Edinburgh to Orlando

[LoopyLou]

Hi

We are planning to go back to Florida in October 2010 and I have already been researching charter flights and Virgin out of Glasgow. However I have noticed that Continental do a 'Non-stop flight' to orlando from Edinburgh which involves a change of aircraft with about 1.5hrs on the ground. Has anyone done this flight and can tell me what actually happens.

Many thanks.

[ewhyte]

It is not Non stop, you have to get off in Newark, go through immigration and change gates. You do not even get on the same plane but it does have the same flight number. Having said that I have flown this way many times now and quite enjoy clearing immigration in Newark rather than Orlando.

Hope this helps.

Elizabeth

[LoopyLou]

Yes that does help thank you, however is 1.5hrs enough time to collect your bags and clear immigration?

Louise

[CERICROWLEY]

I would try and make it 2 hours, I have done it at a running pace with 1.15min and had a chance to sit for 10 mins before boarding again.

It can be done. it depends on how many are travelling, bags, kids, etc,

[Robert5988]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:however is 1.5hrs enough time to collect your bags and clear immigration?[/quote]

With any change of plane in the USA, apart from a delayed arrival, the critical issue is immigration.

It can take a couple of minutes to well over an hour.

[LoopyLou]

That would be great if you could let me know how it goes and what the procedure is like.
It is weird that this is classed as a non-stop flight.

[andy_d]

We're also doing this flight in July. Should have plenty of time just remember that you have to collect your cases in Newark and drop back in after clearing customs.

[abbeyvillas]

We have done this route and also the similar one from Manchester and found it very good. It is a bit of a rush in Newark depending on how busy immigration is and how far away your departure gate is.
There are several other choices of connecting flights - we usually try to leave 2 or even 3 hours. This gives time to stretch your legs & have a look around the airport or get something to eat.
Jeanette

[gromit]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LoopyLou
That would be great if you could let me know how it goes and what the procedure is like.
It is weird that this is classed as a non-stop flight.
[/quote]
It was possibly listed as a 'direct flight' rather than a 'non-stop' flight. A direct flight can have a stop, but is classed as direct providing there is no change in flight number. This is why on code sharing flights the same flight can have multiple flight numbers including with different airline qualifiers.

[Father]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LoopyLou
That would be great if you could let me know how it goes and what the procedure is like.
[/quote]

Newark is very busy and a bit of a culture shock if you are used to landing at Sanford. The descent is breathtaking with the clearest views of Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, etc. Try to get seated on the left hand side as you look forward.

On landing you go straight to Immigration and they process you very quickly - full marks, lots of staff and no real wait. Everything flows logically. From Immigration you go to collect your baggage and head through Customs (again very quick).

You then need to take your luggage the short distance to the baggage transfer area. This is also well staffed and you are instructed which belt to place your cases on (or just leave them inside the painted lines for your particular flight).

Once the hold luggage is left there, you proceed to your gate for departure. Your boarding passes for both legs of the flight are issued at Edinburgh and it is worth noting the gate number so that you have an idea where you will be heading at Newark. Be aware that you now need to pass through security and you will not be able to take any drinks through, even duty-free you may have purchased at Edinburgh.

The security check is probably the most time-consuming. We queued for about 20 minutes or so.

We too were concerned about the relatively short stop-over time and worried about catching our connection. The main message is that this is very do-able in 90 minutes, albeit we had no unforeseen delays or hold-ups at Immigration etc. You are counting the seconds from the moment you touchdown but we made it to our gate with 30 minutes to spare and that was with the luxury of nipping outside for a smoke.

Obviously I can't promise everything will go as smoothly for you but I really wouldn't worry too much. If you are leaving on the 9.25 flight out of Edinburgh, your connecting flight leaves Newark around 1.30pm but the good news is, if the worst happened and you missed your connection, there is another Continental flight around 2.30pm and again at 3.30pm.

To ease your mind, you might want to track your flight for a few days or weeks before you go. This will give you an idea of how often it would be sufficiently delayed to mean you may miss the Orlando flight. It also gives you details of gate numbers, etc, so that you begin to get an idea of where your flights are likely to arrive and depart. If it is CO37, you will almost always arrive and depart Terminal C. This is the link for the flight tracker http://www.flightstats.com/go/Flight...trackFlight.do

The Continental flights were excellent with plenty of legroom and superb entertainment. By all means think about it and have your wits about you when you have to hit the ground running at Newark but don't stress so much that it prevents you from enjoying the flight. I promise you, the views over the Hudson and Manahttan as you descend, are worth the airfare alone.