Thank you to everyone for all of the helpful hints! I am flying on Air Canada. didn't see an Economy Plus option. ..only Economy, Business and First.


My friend is picking me up at Heathrow. He will be off work for most of the time I am there. I am combining the holiday with a research study I am doing. Hopefully he won't let me commit too many social faux pas! He plays rugby, so I will get to see a match while I am there. He will also have his kids one weekend, so we'll do mild tourism stuff with them.

A rugby match -- that's terrific! You will have a blast. I have flown Air Canada only once long ago, so I can't speak to amenities/food on it.

I fly from Charlotte to Toronto, then leave Toronto at 9 p.m., landing in London at about 11 a.m.. My friend figured that between waiting for luggage and customs, he needed to be out front at about 1 p.m to pick me up. Does that sound about right?

I don't think it's ever taken me more than an hour from ground to cab. YMMV, though, and it's hard to predict. Your flight could run late or early, your luggage could get lost, etc. It's more a question of which one of you will do the waiting - him in the car or you in the airport!

It's never taken me longer than an hour to get to the trains. The luggage and customs are quite fast at Heathrow. Wear socks with your shoes, and make sure you pack your toiletries on top of your carry on, since you will have to take them out for security checks. I usually don't bother with big bottles of shampoo because they always seem to leak and weigh a lot. I pack a small bottle in my carry on, and buy a bottle on location.

I agree with drinking a lot of water and wearing layers on the plane. I usually wear a big scarf that can double as a blanket or pillow. On overnight flights I prefer the window seat, that way I can sleep and sit away from the person next to me. Chewing gum helps with the pressure on your ears when taking off/landing.

Rugby matches are great! Have fun! The only major difference I've noticed in social settings it that Brits tend to be more reserved at first.

When you check in 24 hours in advance, there may be some special seating available for a cost. Just keep a look out for that online.

I think 1 hour is sufficient for him. Make sure you have your cell phone set for international calling/texting/data. It's cheap and will be a life-saver. Like all major airports, he's not going to be able to stop and wait for you, so being able to call him and say where you are when you've made it outside will help the process.

I didn't realize it was complicated to travel overseas until I started working on this. I called my cell phone company, and can get a 1-month international plan for $25. Phone calls will be $.99 a minute, incoming texts $.05 and outgoing texts are $.50. As for data, 2 MB is $25.....that's not much. I don't think I will get a data plan, but try to use free wi-fi where ever I can.

Since I will definitely want to be able to change into not-dirty clothes and freshen up some before leaving the airport, the extra hour may give me a chance to rehydrate, wash my face, brush my teeth, change clothes....become human again after a night spent in an airplane seat. I don't mind waiting for someone at the airport. I hate circling the airport waiting for someone to call me, though.

As a flight attendant, I can share several tips with you that I have found to be helpful, and also some things I have witnessed that are not. Try to sleep on the flight over, but remember flying is very dehydrating, so do not use alcohol to lull you into sleep and definitely do not mix sleep plissé and alcohol...you do not even want to hear the stories I could tell on that one. Speaking of sleeping pills, I do not encourage their use at all unless you are currently using them and know how you react. If you feel it may be an issue, I would recommend a 'simply sleep' option or melatonin. You really shouldn't need them unless you already have sleep issues.
Be careful about consuming too much salt, etc. before or during the flight due to dehydration.
If you must imbibe, remember alcohol affects the body inflight much differently. 1 drink equals 2, and it can get embarrassing quickly.
Use noise canceling headsets (you can get these online for a decent price).
Get on schedule as quickly as possible. Stay up when you arrive until a decent bed time. This should help your sleep cycle.
If you get to the Nottinghill area, eating at Churchill's is a must! Great Thai food in the back of a very beautiful, traditional British Pub.
Tell your bank you will be traveling, so no charges are blocked.
If you have an iPhone, imessaging is free from phone to phone in wifi area (as is FaceTime). Otherwise, sign up for magic jack or viber. (Other users must have viber to receive calls).
Use your credit/ATM card to get money while you are there. You get the best rate this way. Many banks charge a small fee, so consider that so you don't have too many transactions.

I agree about the one hour through customs and at the door. It's good to have a bit of time to get a Starbuck's and wash up quickly. But the loos at Heathrow are large (regardless of terminal) (Douglas Airport this is not ). : )
They never appealed much to me other than a usual tour of duty. When flying I tend to wear some black pants or jeans on-board and a comfy grey top that allows a snooze but looks good upon landing when paired with a pretty knotted scarf or chain necklace. Put your hair up, and you can look fairly polished with a facewash and some lipstick! : )

Remember that 11 am Greenwich is 6 am Eastern. You may be famished after disembarking. Use your time to eat something too.

And speaking of Starbuck's, English coffee has improved. Howecver, you can still get some pretty sorry coffee. If you are a coffee fiend, buy a pack of Starbuck's Via coffee (the little tube packets of instant). They can be a godsend. Our office coffee was vile; and the coffeeshop, pricey.

Thank you for explaining that........glad I don't have to pack the Keurig!!!!

If you have an unlocked smart phone, just look at buying a pay-as-you-go sim card once you get to the UK. It would be a LOT cheaper (MAYBE £10 for unlimited). Free wi-fi is actually not as easily found in the UK as it is in the US - coffee shops will have it as will some restaurants, but overall the UK has better mobile service and I think they don't do as much wi-fi for that reason (and the fact internet service is more expensive and slower).

I also will agree that an hour is MORE than enough time for the plane to land, get to immigration, get through immigration, and get your luggage at Heathrow. I would typically plan 3 hours from landing to when my train would leave King's Cross and had LOTS of time to spend in King's Cross.

I agree with the others -- if you land at 11 AM, I'd have your friend waiting at noon - unless you plan to get lunch at the airport before he arrives.

I also agree on the pay as you go phone plan. If you want a phone while you are there, have your friend ask around to see if anyone has an old phone you can borrow...then once you arrive, you can take the phone to any phone store (there are lots of them all over) and get a pay as you go sim card. It'll be way cheaper. Load £10 on it and you'll be good to go. If there are no extra phones, you can buy a cheapo one for less than your US carrier will charge for a loaner phone, etc.

Yeah, I'd get a local pay as you go sim card. But be careful which provider you go with, as some didn't have excellent coverage in London (this was 10 years ago, so may have improved)

Thank you for the advice on the phone. Getting a "disposable phone" sounds like a fine idea. I can communicate with him while I'm there, and maybe even be able to communicate with my family by using the Facebook chat feature (if the phone has data) or text messages.

I'm hoping the trip will be fun. I haven't seen my friend since before his children were born, even though we've kept in touch. I went to Costa Rica once with a friend, but haven't been out of the country otherwise (does across the border to Mexico or Canada even count as international???). I'll be there two weeks, so that should be enough time for culture shock to wear off enough for me to enjoy the trip!!

Thanks for the advice on the "blood pudding" or sausage, or whatever.....I'll avoid anything with the word "blood" in the title. He does want me to make Southern biscuits, as soon as he can wrap his head around the fact that they aren't digestives. :confused:

For some reason, physical adjustments on the flight have me more worried than strange food, and even stranger accents, do! I don't typically have a problem with flying. I've flown from Charlotte to Costa Rico, Palm Springs, Denver.....those were long flights. This one shouldn't really be different, correct?