LA Area To New York: Suggestions?

Matt D · Thu Jul 31, 2003 11:51 pm

Ok....I don't have a way out of this. This is a mandatory trip for me. I will need to go to New York (again) during middle October.

In the past, I have flown Continental (loved them) and National (loved them) from LAX-EWR.

But all of that was pre-9/11. And of course, N7 went down the drain.

So...since I am no longer "seasoned" or "up to date" on the airlines vís-a-vís service, who do you recommend.

Here is my criteria:

Because of where I'm staying, EWR is the ideal choice. JFK would be second choice. Even PHL would be ok. I can rent a car and drive up.

LGB is the closest airport to me.

SNA and LAX are both roughly the same distance.

But a drop off/pickup ride may require using ONT.

I am willing to spend up to $500 R/T.

I would prefer a nonstop flight

I want a meal. 5 hours on a plane, with nothing to do is a long time. Plus, it's a 'special' part of the flight experience, quality notwithstanding.

I don't care about IFE because 1) I will bring a portable CD player and 2) something to read and 3) I LOVE gazing out the window at the passing landscape below as well as the awesome cloudscapes.

And lastly, ANYONE BUT UNITED

Guest · Thu Jul 31, 2003 11:56 pm

Sounds like an SNA-EWR on CO roundtrip might suit your needs the best right now.

You definitely get a meal.

If you have to use LGB, then I guess your only choice would be Jet Blue or American to JFK. On AA, you would get a 757, instead of the A320 but I think they took out the MRTC in the AA 757's.....

Of course I am biased, but I would go with Continental hands down.

Scott4AA · Fri Aug 01, 2003 12:04 am

If you want to make the trip to LAX, and JFK. You could have an AA 777, probably the best coast to coast.

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 12:06 am

Hmmm...SNA would be cool. Never flown out of there.

What equipment do they [CO] use? Is it a 757? It would feel wierd flying on a 737 coast to coast.

andersjt · Fri Aug 01, 2003 12:22 am

A friend of mine chose LGB over LAX to JFK on AA and loved it. It was on an S-80 with MRTC. In fact, I think he only paid $700 RT for First Class. I don't know if that is still available.

AA is competing with Jet Blue on fares, and from what I have been told, the waiting area and gates for Jet Blue at LGB and JFK are a mess with too many people.

[Edited 2003-07-31 17:26:02]

UN_B732 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 12:28 am

He wants a meal! jetBlue won't do that.
I can look up AA first class fares in October from LGB.
Hold on.
-UN

Boeing757/767 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 12:33 am

I believe CO uses 737NGs on the SNA-EWR flight. I would take that one.

travelin man · Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:40 am

How about an AA 763 from LAX-EWR with MRTC + meals? That's what I'd do........

rolo987 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:41 am

If you fly into SNA, you can experience the cool take-offs because of the noise restrictions. If you fly into LAX, fly CO, I flew EWR-LAX last week and it was great.

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:41 am

What is MRTC?

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:45 am

Also, while back there, I was toying with the idea of sampling an AirTran 717 and/or a CRJ/ERJ from either Cont Ex or USAir Express.

Any one day affordable excursions you can recommend?

Can I take an AirTran 717 from LGA-ATL in the morning and return on the next flight-and not get gouged for it?

rolo987 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:46 am

More Room Throughout Coach...extra legroom on AA.

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:47 am

Thanks for the clarification.

I thought I read somewhere that AA did away with MRTC and stuffed the planes back up in an effort to become profitable.

rolo987 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:49 am

They are going to do away with it in a few years.

capt078 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 2:10 am

no question if you ask me. jetblue is what you want. it's nonstop, you get to fly out of your preferred airport (lgb), and have to go only to jfk. you get your own personal tv with the best flight attendants. so you don't get a meal. airplane food stinks anyway. why not just pick something up in the long beach airport.
it would be nice to fly aa's 777, but that flight out of lax probably costs a fortune.

thunder9 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 2:17 am

Matt D --

AA is putting two rows back into the 757 fleet, adding twelve seats (A300's are getting seats put back, too). 757 capacity will be F-22 Y-168. The reconfigured cabins will be entering service this fall, and the fleet will be reconfigured by spring '04. Apparently, these a/c will be placed on routed where there is less business travel/higher yield fares. If these planes are to be used on the leisure routes, they might as well make the F cabin smaller to have more "cheap seats" to fill. Confused

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 2:28 am

Well it sounds to me like it's either going to be Cont out of SNA or B6 out of LGB.

