Convergence Planning (with additional Elvis wedding in Vegas)

[inulro]

I need to book our flights soon - partly so if they're expensive we can start paying; mostly so that when our co-workers moan that we don't have children in school & therefore shouldn't be going on holiday in August we can say "but we booked ours first".

Some preliminary research indicates that Air France is the best option. The advantages are:

1. We can fly from Bristol, avoiding the 2-hour journey to Heathrow. This is particularly advantageous on the return journey.

2. By changing planes in Paris, we avoid having to see our luggage during the transfer. On the other hand, the flight to SLC leaves Paris at 11:00 am, necessitating a Stupid O'Clock start here (which is routine on transatlantic flights). I have checked the price of airport hotels near Charles de Gaulle and they're not all as expensive as you might think, even with the Euro beating the pound into a bloody pulp situation, so we could take a late flight out of Bristol and get up at a civilised hour for the main part of the journey.

The Air France option means catching a connecting flight to Vegas from SLC. This isn't as bad as it sounds, considering the only direct flight from England to Vegas appears to be with Virgin Atlantic and is Not Cheap, and the Air France option still gets us in to Vegas at a reasonable hour.

I looked into the direct flight to New York from Bristol but then there's a load of really annoying connections to make, at every one of which I'd have to see my luggage, and total transit time = more than the Air France option with the overnight stay at CDG.

Plus, all my experiences of flying with US-based airlines have been bad ones.

I'm going to start talking to travel agents next weekend to see what kind of deals are to be had.

The Questions

1. Getting from Vegas to Park City - I wasn't planning on renting a car till we finish in Park City. Can I be fairly safe in assuming there will be enough people driving from Vegas to Park City that we'd be able to get a lift? We don't both have to go in the same car, can drive and will obviously pay gas money.

2. If the Air France plan doesn't work out, which US airlines are least bad? and which US airports are least awful to have to transfer at? We were pleasantly surprised by Detroit when we had to go through there after our airline went under in the 9/11 aftermath, but that's the only one where I've ever changed flights.

Comments

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

If you go with the flying option, look seriously at taking Southwest Airlines. It's cattle-call seating, but they still treat their customers like customers, the first bag (or maybe two) is free, and they're quick and efficient and on-time and usually very reasonably priced, especially for one-ways. I'm probably flying a three-leg (HOU-LAS-SLC-HOU) with them.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

If we can't get a ride we're either going to rent a car or Greyhound it from LV to SLC because we really want to see the landscape.

[lil-m-moses.livejournal.com]

I'm an unfan of American through Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). I've had so many problems with them there that as long as I am in Houston where I'll have to go through Dallas if I fly them, I will not be flying with them. They're fine through Chicago. I am also an unfan of United Airlines in general. They have a bad habit of canceling flights, and they're shitty to their employees, and this has been going on for decades. Continental is my current second favorite airline (to Southwest), as they too still treat their customers like customers, and they have a pretty good record of on-time and pleasant flight experiences for me, including on my recent transatlantic trip. Internationally, I also liked KLM, but that was also 10 years ago, and my international experience is very limited.

The new Detroit airport is probably one of the better ones to run through. Atlanta is huge and can get messy, though they seem to do relatively well given the airport's size. Hate DFW with a passion. Chicago O'Hare is really bad when it's bad but fine when it's not; on balance I'd avoid it if possible. Minneapolis is good. Houston Intercontinental is mediocre. I can't speak for any of the northeast airports, though.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

That probably explains why United comes up as the cheapest option for anywhere I want to go in North (or indeed South) America, but with so many stopovers it takes days.

I completely forgot that I changed once in LaGuardia in 1990 (I had 15 minutes and made it) and in Newark three years ago (fine; except that Contninental overbooked our flight and we very nearly didn't get home; which is why I'm not keen on giving Continental repeat business despite everything else being pretty good).