Visiting London UK

[another cfii]

Just check here to see if anybody has any recommendation for a first timer to London. Where did you stay? I am thinking staying in a single private room in a hostel? If you have any ideas of where to stay, where to play, please post.

Thanks.

 

[garf12]

I lived in London last summer for 2 months, its an awsome place, tons of fun. I was studying over there so I stayed in a dorm most of the time, but the last two days there I stayed at the La Meridian hotel. Its very nicey but rather pricey.

One of my favorite areas was piccadilly circus, lots of good bars and resaturants around there. Some other cool things to see and do are, trafalgar square, the eye of london, the tower of london, stonehenge. Those are just a few. Just ask if you have any more questions.

 

[shamrock]

I stayed in a small hotel near Victoria Station when I went to London in 2001. I was able to take the train from Gatwick and walk to the hotel, and the hotel was walking distance to many landmarks. (Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament!!!) Once you are there, there are double decker's that make a loop around the city with stops at many different attractions. You can buy a pass that allows you to get on and off wherever and whenever you want for a certain period of time, 24 hours in my case. The bus' I used had narrators describing history and facts about the sights which is also pretty interesting.

It's a great city to visit and I'm going to try to get back over soon. No need for a car, just bring some comfortable shoes!!!!

 

[garf12]

yeah those tour buses are great for finding all the good sites. The subway is also really easy and convient to use.

 

[another cfii]

Anyone has any experience jumpseating out of Gatwick or Heathrow? What is the proper procedure??

 

[garf12]

have no experience with it, but from what I have read it seems unless you fly for a major 121 you are SOL.

 

[atrdriver]

I always stay at a place called the Carlton hotel, which is between Victoria and Pimlico stations. Small rooms, and really small bathrooms, but at 49 pounds a night not bad, and you're not doing anything but sleeping in the rooms anyway. Make sure you go to the RAF museum in Hendon. Take the Northern line tube to Colindale stop, then it's walking distance. If you can, take a train to Cambridge and go to Duxford AAF as well, and Portsmouth is worth seeing if you have time...

atrdriver

 

[garf12]

The imperial war museum is also really cool.

 

[another cfii]

Thanx for all the good reply. I am planning on jumpseating on Delta or NW to Gatwick, and probably plan to stay somewhere close to the Victoria station, since it's so close to all the attractions.

I am hoping someone that has been JS before to tell me how's the experience..

 

[nimtz]

Thanx for all the good reply. I am planning on jumpseating on Delta or NW to Gatwick, and probably plan to stay somewhere close to the Victoria station, since it's so close to all the attractions.

I am hoping someone that has been JS before to tell me how's the experience..

From one poor regional FO to another here's my advice:

First off if J/S is on your mind double check with your JS cordinator to make sure you can go on DAL or NWA as a jumpseater. Lots of companies have different rules these days with the international due to TSA bullsh!t, so make sure you know the legality before you go. Might not be a bad idea to back-up the JS with an ID-90 just in case sh!t goes down. I'm sure the procedure would involve talking to the check-in folks and then meeting the crew before they clear security. Better plan on getting there 2 hours before departure to be on the safe side. Wouldn't hurt to know the loads ahead of time so you aren't shocked when no ride is possible. I came back from Europe two weeks ago and made it by the skin of my teeth.

Second, better have your wallet ready in London. I lived there in college for four months and it scares me to remember how much I spent there although I had the time of my life. Having a good night out getting drunk and going to a good pub/club will cost you 80 bills EASILY. I go out in NYC alot and it always seems cheaper when I compare it to what I dumped in the London.

If your traveling by yourself I highly recommend going the hostel route even if it means bunking with strangers. You might need to bring little things like a small flashlight, towel, and lock but it's worth the inconvience for the price. You'll be hard pressed to find a hotel in Central London for under 100 bucks/night. While a hostel will not be as clean or private at the end of the day you will appreciate paying 70% less for lodging and being right in the middle of things

The way I look at it is I travel to places to do the tourist sh!t, walk around alot, and get p!ss @ss drunk at night. As long as my head has a pillow to hit at the end of the night I'll be just fine. Check out the hostels ahead of time on the internet, but if it is a YHA hostel you should be okay. Plus hostels are a great way to meet young foreign chicks.

As for getting around, f*ck the tourist bus. The subway/tube in London will get you everywhere you need to go and is easy to figure out. It is much more worth it to walk around to the sites then sit there on some double decker bus next to a 55 year fat, loud guy named DALE from North Carolina. You can get a day pass on the tube for pretty cheap. Definetly check out Oxford and Piccadely Circus at night as well as the sometimes forgotten Imperial War Musuem during the day. If you're there on a Sunday go to Speaker's Corner to get entertained and hear the evils of George W. Participate at you're own risk. As far at the pubs well pretty much everyone in Central London is good fun although the food tends to be rubbish.

