Host Mike

Before you pull the trigger, check out Iceland Air.  They team with JetBlue in the U.S. and generally have good fares.

You are correct in your findings.  The low cost EU airlines can be OK when not traveling with luggage and you don't care where you sit.

Pretty much same as US Spirit or Frontier but a bit more reliable.

While this topic is open, I have 2 questions.

I'm flyting BA/AA from PRG to RDU.  Flying into LHR T3 and connecting flight is also from T3 the next morning. (15 hours)

I see the Hilton Garden that says T2 and 3 but not clear how far.  Then also Aerotel.  Any thoughts?

Second question.  Last time I flew this route (pre covid) my bag was checked in all the way to RDU and I didn't have to claim and recheck at LHR so they kept it all night.  Is anyone aware if this is still within their policy?

Thanks

I have done pretty much all those options from PRG to ATL.

In your case I would tip the scale to the AA/BA option.

Americans PE class is a domestic first-class seat.  I do recommend the bulkhead.  While I tend to give more kudos to AA PE class over BA, I wouldn’t sell BA short.  It’s still a good seat and a far cry better than economy.  Again, I would still recommend bulkhead.

East bound having the long haul going directly into Munich is a nice option.  Returning the morning flight out of PRG has always been hassle free for me and you arrive and depart from terminal 3 at LHR (when I traveled, however I know this can change)

I recently used Iceland Air.  They have one way fares and in some cases you can get their style of business class for less than an economy on the legacy carriers.

They also offer the option to stopover at no additional charge

My understanding is you will buy 2 round trips but split them.

Example – San Diego to London on January 1 and return June 15

Then you have another ticket London to San Diego January 15 then back to London June 1.

When I lived in the States traveling to Prague I did this a lot.  At one point I had 3 tickets on 3 different airlines.

I had the same thing happen with Iceland Air.  I googled for a phone number reachable from Prague and the number I called was not them ( though they even answered the phone that way).

I didn't get far down the path because the price they quoted me was higher than what I saw on line.  Something just seemed to be off.

I then went to Icelands website and found a totally different number.

I fly these routes fairly often between US and CZ via Paris and Amsterdam.  Between the SkyMiles Holy Trinity of Delta, KLM, and AF.   Delta has a superior business class (Delta One) and premium economy (Premium Select) above the other two.

As far as CVG - I thought DL started the Paris flight up again?  That would give you a single connection.  Tampa not any options there

Dan - You can use the AA lounges at US airports since you are flying international business. 

At LHR, if you are in a terminal that has a Qantas or Cathay Pacific, you can use these and I recommend them over the BA lounge.

I prefer Finn and the HEL airport.

Clean planes, comfortable cabin and great service. That route from JFK was a midnight flight in the winter and I believe around 7PM now. The food is good – (from JFK kitchen so pretty much same as AA or BA). Returning out of HEL it is much better.

Try the Blue-Sky cocktail (blueberry liquor and champaign). It is better than it sounds.

Flying business you can use the lounge in HEL which is great.

I have flown them numerous times. The only downfall (albeit it may not be the case now) was it arrived and departed having to use steps and not jetway.

Going to Oslo, if you can it’s better on the Finn main line. The Cityhopper and Nordic are their regional carriers and while doable for this short distance, isn’t any more than the small plane routes you find with the legacy carriers in the States.

Yep.  Just came back from Heathrow.  Both going and returning there were delays.  On the arrival flight last Tuesday we had to sit on the plane for an hour because they didn't have anyone to bring the jet way to the plane.

You can pick a seat now, but it will cost a fee.  You will find that option be going to your reservation on BA site.  For that you will need your BA record locator. (If you booked through another like AA)

If the one leg of that is RDU to CLT, I wouldn't expect much there.  Wheels up to down is very short.

My adult son bought a ticket from EWR to DEN for his new job.  To save a few bucks he booked Spirit.  Hey, what does Dad know?

I should add on flight day, after he paid all the fees he would have paid the same had he took a United non stop.  But again, he knew.

So, he flew to ATL where he knew he had a 7-hour layover.  This was on the Sunday when all this started.  One hour before his flight to DEN, it was cancelled.  Then the agent announced they all needed to go to the main ticket counter and turned off the lights and left.

No hotel just told he would get on next available Spirit flight (there never was one) and told he would get some kind of refund, but he needed to call Spirit the next day to even see how much.

The kid being broke, all of a sudden Dad became pretty smart.  Problem was I was in Prague CZ.

So, I sit there and book, buy a ticket on Delta set to leave 4 hours from then.  Told him to get his luggage from Spirit and head to Delta Kiosk and don’t look back.

As it ends up, two of his three bags were overweight, But the two Delta agents adopted him and literally helped repack everything to make it all right.

End of story – he got to Denver.  Additional end, I will trust the legacy carriers even when they have IROPS or hiccups along the way.

Morale of the story – Listen to your parents even if you think 24 is too old to do so.

I use a CPAP but never on the plane.

I shoot the Afrin up my nose and put on a breath-rightstrip. Since I am in just asemi-reclined position, when I drift off it seems to be fine.

Or at least when I wake up there isn’t a bunch of passengers staring me down.

Trust me - Delta does not do this on all flights. I find myself sitting on a Delta flight 2-4 times a week. It's only highly competitive routes like Orlando and Vegas for example.

Is Senior Frogs back up and running?

I have been hosting this board for 15 years. During that time I admired how she could get right down to the nitty gritty of the concerns of other CC members and is so many ways saved people money and convenience with her advice. People would actually come on here just to seek her out.

Thank you for the update. I feel like I have lost a co-host.

Mike

Moving this thread back up as requested.

Threads that are inactive for 90 days are released but remain on the board.

Moving this thread back up as requested.

Threads that are inactive for 90 days are released but remain on the board.

This thread is exclusively for those wishing to post questions and updates on when rate windows will open only.

Information posted elsewhere will be dropped here.

Likewise - posts that are not specifically on this topic will be deleted from this thread.

Thanks

Mike

***Note - There were posts for Jet Blue and South West on this board - however in setting this up I lost them. Please feel free to re-post your information here.

I will stick this thread to the top once it gets started.

*** This thread will drop posts over 90 days old.

This is set up for question and answers.