Finally, the world is reopening and transatlantic travel is now allowed for non-US residents. Although several flights from the UK to the USA continued, they were exclusively for American residents and essential workers. Last year, we were in Las Vegas when we suddenly had to cut our trip short and return home.
So, we now have the chance to pick up where we left off and return to the USA. However, many things have changed since then. As we look at the flight booking sites, several airlines have significantly reduced or stopped routes. Surprisingly, one new flight operator has moved in.
But which transatlantic airline should we choose? If we ignore the airline codeshares and alliances, the main options from the UK include the following. These all offer direct routes to the US.
British Airways
Based at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport, British Airways is one of the major airlines flying transatlantic routes. As members of the One World alliance, they codeshare with several airlines. If you book with American, Iberia or Finnair, you will probably be flying with British Airways.
We are not fans of their service on European flights. However, we have been impressed by the service on the US routes. Their fleet of planes may not be the newest and the company’s image may not be as ‘cool’ as others. But our experience of the BA staff and service has been excellent. Even the food and drink onboard was pretty good.
We flew with BA when we had to cut our last US trip short and would not hesitate to book with them again.
American Airlines
Anecdotally we have not heard good reports of American Airlines. We have only flown on their transatlantic route once, a very long time ago. If their American domestic service is anything to go by, we would be reluctant to book with them.
We flew with American Airlines from LA to Chicago. It was not a pleasant experience with generally rude staff. We think there are just better options out there.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic used to be our favourite transatlantic airline. It still is for many families jetting off to Disney and Florida. Also, the Virgin Clubhouse their business lounge is one of the best at Heathrow. But the last few flights we’ve taken with them have not been a good experience. There have been very long delays due to issues with aircraft and the staff were not good dealing with the resulting situations. They seemed to be a bit of “Style over Substance”.
We would consider them again if the price and flights were right. Although, they are no longer our first choice.
Delta
The US airline Delta work in partnership with Virgin, Delta owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic. They also work closely with KLM and Air France as part of the SkyTeam alliance.
We have not flown with Delta from the UK but have flown with them around the US. They are based in Atlanta and have many hubs across the country. This extensive network is one advantage of flying with Delta especially if you need to get somewhere not served by a direct UK flight.
United
United are another US airline that operates over 40 weekly flights to the UK. When choosing airlines, US companies have rarely been top of our list. Generally, the standard of flights across the Atlantic seem to be lacking when compared to Asian Airlines.
We have only flown with United once and it was quite a long time ago. Although looking at the recent reviews of their UK flights does not inspire confidence. We know people like to rant when posting on review sites. Nevertheless, you do get a sense of the overall standards.
Again, not an airline we would put on the top of our list. We would shop around first.
JetBlue
JetBlue is the ‘new kid on the block‘ when it comes to transatlantic flights. Despite the current situation, JetBlue has pressed ahead with its planned flights from JFK to London. We know that the choice of routes is very limited at the moment. Although, they plan to add the UK to Boston soon.
We have been impressed with JetBlue’s service within the USA, especially their Mint Suites. As a result, we are looking forward to trying their transatlantic flights. They are using the relatively small A321LR for this route which has only 114 seats and 24 suites.
Overall
We would probably book our next flight with British Airways but would seriously consider the Jet Blue Mint Suites.
One option we did not discuss was the Aer Lingus route via Dublin. Although this is not direct, you do get US pre-clearance at Dublin airport. If you have any experience of US immigration then you would know what an advantage this is.