The English are great people, but I found most Americans struggle with them at first cause the English are extremely sarcastic. You have to learn how to fight back with your own sacrasm to really win them over. Oh and be ready for beer that is quite bitter and at near room temperature. You can always tell the new tourist at a pub cause he's the guy who takes a drink and looks like he sucked on a lemon. Once you get use to it you'll never go back, especially since the Guinness is so good. That's the best advice I can give from someone who has done it before with your income status.

 

[340drvr]

Guinness!....It's not just for breakfast anymore!

 

[EagleRJ]

Gatwick is the best way into London. It has fewer flights to the US, so the crowds aren't as bad as at Heathrow. It's not quite as close to the city center, but you're going to have to take the train anyway.

Determining if you can jumpseat to England is the lesser of your worries. More important is if you can jumpseat back out! You'll need to check with the airline and get specific instructions, and you may need to make "reservations" for the jumpseat. It would be a real bummer to have to buy a walk-up one way ticket to get back home! Bringing an ID-90 wouldn't be a bad idea. Check on paperwork requirements when you check in for the return flight- there are numerous paperwork checks, and the Brits are sticklers for having the proper papers.
It's true that only 121 pilots with a reciprocal agreement can j/s on US carriers. Foreign carriers do pretty much whatever they want.

If you are set on staying downtown, you'll be hard pressed to find a "US style" hotel (en-suite bathroom) for less than $130/night. You can get a much better deal staying at a Bed & Breakfast in the outskirts (close to the airport). For $50-$80, you'll get a much better room than a hostel, and they'll cook you breakfast in the morning!

 

[another cfii]

To enlighten a poor FO, what is ID-90?? I've JS a few times into Canada, but I'm sure it's a lot different. I plan to come back thru big ol' NW in Gatwick, and the plane is only half full for the most part of the month. I'll go talk to my JS coordinator and find out the full scope. Folks I talk to, they all say it's a easy ride, but I just wanna be on the safe side when you're in someone elses' backyard Thanks for all the info, it's great!

 

[nimtz]

To enlighten a poor FO, what is ID-90?? I've JS a few times into Canada, but I'm sure it's a lot different. I plan to come back thru big ol' NW in Gatwick, and the plane is only half full for the most part of the month. I'll go talk to my JS coordinator and find out the full scope. Folks I talk to, they all say it's a easy ride, but I just wanna be on the safe side when you're in someone elses' backyard Thanks for all the info, it's great!

ID-90 is basically a stand-by ticket you purchase on another airline that gives you stand-by rights on a given route. I believe it is 10% of the highest economy fare sold on the route. You are the lowest priority stand-by behind revenue and all of the airline's employees/companions. Being stand-by still stinks, but it gives you another option to get home which is important when we are talking about internationals with only one-two flights per day.

The other piece of good news is that they are completely refundable, so if you don't use it return it and get all your money back. It also allows you to get to places that no US airline serves and not deal with potential JS drama. I wouldn't of gotten to New Zealand last year without some form of ID-90.

To get one all you have to do is go to any of your airline's ticket counters (ie if your Pinnacle go to NWA), show them you're ID, and tell them you need an ID-90 on Delta or whoever on LGW-CVG for example (sometimes depending on agreement it can be a zone fare which is even cheaper). They do some computing, pop them you're credit card and your on your way. Pretty much the same thing if you want to return the thing. That's the way it happens at Continental so I assume it's pretty standard elsewhere.

As I said it is smart to hold onto as a back-up primarily. These days JS international is not a sure thing due to our @sshole TSA friends. You never know if there is a spike in security they might suspend all JS privilges on international. You don't want to stuck having to work the next day with an ocean between you and home.

I caution you again about the loads. Whenever you think it is wide open all the time, it tends to fill the day you want to leave. Always have a rough idea with what you're working with before you go to the airport. I sat through three flights at Prague a few weeks ago where the first two were wide open when I checked earlier in the day. However cancelations and rain shower put me out of luck. The only reason I made the third was cause an EXTREMELY kind agent took pity on me and put me on instead of a revenue stand-by who was a complete @ss to her.

When non-reving it's always best to know every detail so you can react to the suprises. Too bad they can't teach you this in new hire training. You got learn on the go and get burned once in a while to learn that game.

 

[saabtrash]

I just went there in June for the second time...it rules! As far as how to get there goes, I am affiliated with NW (work for mesaba) and their jumpseat policy sucks, and now since you can't even occupy the physical jumpseat unless you work for NWA, it is even worse. I went with everyones advice this time and bought a non rev pass (ID-90) on Continental. They were great. Enough said, the roundtrip pass cost me about $200, but it was worth not worrying the whole time I was there. PM me if you want anymore info. Have fun, and enjoy the pubs.

 

[Wankel7]

Heading to Gatwick myself today. Just going for the day...should be a hoot