avlm24

Hi all,

I am so glad to be talking about flying options given that I had almost lost hope after the H1b went into a lottery this year.

So it will be San Diego I will be moving to

As of now, I am based in Birmingham,UK.

I was wondering whether anyone had any experiences about some better flight options from Birmingham to SD.

I have the option to fly out of BHX via Paris or Amsterdam to Seattle or LA, and then take another flight into SAN.

That is 2 stops

Other option is to fly out of LHR which reduce it to 1 stop.

Yet another option is to fly from BHX(1 stop) or LHR(0 stops) into LAX.
Obviously this involves driving from LA to SD.

Any words of wisdom from, maybe, someone who has tried one or all options in the past ?

TIA.

penguinsix

I think you can fly to Newark (EWR) from Birmingham and then on to San Diego. One stop, no real 'dog leg' but probably longer as you are going more 'due West' rather than over the Arctic.

bod1984

Given some of my experiences I would avoid EWR at all costs. I have (unfortunately) flown through EWR a few times and they have a 100% record for losing my baggage, and it wasn't as if the lay-overs were particularly tight each time. I have spoken to a few people about EWR over the years and many of them have had the same problems. I've vowed never to go through it again.

avlm24

Thanks folks.

Looks like United flies from BHX to EWR, but not on the date we want to fly out on. So I will rule that out. Also it will be two considerably long flights which my wife wants to avoid with a kid in the equation.

I am inclined to fly out of BHX via paris or amsterdam, into LAX.
And then drive !

Is that a good idea ? I mean the driving bit ? I know it will end up being a 3 hour drive, but hopefully we will all be excited enough to not notice it

Cheers.

penguinsix

There is also one flight a week to Toronto and then on to San Diego via another carrier.

I've done a 16 hour flight followed by a 4.5 hour drive, but I was in business and managed to sleep most of the flight. Also, when we landed, was midnight in NY but noon by my clock (coming from Hong Kong). I've also done a 2 hour drive following a 26 hour flight day and it was hell.

There are a number of factors that can really mess things up. Long lines at immigration, slow baggage, longer lines at Customs, delays in getting your car, etc.

Would it be possible to rent a car and drive to LHR, then take British Airways 273 direct to San Diego?

avlm24

BA 273 from LHR is an attractive option. Thanks.
The booking is being handled by my employer's travel deptt.
I have asked them, lets see if it fits the 'budget'.

Here is a strange question ?
If I fly into LA and then take a flight from LA to SAN, would there be a difference in luggage allowances between the international leg and the domestic within US ?

jackattack

I'm not a travel expert but from experience, even though you have to physically pick up your luggage in the first place you stop within the USA and take it through customs and recheck it for the domestic flight, the allowances and questions about packing it yourself, tagging it etc are ONLY done at the point of the first departure.

Now if you plan to disembark and take a few days vacation at your first stop in the USA, then obviously the second domestic flight has the regular domestic allowances and restrictions.

md95065

Whether or not your baggage is checked all the way through to your final destination depends on which airline(s) you are flying on and how your itinerary was ticketed:

• same airline all the way - should be no problem
• code share partner airlines all the way - should be no problem
• completely different airlines - perhaps, but probably not

SanDiegogirl

I've travelled Heathrow via New York, Washington, Chicago etc etc to San Diego.

I would take the flight with the least amount of stops. Its a long flight anyway and multiple stops and changes only makes it worse.

If you take the flight to LA then you have to change terminals etc to get to the domestic flights to San Diego. Can be a pain but usually plenty of domestic flights although they do get full. No problems with international luggage.

Driving from LAX to San Diego is OK once you clear LA; getting through LA can be a busy but moving or totally gridlocked. Have you driven through LA to San Diego? If not, it might not be something you want to do after a long flight.

Best of all flight is BA's direct flight to SAN. Yes, its more expensive but so much easier.

Where in San Diego are you going to live? Rent somewhere first and then look or are you going to somewhere permanent?

FinnDiego

I'd recommend the direct BA flight too if you have the choice. You'll be clearing immigration when you first land to the US, and if you're a new arrival it could take a while. Not having to stress about connecting flights can be helpful!

I would recommend a brisk walk to immigration when you get to San Diego. There aren't many international arrivals so there shouldn't be passengers from other flights in front of you, but then they don't have many desks either... Last time it took me less than ten minutes to get from the airplane to a taxi, but then I was first at immigration and had carry-on luggage only.

Ozzidoc

I agree x 2!

Ozzidoc

OP where will you be staying when you first arrive? Where will you be working?

markonline1

Birmingham to LHR is about an hour and a half drive. I'd definitely be flying LHR San Diego direct.

Giantaxe

And if driving is logistically difficult given they're moving to the US, there's even a bus to Heathrow from Birmingham airport.

scrubbedexpat027

Just a note on this. If you take the National Express coach between Birmingham and Heathrow, it's MUCH quicker to go from Coventry to Heathrow, even though the distance is almost the same.

I then take either BA or Virgin non-stop between LHR and LAX. Overall I prefer the Virgin flights.