When we were initially looking to fly to Florida we were struggling to find direct flights that were reasonably priced so because of this we were told to maybe try an indirect flight. Having never been on an indirect flight to Florida we decided to try a search and were pleased to find flights with Continental via Newark (New York).
The flight would be split into two parts, this first part being the transatlantic flight (on a 757) from London – New York and then from New York to Orlando (again on a 757). The time that would have to be spent on the ground in Newark airport would be 1hr and 55 minutes. This would include a trip through customs and immigration and also a change of terminals to catch our other plane.
Initially we were a little worried about the time we would have on the ground in Newark airport, but due to the time of day the arrivals immigration hall was not too busy. I would say though that anything under and hour and a half is pushing it. Most of the Continental connections team where there to help and where possible give you advice to help you make the onward connection.
Our flight from London – New York was very good, we had seat back TV’s and all the meals were very good. The service from the staff was kind and courteous. They really took a shine to our 1 year old son and he was allowed to crawl up and down the isle as long as he did not get in the way. On arrival into New York we were told that we had to collect our baggage and then re-hand this in to attendants who are located after baggage reclaim. This went smoothly and allowed us to basically take them off the carousel and then give them to a transfer rep. Our bags were tagged to Orlando when we were in London. The best bit about this was the fact we had already done immigration so would not have to do this when we arrived in Orlando.
Our next flight was around 2 hrs and flew direct to Orlando International. By the time we had arrived at the airport we had been on the go for around 12 hours in total. This is around 3 hours longer than a direct flight, but we did save around half and hour of this in Orlando as we did not have to queue at immigration there.
We arrived at the villa around 7pm so got there at a very reasonable time. Overall I would really rate this route and would certainly use it again if I needed to and the price of the direct flights were too expensive. On average we saved around £450 by flying this route and apart from the extra time to transfer and collect baggage in New York, we did not find it that stressful. The £450 saved certainly came in handy for when we got to the parks!
The flight would be split into two parts, this first part being the transatlantic flight (on a 757) from London – New York and then from New York to Orlando (again on a 757). The time that would have to be spent on the ground in Newark airport would be 1hr and 55 minutes. This would include a trip through customs and immigration and also a change of terminals to catch our other plane.
Initially we were a little worried about the time we would have on the ground in Newark airport, but due to the time of day the arrivals immigration hall was not too busy. I would say though that anything under and hour and a half is pushing it. Most of the Continental connections team where there to help and where possible give you advice to help you make the onward connection.
Our flight from London – New York was very good, we had seat back TV’s and all the meals were very good. The service from the staff was kind and courteous. They really took a shine to our 1 year old son and he was allowed to crawl up and down the isle as long as he did not get in the way. On arrival into New York we were told that we had to collect our baggage and then re-hand this in to attendants who are located after baggage reclaim. This went smoothly and allowed us to basically take them off the carousel and then give them to a transfer rep. Our bags were tagged to Orlando when we were in London. The best bit about this was the fact we had already done immigration so would not have to do this when we arrived in Orlando.
Our next flight was around 2 hrs and flew direct to Orlando International. By the time we had arrived at the airport we had been on the go for around 12 hours in total. This is around 3 hours longer than a direct flight, but we did save around half and hour of this in Orlando as we did not have to queue at immigration there.
We arrived at the villa around 7pm so got there at a very reasonable time. Overall I would really rate this route and would certainly use it again if I needed to and the price of the direct flights were too expensive. On average we saved around £450 by flying this route and apart from the extra time to transfer and collect baggage in New York, we did not find it that stressful. The £450 saved certainly came in handy for when we got to the parks!