The wife and I are travelling to London/Scotland in mid-March of next year and as this is my first experience booking travel abroad, I have no idea when I should be booking these flights. I've heard anywhere between 2 and 10 months prior which seems like a huge range.

I know we'd like to fly premium economy if we can swing it, but other than that I'm not set on a particular airline. Does anyone have any recs for when to book and which airline to fly? We'd be departing out of IAH.

Check Manchester also. Singapore Airlines flies direct IAH-MAN several times a week and fares are <$1000 RT.

Mid March if off-peak so prices shouldn't be too bad.
Any airline will do from IAH.
I would say really start looking 3months out and book by about 1.5-2 most likely for best pricing.

Also it may depend on if you fly to LHR or EDI....
I know for us (and we will be flying out Christmas time from BNA) we are flying to LHR direct then if we go up to Scotland we will take the train.

The United premier plus seats on the 787 are fantastic, if that's an option. We upgraded this summer on a flight from Milan and it was only $299 each (to upgrade to "extra legroom" seats in economy was $269).

Highly suggest the IAH to Manchester flight. I've taken it a few times. It's often fairly empty so you can spread out. Singapore's service beats United by a mile so you'll have a better onboard experience. A350 is a nice, modern plane.

Also puts you halfway between London and Scotland.

Don't sleep on Northern England if you've got time. Lake District, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales

Lake District / Scotland will likely be our family trip next summer.

I would consider going into Edinburgh or Glasgow to avoid LHR. Then, to visit London use the train service which is very efficient and will take you in to central London.

Aggie71013 said:

---

Highly suggest the IAH to Manchester flight. I've taken it a few times. It's often fairly empty so you can spread out. Singapore's service beats United by a mile so you'll have a better onboard experience. A350 is a nice, modern plane.

Also puts you halfway between London and Scotland.

Don't sleep on Northern England if you've got time. Lake District, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales

---

Yup. Singapore Air's quality of service beats every airline by a mile.

Singapore Airlines to Manchester is the way to go with this. So much better than any US or European airline....and typically cheaper.

pbrancazio said:

---

I would consider going into Edinburgh or Glasgow to avoid LHR. Then, to visit London use the train service which is very efficient and will take you in to central London.

---

This was in 2016... but last time I flew to EDI, it was on United with the caveat that Direct was from Chicago, had to fly IAH to ORD first.
I dint think IAH has Direct flights to EDI or Glasgow.

That's correct. Non-stops to Europe from IAH are:

London (BA and United)
Manchester (Singapore)
Paris (Air France)
Frankfurt (Lufthansa and United)
Munich ( United - Seasonal)
Amsterdam (KLM and United)
Istanbul (Turkish)

I'd play with Google Flights and plan your trip accordingly.

If you are looking for a cheap flight and don't mind flying Delta with a stop in ATL:

Cheap Flights: Houston to Prague, Manchester, or Vienna $579-$635 r/t [October-March] Delta

https://escapehouston.com/24753/cheap-flights-houston-to-prague-manchester-or-vienna-579-635-r-t-october-march-delta/

More Europe flights on sale:

Cheap Flights: Houston to Helsinki, Edinburgh, Cork, or Bilbao $525-$648 r/t [October-March] Delta / Air France

https://escapehouston.com/24759/cheap-flights-houston-to-helsinki-edinburgh-cork-or-bilbao-525-648-r-t-october-march-delta-air-france/

This is excellent advice. We just got back from a trip to London and Edi and flew round trip United IAH-LHR on points and then upgraded for a couple hundred dollars for premium economy, which had plenty of legroom and space even when people reclined. Highly recommend the 787 Dreamliner.

We flew direct to London and spent a few days, then took the train to Edinburgh out of Kings Cross. We then took a BA flight to LHR to connect to our return UA flight. We did have to go back through security at LHR, so I was glad we had several hours budgeted for that connection. The UA lounge was very nice in that terminal too.

This will be controversial on this thread because people seem to like it but I have done the London to Manchester flight. Yes the Singapore service is a cut above… but the problem is it puts you in Manchester. Unless you are off to the Lake District or actually spending time around Manchester, I don't get the point. You get off a Transatlantic flight, grab your luggage and spend an additional 75 to go on a train that hopefully is running on time to get to your destination which will take minimum 3 hours from when you get through customs. And this is if the trains are running alright and not in what's starting to feel like a weekly rail industrial strike action. Pass. Acknowledge I say this as somebody who lives and works in England so the value proposition is probably a little bit different arriving at my home and stuff vs. a hotel.

But it's still a lot of time to waste in my opinion for a little bit of cost savings (like maybe $100-$200 that I recall) and slightly better service that is still airline service.

Fair point and totally understandable.

Can make that case if one is staying only in London / southern England / Wales, but since they're doing both Scotland and London theyre going to have to waste time on a train or airport to get to Scotland anyway. I'd rather the nonstop coming back out of Manchester then connection from Edinburgh to the east coast or all the way back to London to fly home.

