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Best airline experience to/from New York/London

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    I live in London now and travel back to the States pretty frequently. I was wondering if anyone had any tips or suggestions on the best/easiest way to travel back and forth to New York. I like EOS but I live in the West End, making Stanstead pretty inconvenient. I like the Virgin lounge at Heathrow but for the frequency, and ease of use, and comfort of seats, I think BA is still the best. Anyone have any thoughts?

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    Try the American airlines (United, Continental, American Airlines, Delta).

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    I assume you're aware that Virgin is starting up an all business class airline next year that will go between points in Europe to New York and other US destinations. The London to New York route will be added on a few months after that.

    Unfortunately, the problem is that Heathrow is too crowded these days and that's one of the reasons why Virgin hasn't completely committed to Heathrow, last I checked. Once Terminal 5 opens and Terminal 1 and 2 are replaced by the Heathrow East terminal, the congestion should be eased.

    I'm a fan of Silverjet. They have a decent operation going. And they've reduced the check-in to flight time to just 30-minutes, which is nice. Though, I still can't help but arrive at the airport early for some reason. Silverjet flies between Luton and Newark airport. Luton as you know is 40 miles to the North of London. And Newark is well, Newark. I suppose that Newark wouldn't be ideal for you, but it's not so bad if you have continuing connections.

    Also, a lot of people don't know this, but Air India flies the Heathrow to JFK route. Their first class seats recline to a flat 180º and it all looks rather decent on their website.

    http://home.airindia.in/SBCMS/Webpages/First-Class.aspx

    They've also been given a few good reviews for their food over the past few years. Can't say I've booked a flight though, and one of the major drawbacks is that they don't fly as often as the other carriers do.

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    The American Airlines have subpar seats and service, and only now that the startups are putting pressure on them, is American lowering prices... I know a lot of people that have used Silverjet and liked it. Luton is really out of the way though. I am hoping that one of the airlines with good service will start flying to/from Gatwick.

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    Silverjet are excellent – better than Eos in my opinion. And while Luton might be a little further out, at least you benefit from a private terminal, away from the madding crowds.

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    It looks like Virgin are giving up on the idea of an all-business airline. This was in The Times:
    http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/health/article2799343.ece
    I'm not sure how much cheaper seats would have been anyway than Upper Class, presumably the idea was to fix them somewhere between that and Premium Economy.
    I'd also recommend Silverjet from Luton, it's terrific value. I flew with them in the Spring. The private terminal at Luton is excellent, you bypass all the crowds (at Luton that means the Easyjet flights). Much much less hassle than Heathrow. The trick is to get the right train from St Pancras to Luton, the fast ones are 25 minutes, which is only 10 minutes more than the Heathrow Express.

    They're starting a Dubai flight too.

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