Where should one change planes? London or New York? or somewhere else?

[MARC Rider]

Let's say I wanted to go from Baltimore to Paris. Unfortunately, the only transatlantic nonstop flight we have from BWI is to London Heathrow. That means I'd either have to take a puddle jumper to New York (either Newark or JFK) and then a nonstop to Paris, or I could fly from BWI to Heathrow and change to a London-Paris flight. (Forget for the moment that I could also take the Amtrak to Newark or Philadelphia, drive to Dulles or Philadelphia, or take the Eurostar (plus a long Underground ride) from London to Paris.)

Which option would be better?

The last time I connected to an international flight at JFK, I had to collect my checked baggage and take a long bus ride to the connecting airline's terminal. (OK, it was EL Al, which explains why I couldn't check the baggage through, but I still had the long shuttle bus ride.) I'm not sure how international flights board and arrive at Newark, is there a separate international terminal? And if I land at Heathrow do I have to ride all over the airport to get my connecting flight? Do I have to pass through any kind of customs and immigration check even if I'm just transiting through?

How do customs and immigration compare at JFK, Newark and BWI? If my experience at Dulles a couple of years ago is any guide, they've automated the process a good bit, but I imagine that different airports might have rolled out the equipment at different times, and some airports might be run more efficiently than others.

In my experience, all the flights between BWI and New York are in small regional planes. Are the British Airways flights between Heathrow and Paris full size airliners?

Anyway, this is just for curiosity's sake, as I don't think I'll be doing any transatlantic trips any time soon.

 

[me_little_me]

The more countries you land at, the more hassles you could potentially run into. I'd go to NYC and fly direct to Paris. Nothing worse than a ling international flight and then have to take another plane. Better, IMHO, to make the long overnight flight last. Besides, if you did consider the Eurostar, you'll be so tired by then, you won't enjoy it.

As to getting to NYC, I'd go with the train because it will be more relaxing and you won't have to have already fought your way through the airport hassles before you take the short flight and potentially again before then again before taking the long one. At least that would be my choice. After all, those overnights east are still late in the day giving you plenty of time, right?

 

[WWW]

I will just throw another option in this mix - ICELANDIC Airlines * * * * *
While you are going to make a change of planes anyway somewhere
Why not make it as convenient as possible !

USA - Iceland - UK or Europe final destination

Also hub cities in the USA - think of other hub cities in Europe other
than London or Paris i.e. AMSTERDAM & Copenhagen - Madrid - Frankfurt

USA missing Boston and oddly enough Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul Atlanta ?

Customs and Immigration is controlled at each airline terminal or at the airport
of arrival with gates shared by all airlines.

 

[PVD]

Service from BwI to jFK and EWR has really gone down in terms of availability. might as well take train to NYC area, with newark being a bit easier connection, or think about Dulles which I believe has nonstops to Paris.

 

[caravanman]

When I used to fly from America to London after my visits, I often found flights departing in the mornings, which avoided that overnight flight. (I can't sleep on planes). Maybe something similar is available direct from NYC to Paris?

 

[PVD]

I don't see one from JFK or EWR right now

 

[saxman]

Right now, there are no flights from BWI to any NYC airport. It appears AA will start one flight a day to JFK and Delta will start some flights in 2022. Nothing appears to be going to EWR any time soon. So if BWI is the best option for you, I'd probably connect in LHR on BA. I've heard some stories about connecting through LHR and that they can have strict and long security lines when making a connection. But Heathrow's Terminal 5 is pretty nice. You shouldn't have to clear any customs there. If transportation to Dulles or Philly is feasible for you, I'd also look at taking the non-stops from those two airports as well.

 

[MARC Rider]

I just checked on Travelocity. It looks like BWI-Paris through flights are either American, change at DFW, or Delta, change in Detroit or Atlanta, or United, change at O'Hare in Chicago. And the round-trip fares are $3,000 - $5,000 for Economy, too.

