We’re looking at flights from Oslo to Orlando, FL, this fall. “We” will be a total of five adults, three teens, four sub-teenage kids and one toddler. I know that part is crazy. That’s not what I’m asking about.
What I’m asking about is that I’ve been looking on the usual cheap-flight search engines, and then looking directly on the airline’s websites. The cheapest flight so far would involve flying Oslo-London Gatwick with Norwegian Air Shuttle, and then Gatwick-Orlando with British Airways. The flight home would be the reverse. None of the search engines list Norwegian, so this is something we’d order ourselves, separately.
Pros:[ul][li]relatively short travel time (compared to most of the other flights, which involve flying to JFK, Washington Dulles, or O’Hare, then spending another couple hours flying to Florida)[]only one change of planes in each direction (most other routes have 2), reducing the amount of rugrat schlepping we’ll have to do[]transatlantic section of trip will be on a nice big 777 with a fancy entertainment system to help keep the rugrats subdued - as opposed to the aging 757s used on the two direct transatlantic routes out of Oslo. (No. I’m not kidding.)[/ul][/li]
Cons:
[ul][li]we’ll have 2.5 hours to make the connection at Gatwick each way, and I have no clue if that is too optimistic[/li][li]the reservations won’t be connected in a computer system anywhere; if the first flight on either travel day is delayed, we’re screwed, aren’t we?[/ul][/li]
Thoughts? Opinions? Howls of derision?
I wouldn’t do it. If there is a problem on the first one, you’ll probably have to eat the tickets on the second and it will cost a ton to get new ones last minute. Similar thing happened to me once, and it cost me about $400. For one person.
I’ve done this sort of thing in the past, and luckily it worked out. Now I’m older and wiser, and wouldn’t do it again. The biggest pain would be having to collect your luggage and check it in again. That can take forever, especially if your first plane arrives late.
Hm, I don’t recall Gatwick being a very big airport, especially compared with Heathrow, so 2.5 hours is not out of the realm of possibility. You probably can check the bags from flight to flight (inquire about this), although the odds of your bags being delayed/lost probably increases when they have to cross one system for another. I assume you don’t have to clear your bags through customs in Gatwick on the way to Orlando - could be wrong on this - but you may have to do so on the way back. This is dependent on the EU thing PLUS, I seem tol recall, UK is more anal about this than other EU countries.
Another plus is, with one fewer flight, you would have less of an overall chance of having it delayed or canceled. Plus it’s at least theoretically safer to avoid an extra takeoff and landing (x2).
When I fly over these kind of things I prefer to have the longest possible flight on the trans oceanic segment if at all possible, since the service currently tends to be better on non-US carriers and on the long haul flights. Flights within the US are cramped and poor service these days, so if you have a leg that is purely in the USA it won’t be much fun.
ETA: I’m mostly traveling solo on business, so I don’t have to worry about schlepping kids around. How old are the miniflodnaks these days?
This is probably very doable. The tightest international connection I ever experienced was in Puerto Rico. 15 minutes to clear customs and change airlines. We made and so did our luggage.
Look here is what I suggest.
Call Norwegian Air Shuttle reservations describe what you want to do and ask the following questions:
Is 2.5 hours a l"legal" connection at London Gatwick? (“legal” connection is a term that airlines use that means that they say it is doable. Usually 45minutes - 1 hour on an international flight.)
Will I be able to check in my bags at Oslo to go all the way through to Orlando? (You might be very surprised that quite often the airlines do this as a matter of course. I have had as many as three different airlines handle my bag on one leg of a trip)
Have fun in Orlando, there are many a good doper that live nearby. If you announce your arrival, you never know they might throw a dopefest in your honor.
The timing seems tight to me, but I only have limited experience. Your proposed schedule looks preferable to the alternatives.
You seem to have a lot of help with you. The teens and adults will be able to help with the kids and toddler. Make it very clear that this it is very important to stay organized and together and that everyone will be stressed during the transition. Set the expectations so that everyone has an idea of what to expect and why it is important to be organized.
You are in for a long day (especially with the kids). 1+ hours prior to departure you’ll have to be at your home airport, 2? hours flight to Gatwick, 2.5 hours connection, 7+ hour flight to Orlando, 1 hour getting out of Orlando airport and to the hotel. That makes roughly 14 hours of travel time. I might suggest a night layover in England for the trip. It will cut down on stess time during the connection, and a more relaxed pace.
It eats up a day of vacation, but may be worth considering? Maybe for the way back.
Why not take an overnight in London and a flight out the next day?
Much safer, and a chance to show the kids Big Ben . . . I always find these little mini-stops very restful on a long trip, and they completely negate the stress of connections. Just pack an overnight bag for each, (you’d want that for your carry-on anyway in case of emergency) and check the bags for the second flight before you leave the airport.
At first glance it looks OK. Gatwick is a fairly “easy” airport (especially compared with Heathrow), but there are some factors which would cause me concern.
Norwegian Air Shuttle is a low cost carrier, so I doubt very much if you will be able to interline the luggage. This makes the international-to-international connections a real pain. You will have to “enter” the UK, clearing immigration, collecting bags, clearing customs and quarantine, rechecking bags, and reclearing security. With your large party that will be quite time-consuming.
Now for the possible deal-breaker. As far as I can tell, Norwegian Air Shuttle uses Gatwick’s South Terminal while BA uses the North Terminal. The train connecting the two runs frequently and is quite quick, but on top of what is already a schedule which has some risk, it could make a difference. Especially considering you will be hauling your luggage along with you.
It’s unfortunate that BA only flies to Heathrow from Oslo. The Heathrow to Gatwick connection is definitely one to be avoided.