Both viable options based on travel preferences.

Thanks everyone for the replies! This is all great information. We will consider the Manchester option. Another big decision we need to make is whether to rent a car or train

The idea of having freedom to go where we want on our own schedule is appealing, but I also don't want to be stressed the whole time.

I should also add that we'll be going with my in-laws, so that is 4 people plus luggage. I'm leaning towards only renting a car for the Scottish Highlands/Isle of Skye portion of our trip. Basically everything north of Edinburgh.

The train from London to Edinburgh is relaxing and zero stress, with lovely views of the towns and the coast as you make your way north. Waverly station is close to everything - we just walked to our hotel.

Edinburgh is a highly walkable city, but it is up and down fairly steep grades and stairs, in case anyone has mobility issues. We walked ~10-15k steps a day.

Aggie71013 said:

---

Fair point and totally understandable.

Can make that case if one is staying only in London / southern England / Wales, but since they're doing both Scotland and London theyre going to have to waste time on a train or airport to get to Scotland anyway. I'd rather the nonstop coming back out of Manchester then connection from Edinburgh to the east coast or all the way back to London to fly home.

Both viable options based on travel preferences.

---

The problem with this is I'm pretty sure there's no direct trains between Manchester and Edinburgh but I've also admittedly never done that trip myself... only Manchester to London. I think Edinburgh is the only station in Scotland that connects to England and it only connects by the East Coast Line… which Manchester isn't on. This is why I think you are wasting half a day at least utilizing the Manchester airport nearly any way you slice a trip to England that's not involving spending time in Wales or NW England.

I've only rented a car out of Manchester so no idea about train connections to Edinburgh.

Highly suggest Arnold Clark for car rentals in northern England or Scotland. Only had great experiences.

also consider flying into AMS and connecting from there northward.

ATM9000 said:

---

This will be controversial on this thread because people seem to like it but I have done the London to Manchester flight. Yes the Singapore service is a cut above… but the problem is it puts you in Manchester. Unless you are off to the Lake District or actually spending time around Manchester, I don't get the point. You get off a Transatlantic flight, grab your luggage and spend an additional 75 to go on a train that hopefully is running on time to get to your destination which will take minimum 3 hours from when you get through customs. And this is if the trains are running alright and not in what's starting to feel like a weekly rail industrial strike action. Pass. Acknowledge I say this as somebody who lives and works in England so the value proposition is probably a little bit different arriving at my home and stuff vs. a hotel.

But it's still a lot of time to waste in my opinion for a little bit of cost savings (like maybe $100-$200 that I recall) and slightly better service that is still airline service.

---

i agree. the rail system is nice, but there is a lot of strike action these days. it isn't too difficult to see ahead of time the strike days but still, if those coincide with your plan then you are SOL

We were in London in late July and the random Tube strikes caused us to Uber around to various places much more than planned. Certainly more convenient but $$$.

BaytownAg13 said:

---

Thanks everyone for the replies! This is all great information. We will consider the Manchester option. Another big decision we need to make is whether to rent a car or train

The idea of having freedom to go where we want on our own schedule is appealing, but I also don't want to be stressed the whole time.

I should also add that we'll be going with my in-laws, so that is 4 people plus luggage. I'm leaning towards only renting a car for the Scottish Highlands/Isle of Skye portion of our trip. Basically everything north of Edinburgh.

---

Only time I've rented a car in the UK was for the same - highlands part of my visit.
Other than that, take the train between London/Edinburgh.
In Edinburgh, if you don't walk to walk take the bus.
In the cities there is no need for a car; and driving is very stressful. Keep in mind there are very strict with red-light and speed cameras. It isn't difficult to do something we would do normally in the US like pulling slightly over the "Stop" line a a light that will get you a fine in the cities.

This. Driving in the UK under its driving rules is challenging enough. Having to do so in a huge metro area like London and Edinburgh is adding extreme pressure to an already tough driving ordeal.

If you're going to drive in the UK I highly suggest:

1. Have a navigator to give you directions
2. Download Google Maps offline so you can have turn by turn directions.
3. Stay on the outside of major cities and take public transport in

Aggie71013 said:

---

That's correct. Non-stops to Europe from IAH are:

London (BA and United)
Manchester (Singapore)
Paris (Air France)
Frankfurt (Lufthansa and United)
Munich ( United - Seasonal)
Amsterdam (KLM and United)
Istanbul (Turkish)

---

Kind of surprised this list is so short, United has not done IAH many favors since the merger.

They have not for Europe. DFW has a more varied list of destinations as AA serves more from DFW then United does from IAH. United seems to rely on their east coast hubs (IAD and EWR).

Amsterdam (AA)
Barcelona (AA - Seasonal)
Dublin (AA)
Frankfurt (AA and Lufthansa)
Helsinki (Finnair)
Istanbul (Turkish)
London (AA and BA)
Madrid (AA and Iberia)
Paris (AA and Air France)
Rome (AA)