 

[MARC Rider]

It also looks like British Airways is no longer flying to BWI, so I suppose my best bet would be a direct flight from Philly or Dulles, both of which are a 2-hour drive. Or I could take Amtrak to 30th st. and SEPTA to the airport.

 

[Exvalley]

Definitely avoid immigration at Heathrow if possible.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Most international hubs have an abridged transit inspection instead of the full customs and immigration process we insist on here in the US, including London's Heathrow. Be aware that UK staff consider pastes to be liquids, toys and tools to be weapons, and banknotes to be evidence of criminal enterprise. Do not be surprised by odd questions and excessive delays. There is also a chance that Brexup could unravel or a new pandemic variant could flare up and cause more problems. Best of luck to anyone who needs to travel internationally right now because it does not look easy or fun to me.

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/transiting-european-airports-covid/#london-heathrow-airport-lhr

 

[caravanman]

There has been a lot in the news about huge queues at Heathrow in the recent past. In these covid times, I think the fewer borders one needs to negotiate to arrive at your destination, the better?
My guess is that as restrictions are eased, more flight options will once again appear. I would be in America tomorrow if I was allowed to enter.
As the OP mentions, it's just an academic query at this time...

 

[caravanman]

I just checked on Travelocity. It looks like BWI-Paris through flights are either American, change at DFW, or Delta, change in Detroit or Atlanta, or United, change at O'Hare in Chicago. And the round-trip fares are $3,000 - $5,000 for Economy, too.

I just looked on Air France, and they have "promo" prices for September. NYC to Paris direct. A return in economy is $732 at the most restrictive fare.

 

[Nick Farr]

Let's say I wanted to go from Baltimore to Paris. Unfortunately, the only transatlantic nonstop flight we have from BWI is to London Heathrow. That means I'd either have to take a puddle jumper to New York (either Newark or JFK) and then a nonstop to Paris, or I could fly from BWI to Heathrow and change to a London-Paris flight.

Which option would be better?

It all depends on what you think is "better".

If you're trying to cut down on immigration/COVID headaches and you absolutely must fly from BWI, fly Delta/KLM/Air France and connect in ATL/DTW to a direct Paris flight. Your bags will be checked all the way through. If your final destination is somewhere other than the UK, avoid Heathrow at all costs, even if your transfer is within the otherwise very nice T5.

If you're trying to stay with a OneWorld airline, I'd recommend the same thing. Fly direct to Paris from the US no matter where you have to transfer in the US to get there.

France is much more open and kind to tourists in the COVID era than the UK.

 

[caravanman]

France is much more open and kind to tourists in the COVID era than the UK.

Why do you say that? My understanding is that fully vaccinated US visitors are welcome in the UK without any quarantine period required?

 

[jiml]

The thing to avoid with BA is their significant add-on costs, some of which are well-hidden until time of purchase. They even charge for seat selection in Business Class - something almost no other carrier does.

Have you considered going south by train to Dulles, then on UA or Air France to CDG non-stop? I believe Manassas is the closest Amtrak stop, then taxi/Uber north to the airport. There may also be local transit options I'm not familiar with out of Washington.

 

[Nick Farr]

Why do you say that? My understanding is that fully vaccinated US visitors are welcome in the UK without any quarantine period required?

The folks at CDG don't even ask my colleagues for vaccination cards, presumably because they uploaded it to the airline website when checking in for the flight. They don't even ask for it at the airline counter. Aside from a routine temperature screening, nothing much about the immigration process appears to have changed at CDG except the walk got shorter.

Everyone I know of who has entered or transited through the UK has had to provide proof of vaccination along with going through a separate screening process that seems to change every other week.

Yes both places are open, but France from what I have heard is "more open"

 

[Nick Farr]

Have you considered going south by train to Dulles, then on UA or Air France to CDG non-stop?

The easiest thing to do from BWI to Dulles is to take any train into DCUS and take Metrorail to
Wiehle-Reston East, from which there is a very short shuttle to Dulles.

