USA Flights to Scotland?

Small backstory: we're planning on getting married in Gretna Green, Scotland, next summer.  His family will likely go up on the train (as will we), since it's fairly straightforward from the London area.

However, my family are starting to ask questions about the best way for THEM to get there.  Some have expressed interested in perhaps to going to Scotland first to do some tourist-y things and then coming over to Gretna Green for the wedding.

Basically, what are the best/cheapest routes to Scotland from the US?  Are there some key airlines they should look at for this?  What's the biggest/best airport to fly into?  I admit complete ignorance when it comes to travel in and around Scotland, since we're London-based.  I had initially thought that the best thing to do was fly into London and then get the train.  Manchester's not really viable as an airport, BTW, because there's no good trains from there to Gretna Green (it actually takes the same amount of time as the quickie train from London!!).

As a side note, my sister was asking about the possibility of going around the Scottish countryside to visit castles & the like.  Are the trains any good for this?  I can feel they don't really want to mess with renting a car (or maybe it's not so bad).

I'm outta my depth here, with the north!  Hopefully the northern UK-Yers can give some good advice, please.

I would say that flying into Edinburgh is your best bet - I know Delta has one non-stop, overnight flight from Atlanta to Edinburgh, so if your family could catch a domestic flight to Atlanta (I love AirTran sales for this sort of thing!) then they'd be pretty set.  I'm sure there are flights from New England as well - I want to say there's a direct flight from Newark on Continental, so if they happen to be flying out of Houston, that might be a better option.

Unfortunately, there just aren't any budget options for us North-Easterners!  The day that Newcastle sets up a direct flight to ANYWHERE in the US will be a day that I rejoice.  Until then...it's Manchester for me!

I want to say there's a direct flight from Newark on Continental, so if they happen to be flying out of Houston, that might be a better option.

Yes there are constant nonstop flights from Newark to Edinburgh.  I recently flew from Minneapolis to Edinburgh via Northwest but that is not a direct flight.  Your family can get a good idea of what is out there on http://www.travelzoo.com/.  I always have my eyes open for cheap deals to Scotland so I'll let you know if I see any good deals. 

side note, i was working for airtran before i moved here in june;) i love those (and miss) free flights!

Manchester's not really viable as an airport, BTW, because there's no good trains from there to Gretna Green (it actually takes the same amount of time as the quickie train from London!!).

When i go to the US and back, i always fly BMI out of Edinburgh, connecting in Manchester.

As a side note, my sister was asking about the possibility of going around the Scottish countryside to visit castles & the like.  Are the trains any good for this?  I can feel they don't really want to mess with renting a car (or maybe it's not so bad).

I wouldn't recommend the Highlands without a car.  I live here and public transport is atrocious if you want to see touristy things.  Cities are ok but I certainly wouldn't recommend going around the countryside on a train, in most places it's just not possible.

There are several direct flights from the US to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and it's easy enough to take the bus from the airport to the train station and get a train to Gretna.  I just did this with my family.  You can buy tickets right outside the international arrival in Edinburgh.  There are several bus tours (day trips or extended) that they could take if they didn't want to rent a car. 

Thanks guys!  My family are coming from different spots in the US (and none of them East Coast, unfortunately!), so I know that the option for direct flights is completely out, but I was hoping for at least some good routes.  You've been really helpful.  If anyone has some more tips, keep 'em coming!  Sounds like Edinburgh is extremely navigable airport-wise, which is good.  How is Glasgow airport for international travel?

Glasgow is probably better for international travel.  Edinburgh is really just now growing into a (small) international airport.  But both are pretty easy to get around...nothign like Heathrow thankfully.

Step-son did LA to Glasgow with US Airways which involved a few stops and lost luggage and cancelled flights so i wouldn't recommend that!  We've done Virgin from Glasgow to Las Vegas and San Francisco (with only one stop both ways) which have always worked out well.

