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  #1  
Old 9th July 2016, 12:05 PM
Adam.S Adam.S is offline
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Default USA - Domestic Airlines?

Hello,
(Apologies if this is the wrong forum for these questions)

I am planning an upcoming trip to America later this year and having never flown domestically there; I am just seeking advice and recommendations as to which airlines to choose and/or avoid.

*I will be flying Los Angeles to New York return, not on the same day as my inbound and outbound international flights.

*Most likely choosing LAX-JFK, but will consider other local airports as an option.

*Flying in economy, in-flight entertainment is fairly high on my list of priority's for the 6 hour flights.
After looking through the various airline's websites I get a little confused as I see some IFE is an optional extra (fee) as is checked luggage.

At the moment my top 3 choices are AA, JetBlue and Virgin America.

American Airlines:
I believe all the new A321s that operate the cross-country route have seat-back IFE (fee) and Wi-Fi (fee) and $25 per bag checked luggage.

Virgin America:
$25 per bag checked luggage and free Wi-Fi/IFE.

JetBlue:
1st checked bag free and free IFE and free basic Wi-Fi

Does the above sound correct?
What are your recommendations and past experiences?

Cheers,
Adam

Last edited by Adam.S; 9th July 2016 at 02:59 PM.
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  #2  
Old 9th July 2016, 03:18 PM
Peter S. Peter S. is offline
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Which airline are you flying into LA? Is this already booked? I gather not QF nor AA?

Are you flying from LAX or be in another part of LA?
Which NYC airport for arrival?

JetBlue & Virgin America both good solid products.
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  #3  
Old 10th July 2016, 03:06 AM
Justin L Justin L is offline
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Agree that JetBlue and Virgin America are solid choices.

You also have the option of United to Newark which is easily accessible to New York City by rail. United offer free IFE via their app.

JetBlue no longer automatically offers first check bag free. Their Blue fare doesn't include a bag, but their Blue Plus fare does. The difference between these two fares is usually $15 so it still works out cheaper than buying a bag on another carrier.

With JetBlue you have the option of flying out of LAX and LGB (Long Beach) nonstop to JFK. LGB can be particularly convenient if you are staying in the Anaheim/Orange County area and is a smaller airport and very pleasant since the total rebuild.

If you are not concerned on accruing miles for an Australian airline program, then JetBlue would be my choice.
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02-05MAY LAS-ATL-LIT-LAS WN
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  #4  
Old 10th July 2016, 03:34 AM
Justin L Justin L is offline
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One more option I forgot to mention, JetBlue also flies nonstop to JFK from Burbank airport in LA. Burbank airport is closer to the Hollywood area than LAX.
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  #5  
Old 10th July 2016, 02:36 PM
Adam.S Adam.S is offline
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Thank you all for your above replies, I appreciate your time.

Good to hear JetBlue and Virgin America get a positive response.
American Airlines - not quite up to the level of these other two carriers?

No I haven't booked any airfares yet, although I will be flying with Qantas for the flights to/from Australia.

I am a member of both Qantas' and Virgin's Frequent flyer programs, which is why I am leaning towards AA and Virgin America ahead of flying with United.

I am open to using airports other then LAX and JFK, in the end it mainly depends on airfare price.
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  #6  
Old 10th July 2016, 08:47 PM
Greg McDonald Greg McDonald is offline
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If you're intend to use points, don't fly Qantas to/from Aus. They're 'fees and charges' that you need to pay in addition to the points are absolutely poison!! By far the most expensive charges of any international airline flying out of Aus.
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  #7  
Old 11th July 2016, 08:15 AM
Justin L Justin L is offline
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AA are fine, and if you are leaning to towards airlines with affiliations with either QF or VA, don't forget Delta (DL) also partner with VA and offer a good product (and also offer complimentary IFE through screens or your device).
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Next Trips:
29-31MAR LAS-ANC/FAI-ANC-LAS AS
08-09APR LAS-SNA-LAS WN
10-29APR LAS-LAX-SYD-ADL-MEL-ADL-KGC-ADL-MEL-SYD-LAX-LAS AA/QF/VA
02-05MAY LAS-ATL-LIT-LAS WN
11-12MAY LAS-DEN/CYS-DEN-LAS UA
18-19MAY LAS-DFW-BRO/HOU-LAS AA/WN
25-27MAY LAS-GEG/MSO-LAS WN/G4
08-09JUN LAS-PDX-LAS AS
21-24JUN LAS-GJT-LAS G4
04-08JUL LAS-SEA-ANC-ADQ-ANC-SEA-LAS AS
17-18AUG LAS-SEA-KTN-SEA-LAS AS
29AUG-03SEP LAS-MSP-TVC-DFW-LAS SY/AA
28-29SEP LAS-DEN-LAS UA
08-11NOV LAS-EWR/BTV-ORD-LAS UA
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  #8  
Old 11th July 2016, 10:36 AM
David Knudsen David Knudsen is offline
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I was over back in 2013 and flew around on US Airways who were very good (but obviously they are now AA). I found the non-direct routing to be much cheaper than direct flights, for example it was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper to go First Class from Las Vegas to Newark via Phoenix with a 1 hour stop over than it was to go direct LAX-JFK in economy! The transfer process was simple, bags were checked straight through and you are given both boarding passes when you check in for the first flight.
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  #9  
Old 11th July 2016, 03:22 PM
Radi K Radi K is offline
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I'd look at Delta as has already been suggested. Probably the pick of USA domestic carriers in the past few years. Most LAX-JFK flights are wide-body (A330/B767) and the IFE is free now as Justin said.

Depends where you are staying but if it's on manhattan I actually prefer to fly to Newark as you can catch the train straight to Penn Station. You can do the same from JFK but it's a bit more of an effort.
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  #10  
Old 12th July 2016, 06:57 PM
Adam.S Adam.S is offline
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Thankyou for these replies.
I appreciate your information and advice. A great help!
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