Should I grab $210 rate from Detroit to Orlando for next yr?

[pw2pp]

Should I grab the rate of $210 per person from Detroit to Orlando (non-stop)? Also, does anyone know, if I buy through Travelocity.com, and the airlines offers a special, will they re-imburse me for the difference? I read on 1 of these boards, that if you buy from the airlines and then the price goes down, they will do that. I am wondering if they will do that if you buy through Travelocity? Thanks.

[LisaR]

What month are you going in? I had airfare from DTW to MCO in Jan. for only $120 RT. In Feb. we paid $175 RT and this July we are paying $229. So, it really depends on the time of the year.

Lisa

[pw2pp]

We are leaving Feb 16, 2002 (I think it is the busy week - President's Week).
Wow, that was a great rate you got of $175 Which airline? Was it non-stop? Out of Detroit Metro? Whe did you buy your February tickets?

[LisaR]

We bought our Feb tickets on January 15th for our Feb trip (Feb 21 - 28). We used Spirit. That was the first time I had flown with them and the trip was good. I don't know if we lucked out booking a month in advance or not. However, their rate in July ($229) was the cheapest I could find. They go non-stop from Detroit to Orlando. Sometimes their website has cheaper air then calling them direct. We have also had very good luck with MLT Vacations (also non-stop).
Good Luck
Lisa

[demarcon]

I bought tickets on Northwest, and when I checked the price a few days later they had dropped by $29 per ticket. I called NWA and they issued me credit certificates for each ticket that I had purchased. This will be a head start for the next trip to Disney!! Also, I chose NWA because (even though they are not perfect), I (and others) have had bad experiences with delays on Spirit. Since we are traveling with the kids I did not want to risk it with Spirit, even though it was cheaper. We are flying out of Detroit Metro

[Karend01]

All I know is in the last 2 weeks the rates have skyrocketed! I was eyeing $229 NW non-stop & now it's $359 (for December). It seems like even Spirit (which I don't want to fly again)raised their prices.

I've been checking travelocity & expedia with not much luck either. If I end up flying Christmas, I really don't want to change planes, I don't think.

Good Luck - I wish there were more non-stops out of Detroit!

Karen

[pw2pp]

Hi KarenD01: Why won't you ever fly Spirit again? What happened?

[TrudyZ]

We just bought tickets from Detroit for a late April/early May trip. We ended up flying into Tampa instead; because it was about $50 per ticket cheaper (times 3) and much better flight times for us. WDW is 35-45 minutes away from Orlando and 90 minutes from Tampa.

We also picked Spirit because of the potential Northwest strike, expected to occur just about the time of our trip.

I don't know where you live in the Metro area (we are outside of Ann Arbor), but try Toledo (especially) or Flint. If you are willing to start out there and connect at Metro, it is quite a lot cheaper--it is a non-stop from Metro to Orlando. Flight times are not always that great--but tickets are quite a bit cheaper.

Oh, I also found that the tickets I bought for the April/May trip were about $40 cheaper per ticket through Expedia than the Spirit website--strange, but true!

[TravelSheryl]

pw2pp, is the ticket you are considering on Spirit? If so, before considering further whether to buy now or not, you will need to see if you can actually purchase that ticket. I don't think you can. Travelocity (as well as other travel agency websites) often list itineraries of some of the lowfare carriers before that particular carrier is even selling the dates. I don't think Spirit is yet selling February travel.

Spirit has extremely poor customer service whenever there are flight delays, cancellations, etc. It's been well documented in the media. In early January of this year, they left people stranded for up to 4 days at numerous airports around the country because a snowstorm hit at the same time they were upgrading their computer system, wreaking havoc on their entire operation.

When you are ticketed on Spirit, your ticket will not be honored by any other airline.

[pw2pp]

Hi Trudy. We flew out of Toledo last month when we went to WDW. We had to make a connection flight in Pittsburg. It was only about $12 cheaper than the $210 price on Travelocity and the Travelocity flight is non-stop. I am not afraid of flying, but I figure if we go non-stop, we cut our chances in half of getting into a plane crash, since most crashes are during Take-offs and landings. Don't get me wrong, I don't sit here and worry about such things - I just figure it's not worth it to save a little bit of money.

[TrudyZ]

pw2pp:

Maybe it was because we didn't have a lot of lead time for this trip, but we found it was over $100 a ticket cheaper than any other ticket we could find to fly out of Toledo. If I remember, it was about $162 per person, with all taxes, on Northwest.

