Boston skyscraper

There are numerous airlines flying to the USA from all over the UK and Ireland.  Heathrow obviously offers the most choice in terms of direct flights but it can be worth considering a connecting flight in the US if you have a specific destination in mind.  This may also be easier than travelling to Heathrow, unless you live in the South-East of England.  See our section on Connecting Flights for more information.

Apart from direct flights or the proximity to the departure/arrival airport it’s worth considering several factors when booking your flight:

Cost – prices can vary significantly and it is always worth using a price consolidator such as Expedia to research prices across the airlines.  In addition, sometimes a consolidator will have access to preferential rates.

Flight times – Departure and arrival times can make a difference to the duration of your holiday or to how jet-lagged you will feel.  Some people like to be awake to work or watch a movie, others will prefer to fly at night and attempt to get some sleep.

In-flight entertainment – If you’re not taking your own and it’s important to you, then check out the in-flight entertainment each airline offers.  The options can vary dramatically between carriers.

Seat pitch/Seat booking – Airlines do vary in the amount of legroom on offer, even within an economy section on an aircraft .  Additionally most airlines now allow you to book extra legroom seats (for an additional fee of course!)

Travelling with children or babies – Think ectra carefully about your choice of flight times & connections if you are travelling with small people. See our Travelling With Kids section for more advice.

We love…

1Plus2Travel. These guys are fairly new on the scene. They are a great search website and search all the online consolidators so you don’t have to!

Otherwise, we love Skyscanner or Expedia for a good listing of all the operators running flights.

Make sure you also check out Norwegian – Having just announced their US routes starting in July 2014, no frills carrier Norwegian is upping the ante when it comes to crossing the Atlantic for a reasonable price. They will fly to NYC, Fort Lauderdale and LA, all from Gatwick and will no doubt be very popular so get in quick!