Easiest way for Dominican to travel to England

Adrian · #1 02-08-2004, 10:09 AM

A friend is trying to arrange for a Dominican to travel to England. He already has his visa to visit England.

In the past several Dominican friends of mine have travelled via the U.S., but with the new visa laws he now needs an 'In-Transit' visa for the U.S. I understand this can take some months to get, is quite expensive, and I guess there is a chance he may not get (I don't know how easy they are to get).

My friend tried the charter airlines that fly direct to the U.K. but they said he needed a British passport.

I guess he could get a scheduled (or possibly charter) flight to a Europena country and fly to the U.K. from there, but I am not sure what the visa problems would be with this.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Adrian

Chirimoya · #2 02-08-2004, 10:46 AM

The airlines should be able to advise. I have flown to UK with Air France via Paris, Iberia and Air Europa via Madrid, as well as with American Airlines and the UK charter companies.

Iberia is now out of the question for those without US visas because they stop over in Puerto Rico on the Madrid-Sto Dgo leg.

When I last heard - but please double check - you do not need a Schengen visa if you are in transit (unless it involves an overnight stay) in Madrid or Paris airports.

Chiri

Adrian · #3 02-08-2004, 02:55 PM

Chiri,

Thanks. I will pass that on to my friend.

Are the flights via Paris or Madrid just from Santo Domingo, or do any fly from Puerto Plata?

Adrian.

Paulino · #4 02-09-2004, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrian

Chiri,

Thanks. I will pass that on to my friend.

Are the flights via Paris or Madrid just from Santo Domingo, or do any fly from Puerto Plata?

Adrian.

What about trying the Dutch company Martinair, which has regular flights from Puerto Plata, Punta Cana etc. to Amsterdam. I am sure there are easy connections from there across the Channel to London. Martinair cooperates with KLM for connections within Europe. I am not familiar with visa requirements regarding connections in a Schengen country (like Holland), though.

Dolores · #5 02-09-2004, 08:52 AM

While only charter airlines fly direct to UK, as mentioned before there are lots of airlines -- Iberia, Air France, Air Europa, many more that fly to Europe and almost all will enable some kind of connection to London. BWIA offers a London connection via their new flight from SDQ to Trinidad.

Chirimoya · #6 02-09-2004, 12:33 PM

Sorry, no info on flights from Puerto Plata. Travel agent should be able to fill in the blanks.

Chiri

Adrian · #7 02-09-2004, 03:20 PM

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Adrian

Formosano2000 · #8 02-10-2004, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrian

A friend is trying to arrange for a Dominican to travel to England. He already has his visa to visit England.

My friend tried the charter airlines that fly direct to the U.K. but they said he needed a British passport.

Is there a Dominican regulation that prohibits DR citizens from flying out of DR on charter flights or is it strictly at the charter company's discretion ?

What if I have a 2nd passport (not a UK one though) ? Can I still fly out to UK on charter from Dominican soil ?

The reason I'm asking is that I have two friends who just came to visit for 2 weeks and they flew in on Britannia on a jaw-dropping UK£125 round-trip fare. I, on the other had, have to pay around US$800 on AA, connecting through JFK ,whenever I go to London. Flying non-stop to London on cheap fare definitely appeals to me as I go there at least once a year.

Dominican Babe · #9 02-11-2004, 04:25 AM

I was with my travel agent yesterday booking my next trip to DR (16 weeks, and counting

), and with this thread in mind I asked what the score was. Apparently, there is no regulation prohibiting someone with a Dominican (or other nationality) passport from flying on a British charter, the problem is that the package has to be booked from Britiain, with Britain as the first departure point.

As I understand it, prices like your friends £125 round trip are only available on charters "last minute" and are available only if there is space. It is nigh on impossible to book a flight only on a charter much in advance because the operator's make their money selling the whole package.

Paulino · #10 02-11-2004, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dominican Babe

I was with my travel agent yesterday booking my next trip to DR (16 weeks, and counting

), and with this thread in mind I asked what the score was. Apparently, there is no regulation prohibiting someone with a Dominican (or other nationality) passport from flying on a British charter, the problem is that the package has to be booked from Britiain, with Britain as the first departure point.

As I understand it, prices like your friends £125 round trip are only available on charters "last minute" and are available only if there is space. It is nigh on impossible to book a flight only on a charter much in advance because the operator's make their money selling the whole package.

I'd like to add that booking a flight only on a charter well in advance - at least in my experience - is no problem. It boils down to a matter of price. I booked such a flight on Britannia LGW-POP in late April of last year, to make the trip on June 30 I think it was. P/P was like GBP 358. And thank goodness for Ryanair, cheap transportation from elsewhere in Europe!