As for the touring thing...i agree with Hatsumomo...there's little point in touring the highlands without a car.  There is a good train journey from Glasgow along the West Highland Way which takes you up the west coast of scotland and on to Fort William but aside from that i think rail travel is pretty poor in scotland as a whole.  There may be bus tours which would cover more?

When i go to the US and back, i always fly BMI out of Edinburgh, connecting in Manchester.

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Good to know!  I'm flying BMI from Manchester to Chicago this Christmas - I've flown BMI within the UK and to Europe, but never to the US. 
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I totally agree.  I never had a problem with Glasgow international as an airport and trying to do anything in the Highlands without a car in practically impossible.  

There are a bunch of bus tours, leaving from both Glasgow and Edinburgh, that offer multiple day trips around Scotland.  The ones I know about are geared towards budget travelers, I used to work in a youth hostel in Scotland, but I know there are normal ones as well.

If they don't mind stopping in Reykjavik, Icelandair has decent deals into Glasgow. They fly from Baltimore, Boston, JFK, Minneapolis, and Orlando.

They are far better off renting a car once they get there though. Gretna is about 90 mins from the Glasgow airport, and about 2.5 hrs from Manchester. Gretna is only just over the Scottish border though, so they'll have a bit of a trek if they want to see the Highlands before or after the wedding. They could do a nice tour of the Borders and swing through Edinburgh on their way back to Glasgow though.

Have always flown out/into Prestwick. Done the Manchester bit twice and found it to be a grueler.  I think you'll have better luck with Prestwick.

As far as sight-seeing around Scotland, you'll need transport.

If you're as cheap as I am, use either Zoom or Flyglobespan to go from Toronto to Glasgow.  Of course you'll have to explain why you're coming out of Canada with a US passport, but if you're anywhere near Canada you can't beat the price-- last time I got a ticket for $200 or so.  Of course that's assuming you can get to Toronto cheaply-- I have family members drop me off, since I'm right next to the border anyways.

Also, you can take Flyglobespan from a few US cities, and that might actually work better.  For example, get to Boston on a cheap Jetblue flight and then Flyglobespan to Glasgow.  You'd be surprised how well this works too   Heh, I assume that everyone prefers a discount airline over a standard one.

As for travel within Scotland, it's much better in my opinion than anything the US has outside of a few east coast cities.  Coming from upstate NY, any public transportation is going to look good though.  Over all I'd say public transportation in the UK is good over all, and that's coming from someone who never wants to own a car (my boyfriend is also against car ownership, it's one of those weird things that goes with being eccentrics).

I agree, I used to live in Buffalo (not so far from Toronto) so the Glasgow-Toronto route works really well then I get a lift to Buffalo from family and go to Phoenix from there...

I travel to the US quite a lot, and frequently flights from Dublin are cheaper than the UK I have found, so when I go to the US for Christmas, I'm flying from Dublin and got a £5.00 ticket (with taxes!) from Ryanair which goes from Prestwick to Dublin, pretty cool. Took US Airways this summer from Philadelphia to Glasgow, was reasonable for summer (£399.00 round  trip to Phoenix, probably cheaper to somewhere on the east coast) but apparently they only fly in the summer until 2009 when the route will be year-round. Continental is all right from Newark to Glasgow but can be a bit pricey if you don't book 4 or more months in advance. Northwest is cheap off-peak times (last year I got a round trip ticket for £200 in November!) if you don't mind flying to Amsterdam and then to Scotland on KLM. American Airlines axed their Glasgow route last year but you can fly to London and transfer on British Airways to Glasgow which can be around $750.00 in summer. Anyways, London would probably be your best bet and the train can be realativly cheap (I think as cheap as £12.50 at times) if you book WAY in advance.

You just need to shop around. I recommend to start with:

sidestep.com
orbitz.com
travelsupermarket.com
kayak.co.uk
expedia.co.uk
travelocity.com

It takes me hours to get a good deal sometimes, but good luck! I have found the trains to the highlands get you to a stop, but to explore around you might need a car...just my experience though