I work in Brussels, Belgium. This summer I plan to fly to L.A.. There is not direct flight from Brussels to L.A., I must have one stop in Europe or in US continent to arrive in L.A.. I do not want to have my first stop in Europe, I would like to stop over in the US continent. I found out there are several US airports I could choose as my interval stop to L.A.. Those airports are Chicago (ORD), Atlanta (ATL), Philadelphia (PHL), New York (Newark), Minneapolis and Washington D.C. According to the passengers data provided by the World Aviation authority, it seems to me that the busiest airport is Atlanta, then followed by Chicago, Minneapolis, Newark, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. In order to have a smooth travel and happy transfer, could some one tell me which airport should I choose for my first stop in states? Thanks a lot.
Air Travel - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
I have flown from London and Amsterdam to the US and changed planes in Minneapolis (this is with Northwest Airlines). Never had any problems, and MSP is a nice airport with good facilities and layout. Customs people were really nice there too and no long queues, and baggage transfer was really easy. Minneapolis is also a great city for a short visit if you wanted to stay a few days before going on to LA. Only problem is a rare one: in the summer time the Great Plains region (including Minneapolis) can get very big violent thunderstorms which can close airports and cause delays. Happened to me once at MSP at the end of June, but it's not that frequent: i think i was just unlucky.
2 :
Chicago is probably the worst airport to connect at since they over-schedule the number of take-offs and landings they can handle. Flying into the New York area is also pretty bad since that region has the most number of aircraft flying there at a given time. I think flying into Minneapolis or Washington D.C. would be your best bet. Of course you cannot really factor in if on the day you fly how the weather will be. If there are thunderstorms around the area, any airport will be delayed. Just make sure you have enough time between connections. I know United Airlines has a hub in Washington D.C. and a hub in Los Angeles. Therefore they will have quite a few flights between those 2 cities.
3 :
I think you have out of date information. Scheduled nonstop flights between Brussels and the USA for summer 2007 -- Chicago O'Hare airport (on SN Brussels Airlines, operated by codeshare partner American Airlines), Detroit (Northwest Airlines), New York's JFK Airport (American/SN Brussels, Delta), Washington DC's Dulles Airport (United Airlines), Newark (Continental Airlines), Atlanta (Delta), and Philadelphia (USAirways). There is no nonstop service scheduled between Brussels and Minneapolis. Among these, I would choose New York. What a great place for a stopover! Also, there are a lot of nonstop flight options to LA area airports from New York's JFK and Newark airports, on good airlines like JetBlue.
4 :
Please keep in mind that the US Customs and Immigration Service requires you to clear immigration and customs at your first point of entry in the United States. Unless you plan on staying over in whatever city you choose to fly into, you could spend most of your layover in long lines. You will first have to clear immigration, collect your luggage, clear customs, then check-in your bags and then clear security before connecting to your flight to LA, you may have to endure long lines and waits in any of the above procedures. I personally think it would be much easier to connect in Europe and have your luggage forwarded on to LA from Brussels. If you MUST stopover somewhere in the US, leave yourself plenty of time between flights. Good luck.
