I was planning my next holiday to the US when I first stumbled upon the idea of travelling by train. I have never particularly been a train enthusiast, but I was intrigued by the thought of seeing the natural beauty of America’s landscape that you miss when travelling by plane. After considering a train from New York City up to Niagra Falls on the Canadian border, I saw something that caught my eye.

The California Zephyr (run by Amtrak) was said to be one of the most beautiful train trips in the whole of North America. I read a lot of traveller reviews on Trip Advisor and most people had good things to say about the journey. The train starts in Emeryville next to San Francisco and arrives at the city of Chicago over 51 hours later. The train also stops at Salt Lake City, Denver and Omaha along the way.

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This is the last blog post on the subject.

Continental Airlines
an official three-Star Airline

Again, this airline is made for the budget economy traveller. A lot of people on the flights from the UK seemed to have problems sitting with their fellow traveller, but as I was travelling alone, did not experience any of these issues. The service was what you’d expect for the price you pay, average. These days there is a lot of choice so I’d recommend looking around and possibly paying a little extra when on an eight hour plus flight.

There are many different airlines to choose from, mostly with mixed reviews, however, that old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ still stands true with regards to long haul flights.

You don’t necessarily need to pay for the First, Business Class or even Premium Economy upgrades to have a relaxing and enjoyable flight, but you should possibly consider economy flight sales from the ‘big players’ in the industry.

In the last blog post I was looking at the two big airlines in the UK, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Now I will be looking at three airlines I have flown with in the past.

Air France
A Skytrax four-star airline

When I flew with Air France to the US a few years back, I must say it was one of the cheapest flights I have been on. The only issue was that I had to sit close to the toilets on the way to America and the smell was particularly bad at times. Also, most flights transfer in Paris and the time they allowed to get from one plane to another was ridiculous. The walkway was like a cattle grid to get to customs and it was so slow we almost missed the connection. The food was ok, and like I said, it was very cheap, but I think I’d rather pay more for the comfort factor.

American Airlines
an official three-Star Airline

I have flown with AA on a number of occasions to the US and on internal American Eagle flight and have always found them to be well-priced and efficient. There are a lot of mixed reviews on the site and these experiences are nothing like my own.

As I said in the previous article, this is not a definitive airline list, just a selection of five of the better know airlines and ones I have travelled on previously.

British Airways
A Skytrax four-star airline

I have flown with BA on a number of occasions including once on World Traveller Plus. I was very happy with the food, service and in-flight entertainment received and would use them again – although they are not the cheapest flights.

Virgin Atlantic
A Skytrax four-star airline

I have not flown with Virgin yet, and have generally heard good reviews regarding their service from friends, despite some bad reviews on the Skytrax website. The entertainment on offer is said to be top class but the flight prices are generally higher than BA, which itself is not cheap.

News just in…

I was writing in a recent blog post about Michael Jackson that although full refunds had been offered by Ticketmaster, there was no news on refunds for the Aftershow party to be held at the IndigO2 nightclub.

I have just received the following email from Ticketmaster:

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It is easy to recall that feeling of anticipation at the airport, knowing your bags are all checked-in, the holiday is planned and paid for; all that is left is to wait until it is time for you to board the plane. You can now start to think the holiday has finally arrived.

As you wait to go to the gate and the boarding call, you may grab a coffee or get a snack from the many vending machines dotted around the waiting area. It’s also a great feeling to get a newspaper, chill out and just contemplate what you’ll be doing for the next week or so, once you arrive at your holiday destination.

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Let me start by stating that I’m not really a seasoned traveller but have been on a number of different flights with various airline carriers over the years, especially to the United States.

I have found a good website called www.airlinequality.com (Skytrax) that has a rating system for each airline carrier and also includes reviews from travellers themselves. This website was a really good source of information as in many cases it confirmed what I had already generally thought about certain airlines.

If you have got a cheapish long haul flight you don’t usually expect to be offered the most luxurious of journeys, but it can help to alleviate the boredom if you have a decent in-flight entertainment system.

In the next few posts I will look at five carriers and offer my experience of each, as well as the Airline Quality view.

Many people are still undecided this year as to whether they can afford to splash out on a summer holiday abroad or just to stay in the UK. I have been considering a holiday abroad as I haven’t travelled out of the country now for a couple of years.

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If you are going on holiday in the near future but wondering how to get the best deal on currency then you should consider the following pointers;

• If you have time to apply before you go abroad, there are some specialised credit and debit cards that beat bureau de change rates.
• Don’t leave it to the last minute – if you try and buy currency at the airport before you fly than it can be even more costly and you probably won’t get a good rate for your money. If you have pre-ordered the currency online then this can lock in the price and you will get better rates. You can then pick the money up at the airport.

The best piece of advice I can give is to check out the “Cheap Travel Money Guide” on Martin Lewis’ website – www.moneysavingexpert.com.

The “Travel Money Maximiser” works like a shopbot and can trawl through currency sites and get you the best deal around. Test this out at: http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/.

There are an abundance of flight and holiday deals available at the moment. I am looking to go to the United States or Canada over the next few months. If you are flexible with your travel dates, there are loads of deals to be found out there.

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