (and assuming the schedule and routing is acceptable), then I would say don't hesitate to fly on these carriers.

I'm not sure what we can add that will comfort your husband. If you want to know the history of an airline (how old it is, major accidents, etc), look at its Wikipedia page.

WOW is only a few years old; Norwegian is established in Europe, but has only been going across the Atlantic for two years; and the other two are quite established, if not as familiar to Americans. If he only wants to take airlines he's heard of, that's his choice. But, as you've read, that's not always a guarantee of quality - just brand recognition.

Do look at things like total travel time, layover times, when the flights depart and arrive, etc. There's often a "problem" in one of these areas with the cheaper flights; it may or may not be acceptable to you. For instance, a colleague is always upset to see that cheap flights will depart Europe at 6 or 7 AM: when we adjust the filter on Kayak to only show flights departing after noon, the price usually goes up. She's willing to pay extra - are you? Similarly, when you set the Kayak filter to eliminate layovers of less than 6 hours, some of the best "bargains" disappear.

"And is there a better time to buy tickets?"

Unfortunately, no. Be careful of following "recipes" for cheaper tickets, like "always book 90-100 days out." We've had several posters who paid more because they followed such dubious advice. Just look at prices now, and decide which airlines and routes interest you. Sign up for e-mail alerts on Kayak and the airlines' own websites. Have all your travel information ready (credit cards, names on passports), so you can book quickly. When you see a good deal, be prepared to pounce; if you wait to consult your husband, for instance, the deal can disappear. Once you've booked tickets, don't look back.

You will have to have a connecting flight from Boise to the airport where your international departure begins. I think this figures into the equation as well.

If you take Alaska/Horizon to Seattle (for example) you have British Airways, American Airlines, Air France, and Delta that are code shares and you will have one booking/ticket.

If you choose to take Iceland Air from Seattle, it will be a separate booking. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to make the connection in case anything goes wrong with the first flight.

If you want to fly a "known" airline, I suggest (echoing Carol's post) that you fly Alaska/Horizon to Seattle and then choose from British Airways, Delta, or Virgin Atlantic direct (non-stop) to London Heathrow.

If you want to fly United, you could fly Boise to SFO on United and go from there.

Whatever you choose, it is best to book it as one ticket.

I flew Iceland Airlines to London & back (JFK) in 1963 on a DC6. In this jet age I would not hesitate to use them again.

I'll note that both the USA and the EU have extremely high safety standards, and any airline that operates in both of those places has to meet both sets of standards. So the discounters, even the dread Spirit and RyanAir, are going to be in acceptable to excellent shape from that standpoint. It comes down to route, price, and customer service in the end, not a safety question.

Hi,

To London the best one I liked and would choose again is British Airways, plain and simple.

I have flown to London on Icelandair and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. While you do have to change planes in Reykjavik, the process is very efficient due to the size and convenience of Keflavik Airport. Very nice airport with everything you need for your journey. Never have had a problem with Icelandair and would fly them again. True, there are no inflight meals, but there are options to order food while on board. Premium Economy and Business class travelers get meal service etc...