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#946365 by robinnelson
30 Sep 2018, 19:28
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My September trip to USA was to visit friends and to watch some baseball. I wanted to visit Boston (which I’d never visited before) & also visiting New York before returning home. Essentially, I was looking at an “open jaw” return ticket. My normal flights are a PE return from Heathrow. Thanks to information gleaned from V-Flyer, I’ve managed to get some excellent bargains in UC from Dublin & Manchester. On this occasion using expedia I was also checking prices from Southampton as you can get some cheap flights via flybe to Paris then Air France. I found a fare outward from Southampton to Boston & return from New York to Southampton via flybe to/from Manchester. The additional cost of flying UC instead of PE was minimal so I decided on the spot to book it. I have a philosophy that if you find a UC flight at a really cheap price book it as it won’t be available for long. I know that flying via Manchester there is no Clubhouse but I did have the convenience of not having to travel up to Heathrow.
The day before I was due to fly I completed online check in – all worked OK for Southampton to Manchester with flybe and Manchester to New York with Virgin, but unable to check in for the Delta connection on to Boston. I arrived at Southampton airport in good time and explained the situation, flybe staff informed me that they could tag my bag all the way to Boston, but could not give me a boarding pass for the Delta part of the journey as they only codeshare with Virgin and not Delta. Security at Southampton was fairly quiet and I was through in a few minutes, with time for a coffee before the flight was due to board. The flight from Southampton to Manchester was uneventful and a flight time of 45 minutes was expected. On arrival at Manchester I followed the signs for flight connections, about 10-minute walk from plane to flight connections. Here I was greeted by Virgin staff who were able to give me a boarding pass for the Delta connection and a card to allow entry to the Escape Lounge. There is then a short bus ride to T2. When I arrived at the Lounge it was relatively quiet, although the staff told me that it had been very busy prior to the earlier departures to Orlando & Chicago. While it’s no Clubhouse the staff here are great and there was sufficient food & drink to keep me happy. Flight was called about an hour before departure and I headed to the Gate and was able to board immediately. I was pleasantly surprised to find the aircraft was a 747 (Barbarella), I had been expecting an Airbus 330. It was the first time that I’ve flown UC in a 747. I was welcomed on board and offered a glass of champagne. The whole experience was superb and the cabin crew never stopped and nothing ever seems too much trouble. After the meal, which was served with some excellent red wine and cheese, biscuits & Port I got some rest before the afternoon tea service. I can’t remember exactly what was on the menu but the food was good and the service was all excellent.
We landed at JFK early which meant that I had plenty of time for the connection; I’d not done a connection at JFK so was not sure what to expect. As a returning ESTA holder immigration is much simpler than in previous years and you don’t need to fill out the blue customs form any more. Even though bag was tagged through Boston after immigration you still have to wait for bag and then have it re-checked after exiting the arrivals hall. I then had to head for security to get back to the departure gates. Being a Friday afternoon, it was exceptionally busy and took a good 20 minutes. As my connection flight was going from the B side of T4, I headed for the Delta Sky Club more out of curiosity to see how it compared to other lounges & the Clubhouse. As expected, it was very busy, but I found a seat and was able to relax while waiting for my flight. Just to note it took me 1 hour & 45 minutes from landing to getting through immigration & security and get to the Sky Club. At the appointed time I headed to the Gate, there was a slight delay in boarding as crew’s inwards working was late. We boarded about 20 mins late, the aircraft was a small CRJ9 so did not take long to board. As is often the case at JFK we spent 45 minutes taxying, but a relatively quick flight time of 40 minutes and we were in Boston. On arrival at Boston had a short wait for the bag to arrive. There is then a bus to take you to the subway station and after a short trip on the subway I was in downtown Boston and my hotel.
So, in summary, the downsides:
It was a very long day leaving Southampton at 10am, finally arriving Boston 930pm (although some days there is a direct flight Manchester to Boston which would reduce the overall trip time).
No Clubhouse at Manchester.
The positives:
I was able to travel UC (in a 747) at a very reasonable price.
Travelled to/from Southampton airport which saved me having to get to Heathrow
The Manchester based crews are superb and are a credit to Virgin and I would fly via Manchester again.
#946367 by SlimpyJones
30 Sep 2018, 19:47
Thanks for the TR - I enjoyed the read. It's quite rare to get a TR involving a Flybe connection so it's nice to hear that the regional connections work to someone's advantage!

Transferring at JFK is a bit of an artform. In case you (or anyone else reading) happens to transfer again at JFK, there is a little known security checkpoint on the arrivals level that, whilst not always open can usually be found with much shorter queues. As you mention, after arrivals, turn left towards baggage recheck, and then continue onwards. Instead of taking the elevator back up to Departures, keep going forward and the security checkpoint is there.

Hope you enjoy(ed) Boston! :-)
#946368 by Traveller2
30 Sep 2018, 19:56
You are lucky you entered Boston as a domestic passenger! Even being a return ESTA holder made little or no difference to the time it took to clear immigration when we were there in September. The signage was poor and we ended up in the wrong queue. Once in the correct line it took an age to get to the machines and then we had to queue again to see an immigration officer. The whole process was a shambles.
#946369 by mitchja
30 Sep 2018, 20:06
Thanks for the TR. Nice to see another positive MAN TR re-enforcing what many of us already know, that the MAN VS crews are some of the best :-D

Flying Delta to/from JFK can also be a pain as DL use both T2 and T4 and there's very little apparent logic used in which DL routes use which terminal either. I've flown from JFK to BOS a few times now using DL and I've used both T2 and T4 at JFK!
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