However, I'm not all that interested in PTV's (gasp!) that B6 has. I already told you what my form of IFE is.

But LGB has pretty slim pickin's in terms of available food. Even if I grab something before going to the airport, you're looking at another 2 or 3 hours (drive time, plus wait time), plus the actual flight. That's 8 hours between meals! Do they serve ANYTHING?

Yikes.

mech24 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 2:32 am

Delta has 3 LAX-JFK flights:

Flight 202:757, movie and breakfast
Flight 1991:767-300ER, movie and lunch
Flight 322:757, movie and dinner

WNfan · Fri Aug 01, 2003 2:51 am

I'm itching to fly jetBlue, and the idea of having live TV on a new all-leather A320 is exciting to me. Plus they are the fare leader in the market. I wish I were in your shoes so I could try jetBlue.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

Ikarus · Fri Aug 01, 2003 2:59 am

Fly VS on LAX-LHR-EWR. Big grin

$500 limit? Too bad, that might have to be stretched a bit. At least you get everything else you asked for: food, service, things to look at outside the window (Greenland). And, shock, horror, you'd actually have to leave the continental United Kingdom of America.... Big grin

Besides, I bet you never saw rain in summer, living in LA, so it would actually further your horizons of experience! Big grin

STT757 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 6:35 am

Im flying EWR-LAX, SAN-EWR in August with my girlfriend on CO.

I have from EWR to LAX, SFO, SEA on CO a few times and the service is always excellent.

Mike77 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 7:17 am

I am an AAdvantage member with a gazillion miles, have flown DL, CO, UA and most other airlines, but I will always choose JetBlue if possible. I flew them for the first time earlier this month (JFK-LAS) and absolutely fell in love with their product! They have the friendliest staff & cleanest planes. And I know you said that the DirecTV is unimportant to you, but that for me was the biggest selling point. I watched that TV for 5 straight hours. The F/A's made the trip a lot of fun and were attentive from take-off to landing. These are some of the quietest, most comfortable planes. I live much closer to SFO, but now deal with the drive to OAK just to fly JetBlue. They don't serve a meal, but the plentiful snacks and drinks were enough to keep me happy (eventhough I did inhale 4 Krispy Kremes while at JFK!).

If you just MUST have a meal, I would go with AA or CO. I have been especially pleased with CO service lately.

jcs17 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 7:36 am

Matt, I'd take Midwest Airlines from LAX if I was you, I'm sure theyll be under $500 to EWR (through MKE). You'll probably be able to fly on a 717 on the MKE-EWR-MKE leg (MD-88 to MKE), the seats are 2-2 instead of 3-2, leather, very comfortable (especially on the 717), and even with Midwest's service cuts they are hands and feet above the other US majors (I flew them DFW-MKE-LGA/EWR-MKE-DFW in Mar.). The food will be great, better than anything else anyone will offer....

ei a330-200 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 8:51 am

I flew LAX-EWR on CO, and they use a 737-800. It is absolutely the worst flight I have ever had. There is very little seat room (my hips were very squished, and I'm not an overly large person) The seat recline is great, except that the seats are sooooo close together that you get hit in the nose if you don't recline before the person in front of you. As for the meal, when we flew out to EWR, we got a "meatloaf" sandwich (tasted like a bad burger to me) and on the way back we got a "cheeseburger" (same thing as going to EWR, only with cheese)!!! The F/A told me that this was par for CO's operations. If you have a choice, don't use the 737NG! BTW My flight dates were 7/8-7/23.

I flew AA's MD-80 LAX-EWR via ORD and DFW, and it was very pleasant, but the meal was skimpy!

Brian

txagkuwait · Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:05 am

I don't think the 737NG is a bad choice, contrary to the previous poster. It all depends on how much space the air carrier allocates to Y passengers. The below mentioned flights will have 33.75" pitch compared to 30" or so in the coach (aka "steerage") compartment on the erstwhile major carriers.

That being the case, here's my suggestion. You didn't put down the exact dates...I plugged in leave on 16 Oct and return on 21 Oct, I imagine you could get the same fare on other dates.

Depart Oct 16 Thu 1 LAX-ISP WN2575 Depart Los Angeles (LAX) at 12:00 PM
Arrive in Islip (ISP) at 9:30 PM
Return Oct 21 Tue 1 ISP-LAX WN85 Depart Islip (ISP) at 4:00 PM
Arrive in Los Angeles (LAX) at 8:25 PM

Price: $217.50 includes all taxes and fees.

Take the $282.50 you said you could spend (you said 500 bucks) and buy some GOOD food to take on the plane.