However, that's the same transit time as flying from BWI to ATL and in that case you don't have to deal with your bags or worry about Amtrak/MARC/Metro delays.

 

[neroden]

I haven't flown for over 10 years, but my outdated rating of airports for changing planes was:

Worst of all -- LaGuardia. Horrific.
Second worst -- JFK. Especially if you have to change terminals.
Third worst -- Newark.

So frankly I'd pick any route which avoided the NYC airports. They were all unpleasant, disorganized, and prone to delays. Leaving out of Philly, Boston, or DC was fine by contrast.

London Heathrow was a model of good organization, careful management, and nice conditions by contrast, better than anything in the US, and a pleasure to change airplanes in. Security is real (not like our security theater here) though. But they *escorted* us between planes when we had a short connection! It was slick.

However, it is also true that if you're transiting the UK to go to a third country, it can be a paperwork complication, especially now.

It's also an inescapable truth that the foreign flag carriers are all nicer than any of the US airlines. A lot nicer.

So starting from Baltimore, and heading for Paris, my conclusion is: take Air France direct from Washington Dulles.

Silver Line Metro to Dulles will be open by the time you're travelling. So that's Amtrak/MARC, Red Line, Silver Line.

 

[Ryan]

The easiest thing to do from BWI to Dulles is to take any train into DCUS WAS and take Metrorail to
Wiehle-Reston East, from which there is a very short shuttle to Dulles.

This four-legged journey can be called many things. "Easy" is not one of them. Significantly easier to just drive over there.

 

[Nick Farr]

This four-legged journey can be called many things. "Easy" is not one of them. Significantly easier to just drive over there.

Driving over there, assuming you're parking your car at DC Union Station, would cost more than flying.

Given the parkway and navigating DC there, it's probably not necessarily easier unless you really, really prefer driving.

 

[Nick Farr]

I haven't flown for over 10 years, but my outdated rating of airports for changing planes was:

Worst of all -- LaGuardia. Horrific.
Second worst -- JFK. Especially if you have to change terminals.
Third worst -- Newark.

LGA has actually gotten a lot better and is a lot nicer than it was, even just before COVID. However, there are no flights to Europe from LGA.

It's actually very rare that you'd ever have to change terminals at JFK flying on the same airline.

Newark we can agree on.

London Heathrow was a model of good organization, careful management, and nice conditions by contrast, better than anything in the US, and a pleasure to change airplanes in. Security is real (not like our security theater here) though. But they *escorted* us between planes when we had a short connection! It was slick.

This is not the typical Heathrow experience, especially not during COVID. Yes, transiting through T5 is quite nice under non-COVID conditions, but it's consistently one of the worst airports otherwise.

 

[Nick Farr]

It's also an inescapable truth that the foreign flag carriers are all nicer than any of the US airlines. A lot nicer.

Says someone who has probably never flown Aeroflot, Air China, Air Koryo or Copa

I would also say that Delta international beats all but a dozen or so exceptional flag farriers as far as "niceness" in general. KLM can get pretty surly. If you want to know what awful service on Air France is, say the warm bread is not very good.

 

[Exvalley]

Says someone who has probably never flown Aeroflot, Air China, Air Koryo or Copa

I would ad Alitalia as well. I flew to Rome in a seat that was literally held together with duct tape. The in flight entertainment was broken as well. If I recall correctly, the plane had been acquired from a low cost carrier that went bankrupt - and it showed.

The biggest problem with Heathrow is that, with only two runways that are used to their fullest capacity, things can get insanely ugly if weather or other factors cause delays. However, the New York airports aren't a whole lot better (I'm especially looking at you, LGA).

 

[Nick Farr]

I would ad Alitalia as well.

Yes, especially after they became a state-owned airline.

The biggest problem with Heathrow is that, with only two runways that are used to their fullest capacity, things can get insanely ugly if weather or other factors cause delays.

Heathrow is also just a poorly managed international airport. It's been universally dreaded by international travelers except elites on OneWorld.