flights to USA west coast...stopover or direct?

ForeverYoungx

im thinking about going to the USA west coast to visit a friend and i have 2 options.

- fly direct from dublin
- stopover somewhere in the USA for a few hours (in NY most likely)

can anyone who has done a similar journey advise me? my longest flight was only 5 hours.

I was thinking if i stayed up the night before and try to get a direct flight from Dublin I might sleep for most of the journey...but theres still a 50% chance i may not sleep! at the same time, the thoughts of having a layover and adding an extra 5/6 hrs onto the trip seems scary!

Profiler

in March this year I flew Dublin to Philadelphia, 3 & 1/2 hour wait, then Philadelphia to LA. Same stop off on the way back to Dublin 12 days later.

I found that OK, nothing really bad about that however the return to Dublin left me absolutely knackered.

You can fly Dublin to London and London direct to LA, San Fran and a few other palaces, when I go back to LA I'm going to (price willing) try the London to LA flight, it's a 12 hour flight from London but I find it much easier to be on a place going somewhere rather than sat in an Airport waiting with my journey only half done.

As for staying up the night before, if your body can do that then go for it, my concern would be if there was a delay and you are already over tired it can make things almost unbearable.

willah

If you can fly direct do it. As for staying up the night before? I think that's mad.

macgrub

If you can fly direct, go for it.
However, I would choose who I would fly with on the long journeys. For example, I like BA. So my preference, for long haul, would be to the short hop to London and then direct.

athtrasna

It's a long flight granted, but at the end of that flight the last thing you want to have to do is queue for immigration & customs in LAX. So fly direct from Dublin to somewhere in the USA, I would not even consider London or any other European transit airport.

Personally I'd much rather fly Delta via Atlanta than aer lingus direct but that's an airline preference, as the last poster says, most people have preferred airlines.

ForeverYoungx

thanks everyone. flying to SFO, could always go to London first, then direct on SFO. not sure what to do.

i have only ever flown aer lingus/ryan air so not sure which carrier would be the best?

the idea of being stuck on a layover for a few hours (making the journey 17-18 hrs instead of 11) is daunting but i dont want to go direct if i end up regretting it either!

also id likely be trying to get an early morning flight as i'm travelling alone and would have to get the airport bus at 4.30am, so staying up all night wouldnt be hard to do if needed...lots of caffeine lol

ScottSF

I advise against stopping in the US IF the weather might cause flight delays and cancellations. This can happen in summer with severe thunderstorms in NYC and Chicago as well as in the winter with snow and ice. So if that concern exists, fly to London or Frankfurt and then direct to SFO or LAX.

Yes going through U.S. customs clearance in Dublin Airport can save time but then again you have to get to the airport even earlier and must wait on "U.S." soil (gate area).

The other advantage of direct is if you really want to sleep on the plane. It is much more likely you'll get a few hours of sleep on an 10-11 hour flight than a 6-7 hour flight since the drink/mealtimes can be disturbing.

As for airlines I recommend United Airlines (merged with Continental) though no directs from Dublin to the West Coast. Only London and Frankfurt but they have a hub in both SF and LA. There is also the possibility of paying a bit extra to upgrade to Economy Plus which gives you 5 extra inches of legroom. That is a huge benefit IMHO. I would advise against US Airways via Philadelphia only because from past experience the seats and legroom are quite cramped. Though usually they are less expensive flights so there is the trade-off.

Good luck...

Atlantic Dawn

Until next year I am pretty sure there are no direct flights from Dublin to west coast USA. Aer Lingus resume the San Francisco route in April 2014.

Personally if it was me I would prefer a 6-7 hour flight to NY, Atlanta or Chicago with a 3-4 hour layover and then another 5-6 hour flight onwards. Going to the UK for a direct flight has its own issues particularly if you don't book your flight with the same airline and there is any delays to your flight from here to the UK.

ScottSF

Until next year I am pretty sure there are no direct flights from Dublin to west coast USA. Aer Lingus resume the San Francisco route in April 2014.

Yes that is what I understand as well. I can't believe it took so long to reintroduce these flights. With all the California area technology companies have their European HQ in Dublin, there must be a huge demand for direct flights. Plus considering San Francisco is in the Top 5 cities to visit in the USA (#2 in my opinion after New York City).

FYI, On the United.com website you can book a flight from Dublin to San Francisco on one ticket. The Dublin to London Heathrow leg is operated by Aer Linugs (as you can guess, especially since BMI has gone under) and I'm pretty sure you can check your bags straight through since they are partner airlines.

ForeverYoungx

thanks for the replies, was going to hold off until april if i went direct, but would prefer to go before the end of this year (nov/early dec) otherwise.

are united a good airline to fly with?

MadsL

ForeverYoungx wrote: »

thanks for the replies, was going to hold off until april if i went direct, but would prefer to go before the end of this year (nov/early dec) otherwise.

are united a good airline to fly with?

Compare facilities, seat size and options at http://www.seatguru.com/. Also consider economy plus for your direct flight.

EoghanIRL

If the prices are similar go direct . Last week I flew Shannon to phillidelphia , phillidelphia to Washington and then Washington to my final destination . It worked out a lot cheaper than direct but tuck me approx 18 hours compared to 11 direct.

athtrasna

ForeverYoungx wrote: »

thanks for the replies, was going to hold off until april if i went direct, but would prefer to go before the end of this year (nov/early dec) otherwise.

are united a good airline to fly with?

