Long layover vs more flights

[King Simba]

The ESTA thing has been around since last year at least. I remember being taken by surprise when I was flying out to Mexico last year. When I was checking in for my flight to Dallas, they told me my boarding pass couldn't be authorised because I didn't have an ESTA visa, so I had to go on the internet there and apply for one. It's valid until 30th July 2012 though, so it'll still be valid for when I travel this time, thank goodness. That sucks that you have to pay for it now though... I was thinking it being free was too good for it to last. Hopefully it's not too expensive.

As for the more flights vs long layovers thing, I would prefer more long layovers too, if I'm honest. When I booked my flights at the beginning of the year, I was hoping to get flights both ways that would only have one layover, but unfortunately the flight I was hoping to get on the way back must've sold out just before I considered booking them, so I have to go from El Paso to Atlanta, then from Atlanta to Charles de Gaulle in Paris, before flying back to Manchester. I am not looking forward to that journey. And on the last flight I only have like 90 mins in CDG before my flight back to Manchester, which is going to be pretty risky if there's a delay, even more so if they don't check my bags straight through. That's why I'd prefer longer layovers to more flights. There's less chance in you missing your flight that way, and even though the idea of sitting in an airport for a long time is quite boring, for me it seems to be less stressful. Probably because I prefer to be on the ground rather than flying too. Flying can make me nervous.

I'll be in Atlanta for 5 hours on my layover going, which isn't so bad. If I have a delay it'll give me more time to get through passport and security, and if not, well, I have plenty of time to do that, and I can also get myself some lunch or something while I'm waiting. Besides, I'm not so familiar with Atlanta's airport, so I'll need to find where my gate is for my next flight. I was more familiar with Dallas because I had been in there with Leor before so I had time to familiarise myself.

Well, I went into a bit of a rant there it seems, so I'll stop now. Glad you're getting closer to having a final date. I hope you get to book your flight soon.

[Lucy]

The ESTA thing has been around since last year at least. I remember being taken by surprise when I was flying out to Mexico last year. When I was checking in for my flight to Dallas, they told me my boarding pass couldn't be authorised because I didn't have an ESTA visa, so I had to go on the internet there and apply for one. It's valid until 30th July 2012 though, so it'll still be valid for when I travel this time, thank goodness. That sucks that you have to pay for it now though... I was thinking it being free was too good for it to last. Hopefully it's not too expensive.

It's only about $15 for two years. I myself only found out about the ESTA about two weeks before the flight, thanks to Virgin Atlantic emailing me to tell me about it, otherwise I'd have had no idea. I was amused by the questions they ask though, especially the Nazi one. I dunno if that's still on there