wishing you could go all the way (in J)

The new reasonably priced all premium class airlines now flying between the U.S. and London's small alternative airports are a great innovation. MaxJet flies 757s outfitted with 102 business class seats from JFK, IAD, LAX, and LAS to London Stansted. Eos flies 757s with 48 lie-flat first class seats between JFK and Stansted. And Silverjet equips widebody 767s with only 100 flat bed seats on its route between EWR and Luton.

If you've checked their fares, these new airlines offer the best value-to-price ratio in the sky for travelers who wish to travel in comfort. There's something missing, however, from the product mix. If I've flown across the pond in comfort, I want a seamless transfer (with my baggage checked through to my final destination) onto another flight with comfortable business class seats and advance seat assignments. Sorry, EasyJet doesn't do it for me.

A viable alternative to Heathrow would be a blessing. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic do offer perhaps the best service in the sky, but the quality of your experience is jarred the moment you step off the plane and into one of Heathrow's terminals. Crowds and security lines contribute to a most stressful environment. I avoid having my clients transfer at Heathrow for just this reason. (See Travolution blog's recent submission on the topic.)

So here's my wish list:

• well-timed connecting flights from Stansted and Luton, on full service carriers, to the major European destinations
  
• baggage agreements between MaxJet, Eos, and Silverjet and those carriers

Is this too much to ask?


copyright (c) 2007 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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