With what's left over go shopping in NYC.

My wife flies from ELP to ISP 3 or 4 times a year to do Broadway etc etc, and swears by Islip. The train ride into the city is frequent, convenient, and not outrageously expensive.

Those are both one stops with no change of plane, so you get 4 takeoffs and landings for the price of two.

A330Fan1 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:30 am

Sleep on jetBlue rednight flight...I think it leaves Long Beach or Ontario at midnight or so, and arrives at NY in the morning - so you will be fresh and awake, and you will not have wasted a day of travelling...I hear that the A320s have great, leather seats - and TV so you can wake up before landing in JFK and catch up on the news Smile/happy/getting dizzy

-Regards,
A330Fan1

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:33 am

Hmmm....decisions decisions....

Thanks for all the input so far.

hmmm...ISP?

That's an awfully long drive from where I'm going to be (Staten Island).

Speaking of the CO 737NG's, how do they compare to the CO 757's-which I have flown numerous times in the past?

Also, what about my "day trip" idea-to sample RJ and/or 717 service in a one day R/T?

STT757 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:44 am

"That's an awfully long drive from where I'm going to be (Staten Island)."

Speaking as someone born on Staten Island EWR is your "only" choice, that's unless you want to spend 2 1/2-3 hours in "Summer traffic" heading out to JFK or Islip on Long Island.

And forget about going to LGA from Staten Island, the best route brings you past EWR on the Turnpike. NYC's MTA Transit authoirty runs commuter buses from Mid Town to Staten Island, they go through New Jersey on the Turnpike to get to Mid-Town.

Staten Island is really New Jersey, a long time ago a sail boat race was lost by the New Jersey "British" Governor who "wagered" Staten Island as part of bet with the British "Governor" of NY. And so the story goes.

You can see Staten Island from EWR, it's about 1-2 miles from EWR to Goethals Bridge.

STT757 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:46 am

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:48 am

Yeah, I know the proximity of the airports to Staten Island. I've stayed there several times before. I'm going because one of my closest friends is going to be getting married....and I'm going to have a part IN the wedding. So I'm going to be there for about two weeks. I've driven from SI to all three airports to do photo shoots. Going to LGA and back in the middle of the day actually wasn't that bad. Remember, I live in SoCal, so I know what traffic is like. If you can handle the 91 eastbound through Santa Ana Canyon at 1700 on a Friday, you can handle anything (thank God for FASTRACK though).

STT757 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:51 am

"thank God for FASTRACK though"

Is that California's version of Ez pass? When did they introduce that, the Port Authority introduced Ez pass to the Staten Island crossing back in '94-'95.

rolo987 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 10:00 am

I have not flown on CO 737NGs, but I did fly on 2 CO 757s last week. The meals were great, 2 movies plus short programming. I was very impressed with the service. Although if I had my choice and flew on CO, I would make sure I was on 757s.

STT757 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 10:01 am

You can always fly to EWR through IAH on CO, and get on one of their 767-200s, 767-400s or 777s.

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 10:01 am

I'm guessing it is. You sign up with the service and link it to a credit card or your bank account. You then get a small plastic transponder (about 3" wide by 3" long and about .25" thick) that you affix to your lower windshield. There are "readers" suspended overhead on various parts of the freeway that "read" your card when you pass under them, and then your account is debited. You have to pay a minimum balance each month, and then when that prepaid amount is spent, your account is automatically rebilled.

STT757 · Fri Aug 01, 2003 12:59 pm

Yeah that's EZ-pass, they have them now at JFK and LGA (coming soon to EWR) to pay for parking. There's also a Mcdonalds at a rest stop on the Garden State Parkway near Montclair that accepts EZ-pass payment at their drive thru windows.

tekelberry · Fri Aug 01, 2003 1:37 pm

Do you have any specific dates? It will be easier to track down the lowest fare for you that way.

Matt D · Fri Aug 01, 2003 9:08 pm

I was thinking of the following dates:

LA-NYC: either Oct 11 or 13

return Oct 27

Matt D · Sat Aug 02, 2003 1:20 am

I found CO for $287 R/T.

Can anyone beat that?

I've also been browsing around, I'm thinking I'll also take two one-day turnaround trips.

First, on AirTran, from EWR-ATL.

I'm having a harder time finding a CRJ flight.

Where does USAir fly it's CRJ's from out of LGA?

Are there any other CRJ flights (besides United) out of either LGA or EWR (preferred) that I can take?

WMUPilot · Sat Aug 02, 2003 4:04 am

Tried ATA though MDW or IND from LAX?

