We're planning to take my partners 75 yo dad with us for a trip from NY-Munich, returning from Venice around Sept 2-Sept 20. the cruise we want from VCE is MUCH cheaper around those days, and he has dreamed of returning to Munich to recapture his youth!

Delta flights VERY hish around those times, so we thought of flying JFK-LGW and then catching low cost carriers London-Munich/Venice London. (I need the DL miles for the JFK RT. We've had NO experience with these carriers (Easyjet, etc). I think taking Ryanair might just be too hard for him.

ANY suggestions on which of the budget carriers are reasonable, or thoughts on whether the idea is folly when going with one elderly relative and one family member who hates flying and is fearful?

Are these carriers at least reliable? Reasonable?

Thanks
Steve

I flew VCE-LGW last summer (2006) with EasyJet, and the flight itself was ok. Pleasant atmosphere, modern A320(?), nothing out of the ordinary. From what I have heard, EasyJet is much better than Ryanair -- if anything goes wrong with Ryanair that costs them money, they will abandon you without blinking an eye. Also, I think baggage policies on Ryanair may be quite harsh (but would check any LCC you choose to make sure that it won't be a surprise).

One thing I should mention though. Our EasyJet flight was delayed because of late inbound aircraft, and we ended up getting to LGW at about 11:10pm. In case you don't know (and I didn't), this is about exactly when transport in London shuts down. I couldn't believe that Europe's financial capital was that ridiculous. We had to get to LHR for a flight the next morning, and as a result were out more than 60 GBP getting there around midnight (by taking a train into Victoria and taxi to LHR). Is that a particularly troublesome hour for London transport to understand that people still need to go places?? As a result I have learned not to schedule flights that arrive close to the end of the London public transport hours.

Anyway, EasyJet seemed to be ok to me, and I think even an older passenger would find it no different than a regular airline. However, nothing went seriously wrong with our flight so I can't speak about how they handle problems. But I would put it on the same level as Ted, as far as flight and service is concerned. You might also want to check out BA, because their fares are sometimes competitive with the LCCs.

Try www.skyscanner.net to see all your options.

We've had NO experience with these carriers (Easyjet, etc). I think taking Ryanair might just be too hard for him.

Lots of threads on European LCCs with regards to service. Do a search or just scroll back a couple of pages and you'll have recent info.

There is also a LCC sticky thread here in BT.

EmailKid

One thing I should mention though. Our EasyJet flight was delayed because of late inbound aircraft, and we ended up getting to LGW at about 11:10pm. In case you don't know (and I didn't), this is about exactly when transport in London shuts down. I couldn't believe that Europe's financial capital was that ridiculous. We had to get to LHR for a flight the next morning, and as a result were out more than 60 GBP getting there around midnight (by taking a train into Victoria and taxi to LHR). Is that a particularly troublesome hour for London transport to understand that people still need to go places?? As a result I have learned not to schedule flights that arrive close to the end of the London public transport hours.

While the underground and trains stop running at night, there are still National Express buses to and from Gatwick and Heathrow all night long (though with somewhat low frequency). Gatwick to Heathrow around midnight takes 65 minutes and costs £19.

While the underground and trains stop running at night, there are still National Express buses to and from Gatwick and Heathrow all night long (though with somewhat low frequency). Gatwick to Heathrow around midnight takes 65 minutes and costs £19.

yes, we did look into that too. Unfortunately National Express bafflingly chooses to put a gap in their schedule from midnight to 2am, exactly when we needed it, which only added to the frustration with the system. There are also night buses in London, but for someone who doesn't live there, you can imagine that navigating this system wouldn't be the easiest.

Add to that the lack of any restaurants/bars/food after 10pm along LHR Bath Road (hotel lane), it made for a grumpy night.

We're planning to take my partners 75 yo dad with us for a trip from NY-Munich, returning from Venice around Sept 2-Sept 20. the cruise we want from VCE is MUCH cheaper around those days, and he has dreamed of returning to Munich to recapture his youth!

Delta flights VERY hish around those times, so we thought of flying JFK-LGW and then catching low cost carriers London-Munich/Venice London. (I need the DL miles for the JFK RT. We've had NO experience with these carriers (Easyjet, etc). I think taking Ryanair might just be too hard for him.

ANY suggestions on which of the budget carriers are reasonable, or thoughts on whether the idea is folly when going with one elderly relative and one family member who hates flying and is fearful?

Are these carriers at least reliable? Reasonable?

Thanks
Steve

Do you want to stop-over at London or is this just an idea to connect with a LCC at LON...?
Be aware that most LCC´s leave from London Stansted (STN) which is exactly on the opposite side of London - approx 80-90 mi away from Gatwick !!!
In particular when heading for Germany LGW is almost useless since only Easyjet and Germanwings fly to Germany from LGW !
Easyjet: LGW - CGN (Cologne), LGW - SXF (Berlin-Schoenefeld)
Germanwings: LGW - HAM (Hamburg)
All these destinations are useless if you´re going to Munich.

If you want/need to fly on Delta i suggest you check fares to Frankfurt or (if you don´t mind to change flights at Atlanta) to Stuttgart (STR) which is served non-stop from ATL only.
Stuttgart is much closer to Munich than Frankfurt (approx. 2hrs by train)

If you want/need to fly on Delta i suggest you check fares to Frankfurt or (if you don´t mind to change flights at Atlanta) to Stuttgart (STR) which is served non-stop from ATL only.
Stuttgart is much closer to Munich than Frankfurt (approx. 2hrs by train)

I second MHG's suggestion - look into flights to FRA. They're usually fairly affordable, and it's only about 3.5 or 4 hours per train from FRA to Munich. And the train station is right inside the airport - very convenient!

If you want to pursue the LGW option, how about just flying BA?

Flying LHR-MUC//VCE-LGW is possible for around 130 GBP (about 270 USD) using the "Multi-City" booking option. Since there are no flights at all from Gatwick to MUC, you'd have to change airports anyway, it might as well be to Heathrow. On the return, you would at least arrive at the airport you want to be at.

BTW, using Sep. 2 and Sep. 21 as your dates, I get a price of 760 USD for Delta (T-Class) on a JFK-FRA//VCE-JFK routing on delta.com.

I would probably go for that and take trains from FRA to Munich (roughly 4 hours) and from Munich to Venice (EuroCity trains from Munich to Venezia Santa Lucia are available starting from 32 EUR one-way. They take roughly 7 hours, but it's a nice, scenic ride straight through the heart of the Alps). www.bahn.de should tell you all you need to know about this option.

LCCs aren't always cheaper than regular carriers - I once paid GBP 190 return for a flight on Ryanair!

There are no flights (at all) from LGW to MUC, but SZG (Salzburg) is only an hour away, and according to the BAA web site is served from LGW by no fewer than four carriers (though one is a charter) - the three scheduled carriers are BA, First Choice and Thomsonfly. Returning from VCE you have the choice of BA, Easyjet and Thomsonfly (and Monarch, a charter airline).

Look carefully at baggage policies... Easyjet has now started charging for checked baggage, and BA charges an arm and a leg if you check more than one item each.

But If You Follow Ba's Policy And Use Ba Connect They Are Great In All Aspects

BA Connect? Who are they????

Go To Google And Type Ba Connect , It Works


BA Connect was sold to FlyBe earlier this year.

BA Connect, thus, is no more.