Do bear in mind that flying via the UK means customs and immigration when you land. After a long flight (approx 11 hours London-SFO) the last thing you want to do is queue for those. Fly Ireland-US, do all the legal stuff in Ireland, give yourself a 3-4 hour stopover which is time to get a proper meal, and stretch your legs in the airport, and then fly onwards to the West Coast. It will take slightly longer but you will arrive in better condition IME.

FouxDaFaFa

athtrasna wrote: »

Do bear in mind that flying via the UK means customs and immigration when you land. After a long flight (approx 11 hours London-SFO) the last thing you want to do is queue for those. Fly Ireland-US, do all the legal stuff in Ireland, give yourself a 3-4 hour stopover which is time to get a proper meal, and stretch your legs in the airport, and then fly onwards to the West Coast. It will take slightly longer but you will arrive in better condition IME.

I would echo this. Plus, you have to consider the journey back. It's soul-destroying to land in London and know that you have another flight back to Dublin, doubling back.

I did a Shannon-New York-Los Angeles flight and clearing immigration and customs on Irish soil and a short stop in NY to get food and wake up a bit meant I landed in LA a lot saner that I would have with a customs queue ahead of me.

Personal preference, anyway.

dearg lady

Direct would deffo be my preference. We were unlucky with connection times and then the second flight was delayed. About 24 hours in total, exhausting! United is probably the worst airline I've ever flown with, the staff were so rude, I wouldn't fly with them again.

Stojkovic

I havent been to the US since before 911. Are the queues that bad ?

Im flying DUB-LHR-SFO with BA.

athtrasna

Stojkovic wrote: »

I havent been to the US since before 911. Are the queues that bad ?

Impossible to predict, best I've experienced was 20 minutes, worst 3 hours. LAX and JFK have been the worst. All depends on what other flights get in at the same time and how many agents are on. Average for me just under an hour, a long painful hour. Would connect in the US a million times before I'd consider connecting in Europe again.

ForeverYoungx

thanks for the replies everyone! I think I might just fly Dub-NY (or Chicago, depending whichever works out cheaper on my dates!)-SFO
will i clear customs in Dublin or does it depend who i fly with? have never been to america before.

Also thinking about stopping in NYC for a few nights on the way home, so that would break up the journey a little if I do (SFO-NY, explore NY for 2/3 nights, then NY-DUB direct)

also if anyone can recommend the best airlines (from experience) to do the trip with i would appreciate it

Fabio

Delta are decent in my opinion. United were fine and had good entertainment options as well on a recent two-hop flight I did with them from Dub to Atl via Washington DC. Aer Lingus are probably better than both and their partner, JetBlue, are rated the best of the US airlines.

athtrasna

Of the airlines flying from Ireland-USA Delta would also be my favourite, followed by American. I gave up flying Aer Lingus transatlantic many years ago.

Almost all flights from Ireland-USA pre-clear customs & immigration. At the moment there are three flights that don't pre-clear http://www.dublinairport.com/gns/at-the-airport/US-Preclearance.aspx

schemingbohemia

Could all those people suggesting to fly direct explain how this is possible seeing as no-one actually flies to the West Coast from Dublin (as pointed out by Atlantic Dawn)?

OP, if you want to stop over in NYC on the way back, then pick one of the airlines that goes there direct from Dublin. Having flown United, American and Aer Lingus to the East coast in the past few years I'd probably pick Aer Lingus and I'd definitely make sure I was on a flight that pre-cleared in Dublin.

hyperborean

Fly direct and fly with Aer lingus, my experiences of these before they shut the SF route down were all good, stop overs or London transfers are a pain in the ring.

percy212

Cant agree enough with those who advise clearing immigration and customs in Ireland. Doing that stateside is a nightmare where you are treated as if you are exiting a gulag. Definitely start your flight in Dublin/Shannon. I go to the US frequently and clearing officialdom this side of the pond will make your journey much more pleasant. American Airlines suck. Continental is acceptable. Delta is hit and miss. Aer Lingus is good.

ScottSF

Could all those people suggesting to fly direct explain how this is possible seeing as no-one actually flies to the West Coast from Dublin (as pointed out by Atlantic Dawn)?

Direct at least for 2013 means flying to London first, or perhaps Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, etc... and then taking a direct flight to California. Again the main reason for me is to avoid the potential for delays in the US airports during certain times of year and also to get a longer block of time if you want to (try to get some) sleep on the flight.

athtrasna

ScottSF wrote: »

Direct at least for 2013 means flying to London first, or perhaps Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, etc... and then taking a direct flight to California. Again the main reason for me is to avoid the potential for delays in the US airports during certain times of year and also to get a longer block of time if you want to (try to get some) sleep on the flight.

That still means customs & immigration on landing, after a long flight. Don't know how that could be a good idea when pre clearance is available here.

ScottSF

That still means customs & immigration on landing, after a long flight. Don't know how that could be a good idea when pre clearance is available here.

If the immigration line is reasonable upon arrival on the West Coast USA (your final destination), by time you get stamped your bags will be just showing up upon the baggage claim carousel. There are queues for immigration in Dublin as well. During peak times you will have to wait - once it took me 30 minutes to get through Dublin pre-clearance. It is either one or the other - it cannot be avoided.

As someone who has flown extensively in the US, certain times of year there are thunderstorm or snow/ice delays/cancellations. Flights hardly ever get cancelled here in Dublin so it is easy to forget about that risk. It is no fun to get stuck at the airport or end up on an oversold (overbooked) flight which requires people to get bumped. A direct flight from Europe to USA is a safer bet if there are weather risks at your US connecting airport. Just saying...