Matt D · Sat Aug 02, 2003 4:37 am

ATA is, in my opinion, a fleabag. I won't even consider them.

Mike77 · Sat Aug 02, 2003 5:13 am

Yeah, ATA is a bunch 'o junk. I flew them from SFO - MIA earlier this summer and it was the eqivalent of shopping at a flea market. I avoid them from now on. JetBlue or Continental all the way!!!!

Fly_ATA · Sat Aug 02, 2003 5:19 am

ATA is hardly fleabag...brand new aircraft...all leather seating... adjustable headrests...inlfight entertainment....and less expensive. What the hell does "bunch o' junk " mean anyway ...grow up already mr. respect rating "0"

capt078 · Sat Aug 02, 2003 5:27 am

nonstop flights are always preferable. you have to consider security wait times, flight times, arrival airports...

for the original poster: you should weigh which is more important to you: landing in ewr but leaving from a less desireable airport, or leaving from lgb, but landing in jfk.

if you would rather land at ewr and want a nonstop, then you have to take continental (which is fine). but if you find leaving from long beach to be the most important thing, then take jetblue.

i would take jetblue anyway, they really are the best. plus, as a previous poster mentioned, they have a great red-eye flight. you jump on the plane, fall asleep, wake-up the next morning and feel much better (definitely better than wasting daylight hours traveling). and as i have mentioned before, airplane food should be something of last resort. i'm sure you can find far superior nourishment at/near lgb before departure.

Guest · Sat Aug 02, 2003 5:48 am

Matt the 73G's are not too bad for the cross-country flight. You will not notice a severe difference between that and the 757-200.

The time and hassle you would save out of SNA would be well worth it.....Not to mention that fare you found. I would book it ASAP to make sure those seats don't get snagged.

One tip, though. I would definitely call and make sure you are not in one of the last three rows. They do tend to get a little cramped back there due to the curvature of the airplane.

You can check out www.seatguru.com for more details on CO's (and everyone else's) jets.

Hope you choose Continental.

spirit MD-80 · Sat Aug 02, 2003 6:32 am

With jetBlue super fare you can fly from LGB-ONT-SNA-OAK to JFK for $210.00 RT, get your self a big meal with the money you will safe flying jetblue, before boarding the flight the flight attendants are very attentive you will get a snack throu out the flight watch TV for the 5 hrs and before you know it you are in NY. And upon arrival in NYC again treat yourself to another Big meal in the City. Purchase the tickets throu their web site. If not go with Continental in to EWR.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!
Smile

jjbiv · Sat Aug 02, 2003 8:22 am

ATA: "fleabag" and "bunch 'o junk"?

While I agree ATA may not be the optimum airline for this particular trip, please tell me not everyone thinks so little of the airline we're working so hard to reinvent day by day...

joe

Matt D · Sat Aug 02, 2003 9:57 am

After carefully thinking things through, and reading your input, along with my needs and past experiences, I have decided to go with:

(drum roll please)

Continental (SNA-EWR)

I'm sure that B6 is a good airline, but driving from JFK to Staten Island is going to be a bitch. And there isn't really a thing to eat anywhere near LGB. EWR is perfect, only 20 minutes away.

Plus, I've always had a special spot in my heart for CO..

I've had nothing but great things to say about them before. Hopefully I will again.

teahan · Sat Aug 02, 2003 10:12 am

Matt D,

I fully understand your criteria but I simply cannot understand why you refuse to consider JetBlue? You last flying experience was pre-911 so why not open your mind and let your first one now be with a different airline.

Total fare of $210 on either dates, plenty of flight options, airport that is nearest to you and all with an airline that gets the best ratings around. As for not getting proper food for 8 hours, you are hardly going to starve are you?

Jer

teahan · Sat Aug 02, 2003 10:14 am

And I didn't read your last message before posting. Sad

Jeremiah

Matt D · Sat Aug 02, 2003 11:18 pm

It's not that I didn't consider the Jet Blue. They were one of my final choices.

What made the difference was the time of the flight, the destination airport, getting a ride to the drop off airport, past experience, and yes, the meal.

The fare differential was negligible, so that didn't matter. Jet Blue also has the PTV's. Big friggin' deal. I don't watch all that much TV at home (not counting movies, I probably watch no more than an hour or so of "off the air" TV a month...yes.. a MONTH). So why would I need to on a plane? I'll bring some music, a book, and gaze out the window. To me, that's quality entertainment enough.

Now I'm going to look into sampling an AirTran 717 while back there as well as taking a CRJ flight somewhere (which no one has been able to help on).

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