Finding Flights to New York City

London to New York City must be the world's most competitive international route. All major airlines want to run scheduled services between London-Heathrow and John F. Kennedy, the major terminal on Long Island, or failing that between London-Gatwick and Newark New Jersey (just across the Hudson River from Manhattan). Previous restrictions on which airlines used which airport have been eased recently, making guidelines for travellers that much more difficult.

Kennedy Airport is easier to navigate these days as immigration, baggage reclaim and customs have been modernised under new Dutch (KLM) management. Changing money and getting into town are easy: 24 hour banking and Carey Coaches into Manhattan. Beware of unlicensed (and hence uninsured) cabs.

Newark has just had a massive face-lift to bring improved links with the Jersey turnpike, a monorail connection to Amtrak trains, a revamped Terminal C for Continental Airlines plus 6,000 new car parking spaces. Work continues on extending the runway to reduce ground delays, which the authorities admit can sometimes be `intolerable'. A six-hour stopover can range from being miserable to merely boring. Take a good book if delays are possible.

Things improved for the Millennium as the operators of Amsterdam's Schipol Airport , one of the world's finest, have taken over the running of JFK. The first new terminal for 27 years has opened with the east coast's largest duty-free shop, a spa and a microbrewery! It has fully automated security systems that can detect explosives, screen baggage and match passengers to their luggage by computer.

If you have time to wait around some airlines offer standby tickets to fill seats left empty at the last minute, but check out the current situation before setting off!

Specialist travel agencies worth contacting include:

Airline Ticket Network: 0800 727747

Trailfinders: (020) 7937 5400

United Vacations: (020) 7313 0999

But still the best way to keep abreast of new deals is to see the weekend newspapers.

Gatwick (very accessible via Victoria Station, through-trains from the Midlands and North via Kensington-Olympia, or the M25) may be a better source of cheap fares than Heathrow. Don't forget regional airports such as Manchester, Glasgow and now Birmingham.