Finkface

But then she would have to take the bus from MXP to Genoa, which takes a couple of hours. I've done that too and it's not fun. If you want a train to Genoa, there is a local train that takes you from MXP to Statione Centrale, which takes about 45 minutes. Then another hour train to Genoa. Not fun at all. All North American direct flights arrive in MXP which is really far from the city centre. LIN is much closer and easier as you can get a bus right to Statione Centrale and take a train from there. The trains to Genoa from there leave pretty much every hour. Still not nearly as easy as the one connection through MUC. Is it an option to pick her up at MXP?

When I said an hour at MUC, I meant you can easily do it in under an hour connection time as it is one of the easier airports to transit. I have had a one hour connection and still had time to get an espresso. Ultimately, it is up to your mom, of course. But take it from one who has done it many times, it doesn't get much easier than MUC and everyone speaks english.

wrightsisters

I would have to drive her here from MXP due to the number of required train changes (all of which would be too much at the height of summer after a transatlantic flight), and last time I looked at flight schedules, I would probably need to go up to Milan the night before her plane arrives and spend the night at the airport to guarantee being there when her plane landed. At that point, I'm thinking I might as well go to London or France or Munich and fly with her to Genova -- and the problem is there that her projected travel dates do not allow me that kind of free time. She knows that and doesn't want me to change my schedule.

Thanks to everybody again but it is late in Italy and I should get some sleep!.

Finkface

And the flight time GOA-MUC is about 1 hour 15 minutes so that is a great option if you can fly there to meet her. It wouldn't take you long at all and you are there and back with her in half a day. And no passport control for you as they are both Schengen. Best of luck in your planning and I hope your mom does indeed make the trip. Buona notte!

wrightsisters

The English speaking issue is not so much about a missed connection in the airport as it is what happens if flights are cancelled for the day or she feels she should stop and rest -- it's about happens outside the airport if she needs to leave it. I have had taxi drivers pick me up at CDG who spoke no functional English. I have ended up in hospitals and first aid stations where doctors spoke no English. I can flub my way through several languages by taking a stab at words that might be the right ones but my mother doesn't have those chops and she wouldn't understand someone speaking to her words that you would sort of recognize and decipher. I realize that is extreme worst case scenario unlikely to happen -- although my husband and I are nowhere near as old as my mother and both of us have ended up needing medical attention in the midst of traveling so I can't tell my mother "No way that could happen!"

wrightsisters

I've looked at the flight schedules from here to Munich and back again and it is not like I can just spend 1.15 mins going each way and like I said, my mother is not accepting my changing my schedule to enable her to fly as one of the options.

Buona notte!

squeakr

•.An RJ Flight to LAX with a 6 hour wait even in a lounge is going to be exhausting. And if the RJ is late./delayed/cancelled which in my experience they often are- how will your mom navigate LAX and find another flight etc w/out a cell phone? That was my rationale for someone flying with her from Eugene
• LHR Is in an English speaking country but IMHO and experience, much more noisy, unpleasant and unhelpful than MUC or even AMS. If I had ot be stuck or confused, there are MORE employees/officials who speak English in MUC or AMS than I have experienced in LHR.
• Can your mother break up the trip into different days? EUG-LAX one day, stay at a nice airport hotel, fly to LHR on the next day, then to Genoa as planned on the day after that if you want to keep to this plan? That way any problems will have time to be sorted out.
• As I posted there are concierge services at LHR at least to help her get sorted.
• If you wanted to go UA, UA E+ is an economical alternative and would offer the space your mom might need.
• IMHO once again with my elderly mother, wheelchair services are hit and miss. What happens if the escort doesn't arrive?
What I think you MIGHT be missing is that several posters ere are making recommendations based on what happens if something goes wrong? If your mom gets lost , can't find the car service etc, where will she be MORE likely to get help. Many posters have opined that MUC is a better place to get exactly that kind of help.
In any case without a cell phone and ability to use it if there are problems your mom will be a bit more handicapped than she needs to be.
Good luck!

mromalley

I travel Canada - Europe (mostly LHR/AMS/FCO) with my 78 yr old mother 2-3 times a year and a couple things jump out at me. This trip is going to be very very tiring for her. My mum is in good shape and flies regularly (4x/mo for work) and she gets worn out on our shorter trips to Europe. Your mom's total trip time is probably about 40 hours when you include travel time to/from airports and layovers

Book directly with the airlines and all on one ticket. You will want to let the airline know at that time, that she will need wheel chair assistance. And then confirm it and reconfirm it. Make sure your mom knows to ask about the wheelchair when she checks in. They will help her navigate security and get to the right gate. It's not a matter of can she or can't she walk. It's a matter of doing what she can to save her energy.

Very doubtful that she would get an upgrade due to her age. I would purchase the highest class possible PE or Business. Absolutely at her age, there is a difference in Y & PE.

For lounge access, post in the AA forum and see if there is someone who would "guest" your mom into the lounge (if it's possible). People in the AC forum do it all the time.

Book a transfer/car service for her in London. Or check with the hotlel, They may have a car service. Get a hotel close to LGW for her. When she checks in, she can let the conceirge/front desk know that she will need a taxi for the morning. When she is ready to check out, have her call down for assistance with her luggage and she can remind them that she will need a taxi.

Make sure she has all her confirmations/travel info in one easy to access place. Including contact info for her hotels and car service. Even though I handle all the details when my mum and I travel, I type up an itinerary with all the flight numbers/times, hotel details/ confirmations, car service. It's easier for her to see everything in one document.

Have you thought about routing through Canada? or

Flying LAX - East Coast (Boston?) daytime flight (overnight) Next day - daytime flight to LHR (overnight) Flight from LGW to GEN
Good Luck

jbeckett

There are some non-stop flights between the US and LGW, for example BA from LAS, MCO, and TPA. I don't know what other airlines might have routes to LGW. This would avoid the transfer between airports in London.