2.5 hours isn’t too bad. Gatwick’s not an enormous airport. Could you call the airline to find out exactly what would happen if your connecting flights were delayed so much that you missed your plane?
Could you manage with only carry-on luggage? Look at the sizes of those carry-on bags - you can fit a surprising amount in them. Of course, if you have to take a buggy for the baby, that option’s out.
Aren’t there any Oslo-Gatwick flights that arrive earlier (and leave later, in the opposite direction), with a different airline?
I wouldn’t go for an overnight stopover in London - it’s an expensive place to stay, Gatwick is quite a way from the centre (adding to travel costs and times), you’d have to go through passport control again, and you wouldn’t see anything of London except stuff out of train or coach windows.
2.5 hours is actually pretty good for changing planes, it’s enough time to do what you have to do without making you sit for hours in a waiting area. The problem is that you the airlines don’t have a relationship so you are totally on your own and if there is a delay, or other problem, you are SOL. Most likely doable, but the older I get, the more I’m willing to pay a little extra to avoid these kinds of problems.
Thanks for the feedback, everybody! I’m now getting cold feet about this particular route I’d probably risk it if it was just me, the fella, and the young flodnaks (who are 9 and 15 now), but add in the rest of the group and it just seems like too many possibilities for something to go wrong.
Unfortunately BA and SAS only fly to London Heathrow from Oslo. Norwegian is the only airline flying Oslo to Gatwick, and with their schedules the best we can hope for is a 2.5 hour layover each direction. Flying with SAS or BA would mean either transferring from Heathrow to Gatwick (not practical) or flying to another American destination and making another connection. There’s still a possibility of a one-stop flight via Frankfurt, so we’ll be looking for the best combination of price and speed.
One tip many travelers do is to FedEx their luggage in advance, and then FecEx them home.
It helps for two reasons:
You don’t have to worry about it and it is there at the hotel when you arrive. No waiting for luggage and no lost luggage. Put it all in one large box.
You have to pack sensibly and not overdo it. Why take toothpaste, suntan oil, or shampoo? They sell it where you are going and it is one less thing to pack. Same with towels (all hotels have them) and other items people usually pack needlessly.
That way, you only need a small bag with important documents, medications, etc. to carry on-board, and nothing else.
Onebag.com. I’m not religious but that website converted me.
We just did 2 family vacations after I read that website. First was to Jamaica over New Year’s and it was our test trip as it was one destination and it was only for a week. The five of us, aged 38, 35, 15, 9, and 7 at the time, each had a camping sized backpack that were at the carryon limit. This included all clothes, toiletries, games, shoes, and books. They were stuffed a bit full, but we learned for our next trip what we needed and what we could cut out the next time. When we went to India with a stop in NYC at the end of March, we had to pack for two weeks and possible colder weather. Even the fashion-conscience 15 year old made her outfits last longer by having mixable pieces. Not having to worry about checking any bags in and having less to go through security made our transfers much quicker.
If you do Disney, there are many Dopers with good ideas.
Fall is a good time to go, particularly if yo can go in late September or October, when most US schools are in session. Before we had kids Mama Zappa and I went to Disney World in October. The days were not too hot, the nights were not too cold, and there were practically no lines for the rides!! OK, we went past one ride because there was a ten minute wait :eek: Great fun! We’re looking forward to Disney in October when the kids are both in college!
When Mama Zappa and I went to Disney World a few years ago with a group of several families, we rented a couple of houses nearby that we shared with the group, as described in [post=10788320]this post[/post]. We’ve since stayed on site, which worked well for our family of four, but I have fond memories of our shared house experience just outside of Walt Disney World.
My advice is to seek out fellow country-men who have vacationed in Orlando. Two years ago, I went to a convention in Orlando (Disney World) and I know that there were quite a few Norwegians there. They may have first hand experience on your preferred itinerary.
How crazy? Very. If you know anything about the UK.
I live in England, about 25 minutes from Gatwick. I’ve used all the London airports frequently. There are always many unexpected aspects of travelling, but if you have the gross misfortune to have anything to do with a London airport, you can absolutely, positively, certain of encountering the worst levels of customer ‘service’ and efficiency you have ever seen in your life.
If you are flying into Gatwick and trying to make a connecting flight from a different airline (with no ‘code sharing’ to ease the pain), then a 2.5 hour gap would be fairly comfortable anywhere else in the world, or if you were dealing with any sensible country that as its act together. If you were flying through Germany or Japan, for example, you could at least expect the airport people to be as helpful as possible. But in London… no way. Everything that can go wrong, will. Everything will occur as slowly and inefficiently as possible. Asking for any kind of a helpful attitude or efficient service will be met with utter and complete indifference. The more you plead that you have an urgent flight to catch, the less they will care.
What’s more, you will be in the nanny state capital of the world, so you may be forced to comply with whatever bogus, unnecessary, time-wasting piece of ‘security theatre’ they have dreamed up for fun that day, and you can’t complain about any of it without being branded a criminal.
If you are flying into Gatwick and out of Heathrow, forget any hope of managing it in 2.5 hours. You will need an entire morning or afternoon at least.
You have already been given plenty of good advice. Travelling light is always a good idea, under any circumstances. But I don’t know of any bright ideas that are going to help you with your Oslo > Orlando problem.
Flying in and staying somewhere overnight seems to be the only option. But it’s going to be expensive for a group of that size, no matter what options you choose. Sorry.
I’d probably risk it if it was just me, the fella, and the young flodnaks (who are 9 and 15 now), but add in the rest of the group and it just seems like too many possibilities for something to go wrong.