How do you book your flights to MCO?

[CJK]

Just wondering if most people book their flights to Orlando online or through their local travel agent? I've generally booked online and had the tickets mailed to me by the travel agency, but I'm wondering if there's a generally better and/or cheaper way? Thanks for any info! P.S. We fly out of Pearson in Toronto.

[epcotfan]

I had considering buying tickets online until the closure of Canada 3000. My mom and her family bought tickets directly from the airline and had a heck of a time getting their money back when they went under (they were in Orlando when they closed and had to find their own way back) Fortunately the purchase was paid for via a credit card and they were able to dispute the charges. Had they booked through a travel agent it would have been easier for them to recover their funds. Since then we've solely booked through Marlin Travel. I don't mind paying the service charge for airline tickets.
I compared the Air Canada online fare to what the travel agent was quoting us. The travel agent was able to get us a cheaper fare on Air Canada.

[twinz]

Thanks to people on this site, we booked through SouthWest out of Buffalo. We got 6 tickets for $672.00 US, which is WAY cheaper then what we would pay here (even with that LOVELY exchange! LOL). We have flown out of Buffalo to other US cities, and have got some real great deals!
All I can suggest is do your homework.
Good luck!

PSI agree with the travel agents, they work for you when things like the Canada 300 thing happen, but the price was just too cheap to pass up.

[taquiner]

Like Twinz, we fly out of Buffalo because it is cheaper. I usually book online but if you aren't comforatable with that and Buffalo is an option for you then you can have your TA check into fares from there too.

Happy planning! :-)

[MikeJ]

Wew have the luxury of flying out of Toronto, Detroit, or Buffalo as they are all roughly equidistant from our home. The last two flights we've booked have been out of Detroit - previously on discount airline Spirit, upcoming on Northwest - both non-stop. We've booked both ourselves online, and for the upcoming trip I booked after I saw a note from someone on this board about the NW 2-for-1 sale. The NW fare for September was a grand total of Cdn$853 for the four of us, which would be tough to beat anywhere.

The one problem with flying Spirit is that as they are a small, discount airline if there are problems with the plane they don't have another one with which they can replace it. We had that happen on our return flight last time - we were stuck in the Orlando airport for about 3 hours waiting for our plane.

- Mike

[SandraC]

Of the five times we flew to MCO, I used TA's for the first 4 trips. Last TA was so terrible that I booked my own tickets via Air Canada ticketless ~ April 2002! It was the BEST and the CHEAPEST from YYZ! S

[Peg]

We fly out of Buffalo and always book our own flights. I have booked on line (even cancelled once and had no problem getting a refund...southwest) and have also just called the airlines to see if they could match the web price. Found they could and would many times. I also booked my sons flights from Detroit through Northwest and got a great deal (2 for 1) When I called the airline to make sure they would have no problems (because I used my credit card) they even helped me find a cheaper way for my son to fly,(he was the odd ticket). Can't beat that kind of service. I like handling the flights myself! If your are sweet on the phone, most reservationists will go out of their way to help you.

Peg

[Tiger926]

Living in Windsor, we always fly out of Detroit. We always use Northwest (we have racked up 40,000 airmiles each in the past 3 years!) and always book online. Very easy and very convenient. Just booked for this year's trip and got 4 adults to Orlando for 12 days for a total of $853.00 CAN! We are lucky that we live so close to a US airport as our Canadian air prices are outrageous!

Tiger

[minnie56]

I usually book on line with Air Canada. So far, no problem! You do get a 'tiny' discount booking online (5%??) and they e-mail or fax you an e-ticket.When I arrive at the airport, I do the express check-in myself at the computer terminal and it goes without a hitch!! The biggest slowdown of course being security,customs and immigration.:(
For me, in these times, I will only fly Air Canada!!

[bunnyfoo]

I booked most of my airline tickets using Expedia (www.expedia.ca). For our last Disney trip, we were able to get tickets on Air Canada for $420 (including all taxes). There were cheaper flights available by about $100 but I wanted the direct flight :)