Mwenenzi

Good pick up. ^
Google: Eugene to LAS https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=eu...KIOBkQXy2IGYAQ
And LAS to LGW , but poor connnections. Alaska is a BA partner

wrightsisters

thank you all!

The Las Vegas flights might actually work, and she would be comfortable spending a night in Las Vegas, and then another night at Gatwick. I had previously suggested to her that she fly to someplace in the US like Boston or NYC and spend a night or two before going transatlantic, but she first wanted to see if she could avoid that. It doesn't really appeal to her but if that turned out to be the most comfortable option, she'd be tempted.

It is always hard (at least for me, I guess) to write posts that are both concise yet convey all the info or thinking. My mother and I have only approached any air travel option from the standpoint of "what could wrong this plan?" I guess that didn't come through for some people when they read it but the main reason I posted here was to have more eyes and brains looking at "what could wrong?" It has been very helpful to have people point out a lot could go wrong leaving Heathrow in the morning to catch a flight out of Gatwick.

Of course I would be on the phone long before she was schedule to fly and during her entire transit time confirming and re-confirming arrangements for wheel chair assistance, taxi pick ups, monitoring possible flight delays, etc. My mother does have a US cellphone that she knows works in the US. Etc etc.

On the other hand, there are some things my mother knows would be totally out of her control the minute she left. Flights can be cancelled. Weather might turn the trip into chaos. Etc etc. The "perfect" plan still is vulnerable. She is factoring the possibility of dealing with stressful surprises and hasn't made her mind yet to go.

I can hear some of you are just adamant that she should fly to Munich, but of all the things that could wrong, the most serious one is that my mother becomes ill in transit and needs medical attention upon landing somewhere. Having received emergency medical attention in 3 different countries while traveling, I can testify from personal experience that finding English speaking doctors at airport medical facilities and at local hospitals is not a guarantee. Far from it.

My mother knows she would be taking a health risk by flying anywhere because she will be putting her body under unusual stress. She has been listening very carefully when I tell her what layover times are, where they occur, etc. She has rejected the notion of a traveling companion from the beginning (it was my first suggestion) because, as she pointed out: "What happens if they have to cancel or get sick?" She will only take this trip if it is one she feels she can accomplish independently without taking much more risk than she would have flying in the US.

But if she decided to go, she knows that there might be a tornado, that her cellphone might break, that she might twist her ankle on her way to the airport loo. She also knows that if she stays home a tornado might hit her house, she might get rear-ended, she could choke on a tomato alone in her kitchen. When you are 86, you get pretty good at risk assessment for yourself. What I am not going to do is push her to do things that she is not comfortable with. I don't think she is comfortable with a layover in a non-English speaking country.

wrightsisters

Hi again,

If anybody would like to throw darts at this itinerary before I talk it over with my mother later today, all thoughts are welcome and helpful:

Step 1: Three hour one-seat bus ride from Eugene to Portland airport. Board non-stop 2 hour flight to Las Vegas. Spend night in Las Vegas airport hotel.

Step 2: Board mid-day non stop flight the next day from Las Vegas to Gatwick, arrive 10am in Gatwick. Spend night at Gatwick airport hotel.

Step 3: Board 9.20 am flight from Gatwick to Genoa (2 hr duration), take taxi from there (40 minutes)

The hard part will be talking my mother out of driving herself to the Portland airport.

wrightsisters

Newest wrinkle for anyone still interested:

Last time my mother flew to Europe I had no trouble purchasing comprehensive trip insurance for her for something under $300. Now that she is over 85, my research is indicating the costs will be much higher, and perhaps beyond what my mother would be budgeting for this trip. She has nixed any idea that I would contribute to the expenses.

Her initial reaction to receiving the invitation to the family event were "Oh boy! It would be great to go." She had hoped we could repeat the same air itinerary we had 2 years ago, which she found easy. When my schedule didn't permit that, she hoped she could fly to Milan and take a train to where I live. But when she heard me describe the very difficult travel logistics of that, she realized it wouldn't be possible for her. I told her I would scout around for ways for her to get to the airport nearest to me, but she is moving in the direction of abandoning the idea as she looks at these itineraries with multiple flight connections. She said outright she wouldn't want to spoil the family event by exhausting herself getting there and worrying everybody.

Thanks to everybody for taking my mother's health as seriously as she does and kicking the tires and being vocal about possible itineraries and possible disasters choosing the wrong one. It was just the information I've been looking for and you've given my mother a lot to think about. She won't be rash with her health I am sure. That's how she got to be 87 and in fine shape.

squeakr

She doesn't need to sign if you do it online.

And I think your latest iTN is a winner!

wrightsisters

We'll see if she thinks so! My husband looked at it and said he would not take a trip like that unless he had to, not by choice. He thinks we should go visit her in the US!

I'm presently reading over the fine print of travel insurance packages for people over 85. They are offered at various prices, and I want to make sure I quote to her the price for the one where there is no question there is adequate coverage for any medical contingency. Although most emergency medical treatment in Europe is not expensive out of pocket by US standards, even for non-EU-residents, it is still not free and can get costly if complex emergency treatment were required -- or if she needed to pay hotel bills until she was well enough to resume travel, those could be awfully expensive for her out of pocket if there was no reimbursement.

She worked in a bank for 40 years in loan risk assessment so she is likely to think of these things before plunking down for air fare. She will not let me buy her any component of this trip. That is settled.

zgringo14

If she is in great shape, then wouldn't it be easier for her to just walk up to the Taxi Queue and LHR and get a Taxi to her hotel at Gatwick?

That is going to be an expensive cab ride, BTW.