Airtours Premiair Gold

[Elle]

Has anyone flown this service?
Is it worth the extra money?
Thanks,
Elle

[Fantasia Sam]

Oh god Elle most definately is the answer. The seats are big and very comfortable all squishy and lovely. The service is very good and the food was fine. We had extra legroom and if it's only the 2 of you then you can get 2 seats together by the window. You fastrack through Gatwick - You also get better films than the rest of the plane. Lots of snacks aswell sweets, crisps, drinks or you can be healthy and have fruit!! I say do it for £149 it makes the flight a little bit more comfortable.

[Elle]

Fantasia Sam,
Thanks for the positive reply!!
We have booked it but there are 5 of us and it cost £199 PP to upgrade!
Still if it is as good as you say then what the hell, and with a 1 yr old sat on our laps the extra room will be invaluable!!
Thanks again.

[Fantasia Sam]

The seating goes 2 - 3 - 2 so you'll probably all get together. I see the price has gone up since I last went but yes if you've got a 1 yr old I think you'll be glad for the extra room - the thing is you'll never want to fly economy again - whoever you fly with

[MalcolmC]

Last time we flew Airtours we used Premiair Gold.

It was better than cattle class at the back! Don't forget to book your meals, although you only get a choice of three generic meals ie. "do you want chicken, lamb or veggie?"! Not specific items. Airtours breakfasts are better than most on the return.

I think there is only one extra movie channel in Premiair Gold so don't get too excited about that.

Time before, we paid £40 each for bulkhead seats - that was well worth the extra too. You could stretch out completely - apart from the occasional kid tripping over your legs as they ran round the aisles:(

[Debs Hill]

How does the Airtours upgrade compare to the standard seats/service of Virgin and BA? Where did you fly from ?

[Fantasia Sam]

Debs

The upside is that the Premair Gold service in my opinion was better than standard Economy with Virgin and World Traveller with BA the seats were wider and we had more leg room and we had a more attentive service.

However the down side is that it's charter and therefore only goes once a week and it was Gatwick to Sanford and I have to say that whilst getting there Sanford is great albeit a longer drive to Orlando if you get delayed leaving Sanford you're in trouble as Sanford is sooo boring compared to Orlando International.

[Janice]

I agree with everything Sam has said - In my opinion, upgrading for the extra comfort on the long journey far outweighs the fact that the flight goes into and out of Sanford.

So long as you are prepared - departing from Sanford doesnt have to be that bad. We knew that there wasnt many facilities at Sanford from what I had read here and in Simon's book - and someone posted the tip that it is worthwhile taking a few snacks and drinks with you when your coming home. If you get delayed at least you have something to eat of your own choice rather than relying on whats on offer in the airport (pretty minimal and dismal I have to say) - and for how much a few snacks cost - if you dont eat them, there are plenty of bins ;)

A book, some travel games for the kids and magazines are handy too.

We stopped at a Publix on the way to the Airport and just picked up some bits and bobs. As it turned out we had a few hours delay - the lads entertained themselves playing Pool, me and the girls - well, there was a couple of Duty Free Shops :D :D :D

[BevS97]

or you can do what we did and spend the delay frantically looking for my purse - turns out I had left it in the hire car!

Bev

[Debs Hill]

Does anyone know whether AirTours fly to Orlando from Birmingham, as one of the advantages for me would have been now having to go to Gatwick! How long is the drive from the airport to WDW? Are there lots of delays, it almost sounded from your posts that it was expected!!!!

[MalcolmC]

I think Airtours fly from most regional airports. Last time we flew "direct" from Manchester they whisked us off to Newcastle to pick up more passengers adding over an hour to the flight time. Nobody bothered to tell us until we were on board.

The easiest drive from Sanford Airport is down the Central Florida Greenway, which is a toll road and then turn off on the 536 which takes you straight into WDW. Tolls cost about $6, driving time about 30 minutes.

The alternative is Interstate 4 which is free, but has very heavy traffic at times and could take you twice as long to get to WDW.

If you're a first time driver in Florida, take the Greenway.

[UKDEB]

Debs,

We've flown Airtours to Orlando from Birmingham. I agree with Malcolm that you should take the 417 Central Florida Greeneway from Sanford. It's a lovely big, empty 6-lane highway which is great for getting used to the car and roads. I would say it might take you a bit longer than 30 minutes if you've never done it before (say 45), but of course it depends on where you're staying.