USA - Domestic Airlines?

[Adam.S]

Hello,
(Apologies if this is the wrong forum for these questions)

I am planning an upcoming trip to America later this year and having never flown domestically there; I am just seeking advice and recommendations as to which airlines to choose and/or avoid.

*I will be flying Los Angeles to New York return, not on the same day as my inbound and outbound international flights.

*Most likely choosing LAX-JFK, but will consider other local airports as an option.

*Flying in economy, in-flight entertainment is fairly high on my list of priority's for the 6 hour flights.
After looking through the various airline's websites I get a little confused as I see some IFE is an optional extra (fee) as is checked luggage.

At the moment my top 3 choices are AA, JetBlue and Virgin America.

American Airlines:
I believe all the new A321s that operate the cross-country route have seat-back IFE (fee) and Wi-Fi (fee) and $25 per bag checked luggage.

Virgin America:
$25 per bag checked luggage and free Wi-Fi/IFE.

JetBlue:
1st checked bag free and free IFE and free basic Wi-Fi

Does the above sound correct?
What are your recommendations and past experiences?

Cheers,
Adam

[Peter S.]

Which airline are you flying into LA? Is this already booked? I gather not QF nor AA?

Are you flying from LAX or be in another part of LA?
Which NYC airport for arrival?

JetBlue & Virgin America both good solid products.

[Justin L]

Agree that JetBlue and Virgin America are solid choices.

You also have the option of United to Newark which is easily accessible to New York City by rail. United offer free IFE via their app.

JetBlue no longer automatically offers first check bag free. Their Blue fare doesn't include a bag, but their Blue Plus fare does. The difference between these two fares is usually $15 so it still works out cheaper than buying a bag on another carrier.

With JetBlue you have the option of flying out of LAX and LGB (Long Beach) nonstop to JFK. LGB can be particularly convenient if you are staying in the Anaheim/Orange County area and is a smaller airport and very pleasant since the total rebuild.

If you are not concerned on accruing miles for an Australian airline program, then JetBlue would be my choice.

[Justin L]

One more option I forgot to mention, JetBlue also flies nonstop to JFK from Burbank airport in LA. Burbank airport is closer to the Hollywood area than LAX.

[Adam.S]

Thank you all for your above replies, I appreciate your time.

Good to hear JetBlue and Virgin America get a positive response.
American Airlines - not quite up to the level of these other two carriers?

No I haven't booked any airfares yet, although I will be flying with Qantas for the flights to/from Australia.

I am a member of both Qantas' and Virgin's Frequent flyer programs, which is why I am leaning towards AA and Virgin America ahead of flying with United.

I am open to using airports other then LAX and JFK, in the end it mainly depends on airfare price.

[Greg McDonald]

If you're intend to use points, don't fly Qantas to/from Aus. They're 'fees and charges' that you need to pay in addition to the points are absolutely poison!! By far the most expensive charges of any international airline flying out of Aus.

[Justin L]

AA are fine, and if you are leaning to towards airlines with affiliations with either QF or VA, don't forget Delta (DL) also partner with VA and offer a good product (and also offer complimentary IFE through screens or your device).

[David Knudsen]

I was over back in 2013 and flew around on US Airways who were very good (but obviously they are now AA). I found the non-direct routing to be much cheaper than direct flights, for example it was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper to go First Class from Las Vegas to Newark via Phoenix with a 1 hour stop over than it was to go direct LAX-JFK in economy! The transfer process was simple, bags were checked straight through and you are given both boarding passes when you check in for the first flight.

[Radi K]

I'd look at Delta as has already been suggested. Probably the pick of USA domestic carriers in the past few years. Most LAX-JFK flights are wide-body (A330/B767) and the IFE is free now as Justin said.

Depends where you are staying but if it's on manhattan I actually prefer to fly to Newark as you can catch the train straight to Penn Station. You can do the same from JFK but it's a bit more of an effort.

[Adam.S]

Thankyou for these replies.
I appreciate your information and advice. A great help!

[Daniel M]

Flew Virgin America for the first time last week to/from NYC and was impressed. Mood lighting helps on the night flights, crew were super friendly and loved the fact I didn't have to buzz the call bell every time I wanted food or drink ... just set up a tab on your screen in front and order straight from there, few minutes later and the FA brings you your items.

[Justin L]

Thankyou for these replies.
I appreciate your information and advice. A great help!

No problem Adam. Let us know what you ended up choosing and why. I'm sure there'd be a few of us interested to know what you decided.

[Adam.S]

Regarding Virgin America and Delta - how does seat selection work?

The delta website has me a little confused, however I assume you can pre select your seat at the time of booking if booked through the airline's website?

[Justin L]

You will be able to select your seats for your Delta domestic flights during the booking process, unless you have selected a Basic Economy fare (the cheapest fare option only available on selected routes, usually ones where DL has direct LCC or ULCC competition). With Basic Economy fares, seats are assigned at checkin, or sometimes at the gate. Otherwise, Main Economy or any higher fare will be selectable during booking.

Sometimes, seat selection may be limited, but will open up a few days before the flight. You can go in a check your booking to change seats at any time.

Hope this helps.

[Adam.S]

You will be able to select your seats for your Delta domestic flights during the booking process, unless you have selected a Basic Economy fare (the cheapest fare option only available on selected routes, usually ones where DL has direct LCC or ULCC competition). With Basic Economy fares, seats are assigned at checkin, or sometimes at the gate. Otherwise, Main Economy or any higher fare will be selectable during booking.

Sometimes, seat selection may be limited, but will open up a few days before the flight. You can go in a check your booking to change seats at any time.

Hope this helps.
Thanks for that Justin. Makes sense.
I am looking at the LAX-JFK route, so that makes things a little more simple.

Cheers

[Radi K]

Handy website (among others) https://www.kiwi.com/en/ for checking out cheapest flights etc.