jayceeohh

Hi there,
Myself, my Wife and two teenage sons are flying to New York from LCY Aug 2014, spending one night there and need to fly to LAX late morning / early afternoon the following day. Looking online I note that Delta and United seem to have very similar pricing right now (circa £115). I'd prefer to fly American if possible as that would allow for points and miles to be added to my BAEC a/c. However the cost for American right now if much higher than the other two.

I'm unsure which of the two airlines I should choose? Cost is the main criteria, hence discounting American. But what are the services like from JFK and Newark? Is there any difference in the services offered? Also, does anyone who fly's this route regularly know if the current price is pretty much as low as it'll get?

Any thoughts, comments or help anyone can offer will be gratefully received.

Many thanks in advance,

Jay

guv1976

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What class of service for the NYC-LAX flight?

guv1976

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Also, are you using miles/Avios for the LCY-JFK flight? If not, you should price LCY-LAX with a connection via JFK. On international itineraries, you can have a connection of up to 24 hours, so LCY-JFK (BA), JFK-LAX (AA) might price out reasonably if purchased as an LCY-LAX ticket.

Analise

If cost is the main concern, have you looked at JetBlue? Better coach seating plus cable TV.

guv1976

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Is JetBlue taking reservations this far in advance for next August?

jayceeohh

Thanks for the comments already. I'll be flying economy for this leg of the journey. I hadn't considered extending the ticket down to LAX. My flights to and from the US are via BA AMEX 241 and Avios so whether I could change this now I'm not sure but I'll contact the BAEC to check.

By the looks of JetBlue's website, they're only taking booking up to mid June right now.

Any further tips and comments on the relative merits of Delta or United will be welcomed.

Cheers,

Jay

wanymayold

In case you are still going to book the nyc-lax separately, you may not want to rush to book. There is good chance that the price may go down a bit from now till your travel. Also, keep an eye on fare sale. Earlier, this year, Virgin America had some sales for their new sfo-ewr route, and United matched the price quickly.

unifer

There are lots of sales for transcon flights - one good site is The Flight Deal - pay attention there and see what pops up!

guv1976

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Since all travel on a 2-4-1 must be on BA metal, you would have to forego the 2-4-1 if you wanted to purchase LCY-JFK-LAX on BA/AA as a single ticket.

I echo the comment about not being in a hurry to purchase the NYC-LAX segment yet. I think that for Coach travel, JetBlue would be superior to DL and UA. In addition, JetBlue allows each passenger to check one bag at no charge; DL/UA will charge for the first bag, unless one has status (or certain credit cards). JetBlue also offers nonstops not just to LAX, but also to BUR and LGB, which might be convenient for you, depending on where you are heading in Southern California.

If you do not have to fly on a nonstop, you can also consider one-stop flights from JFK, EWR, or LGA. Southwest Airlines, which is not yet selling seats for August, 2014, serves both LGA and EWR, and offers two free checked bags per passenger. But Southwest does not offer IFE or food (even for purchase) on board -- only drinks and peanuts.

Once Southwest and JetBlue start selling seats for August, that might -- or might not -- put downward pressure on the fares offered by the Big Three.

wrp96

One thing to think about is that if you have checked bags, on most of these airlines you will have to pay baggage fees. If you have status with BA, the fees could be waived on American so that might change the cost differential.

Also, when choosing airports consider ease of transportation and cost of transportation, which could vary depending on where you will be in NYC.

At this point though it's probably best to wait to book the flights and keep watching. AA might come down in price for the flights you want.

jayceeohh

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll keep an eye out on prices in the coming months in the knowledge that there's a chance of some bargains between now and August. Knowing that JetBlue and SouthWest allow free checked bag(s) provides another option that I'd not considered up to now, recognising that AA would have to come down quite a bit from the current ticket price to justify, even with my Status.

Cheers,

Jay

cbn42

Delta and United are about the same. Nothing special about either of them, or American for that matter.

Virgin and JetBlue have a higher standard of service, and JetBlue allows you to check in a bag free of charge. Southwest allows two bags, but they don't have nonstop flights on that route.

I agree that prices will likely come down in a few months.

MS02113

Delta Economy Comfort passengers enjoy complimentary beer, wine, spirits, premium snacks, HBO programming, and new-release movies, along with extra legroom and recline, on the carrier's three transcontinental routes (JFK-LAX included). Though Economy Comfort seats command a modest up-charge, I don't believe any other domestic airline offers similar perks in the economy cabin.

alphaod

My preference for the route is JetBlue mostly due to good seats and on-board amenities. Never flown Southwest or whatever, but I don't think they even have this route.

However for sake of earning miles, especially when I'm flying in from aboard (connecting/stopover), I fly UA. I don't fly AA/DL being if I'm not going to earn miles I'll be flying B6.

cbn42

JetBlue has most of those amenities in economy class, except the alcohol. UA and AA also have economy plus (or whatever it's called) with extra legroom, although the other amenities may vary.

OP, are you interested in paying more for premium economy, or do you just want regular?