We are at $258 per ticket with Spirit--mostly becuse it is a Saturday to Saturday flight. That was the best we could do in the market for a non-stop with the times we wanted. Weekdays are cheaper with Spirit.

We considered Toledo, but problem was it was a pretty early flight to start; and then adding that first leg from Toledo to Metro ws just too early for my husband to think about on vacation!!

I have flown Spirit a few times before and have no problems. But, I am aware that there is a risk of that with this type of carrier. Had a lot of problems with an ATA flight to Las Vegas a few years back (12 hour delay--no info why).

As to Northwest (or Northworst, or "treetop airlines" as our family lovingly calls them); we have had our share of problems with them. I have dealt with them during previous strikes--never again.

I don't completely rule out Northwest, but with the impending strike at our travel time, it wasn't worth the hassle.

TravelSherry, maybe you don't get the Detroit News? Have you seen the class action suit filed by the HUNDREDS of Northwest travelers stranded on the runway for up to 11 hours with no food, sanitary services (if you know what I mean), etc. last January? The passengers referred to it as being "kept hostage" on the planes. And, it happened again with the snowstorm you referred to with stranded travelers on Spirit--Northwest also stranded people sitting on the plane on the runway for almost 9 hours this time at Metro!

I know, as I was almost one of those in that first snowstorm. We heard about the snowstorm coming, decided to ditch our Northwest tickets, and flew out early (full price) on US Air to Pittsburgh (where we have family)to get out of the mess. Then drove back to Detroit. Thank God we did. We would have been on one of the numerous planes stuck on the runway--and we had an 11 week old baby at the time!

[TravelSheryl]

I'm very familiar with Northwest stranding passengers at DTW as well as the class action lawsuit because I follow airline news. The class action suit was settled earlier this year for about $7 million if I remember correctly. After the lawyers got their percentage, each passenger got less than $1,000. A mere slap in the face!!

I would still fly any full service airline or Southwest any day over Spirit.

[cascadecupcake]

We booked through Priceline for the end of the year DTW - MCO for $90 RT. Why don't you give them a try--I think you can use the $50 bonus until the end of the month.

Go Griffins!

[TrudyZ]

You know, I am always tempted by Priceline. If I could get something non-stop; I would be fine with it--even willing to bid a little more. But since I am traveling with a two year old, I avoid layovers and connections like the plague! And, you probably know, when traveling with toddlers, that the flight times do matter. I would hate to have to check out of the hotel at 11:00 a.m. and then not have a flight until 9:30 p.m.--just my preference.

If it was the good old days with just my husband and I, I would do it in a minute! ;)

[dreamer]

I called Spirit yesterday because we are looking to buy Pres Week 2002 tickets from NY. Spirit has their schedule out but they are not selling tickets yet (as per a previous post already mentioned). We decided to fly Delta to TPA because it's 1/2 the fare as flying into MCO. Also, we buy 5 tickets and need to go non-stop.

[Jproc]

Priceline has not been something I considered using because (if I am correct) you cannot plan what time of day your flights are if onpriceline I could say do an early morning flight there and a late afternoon flight out I would have no problem with it.

Is there a way around this?

thanks
Jproc1@home.com

[TravelSheryl]

With Priceline, you must agree to depart as early as 6:00 a.m. and arrive as late as 12:30 a.m. You cannot designate any window within that timeframe.

[Thachi]

pw2pp,
if i was you i would wait before purchasing tickets for next year travel. We purchased tickets in Nov 1999 (w/Spirit) for travel in April 2000 for $179 each. Right now, the least expensive I've seen is $209 each. We're going back this July and if the tickets don't come down to at least $189 each, we will be driving from Ann Arbor to Orlando!

2000 - Westgate Villas
2001 - Vistana Resort

[babus]

I got the best price from my travel agent $127 rt from Indy to Orlando 2 years ago. I will trust her again to find the best price. I have checked on the internet, but found nothing comparable to her price.

[Thachi]

I just got an email from Bestfares. They're offereing RT from DTW to MCO for $190 adults & $138 children. There's no blackout dates, there's a saturday night stay and 14-day advance purchased required. I also believe that you have to get a membership with them for $60 to get this fare. I've been thinking about joining because in the long run, it may be worth it! 'Go to this website for details:

http://www.bestfares.com/travel/desks/story.asp?id=11673

2000 - Westgate Villas
2001 - Vistana Resort

[pw2pp]

Thanks for the info. I just went to the website and I guess it is for travel through Sept. 2001. We are going to WDW in Feb 2002. I think I am just looking a little to early. We just got back from WDW a month ago and because of these darn DIS boards, I am obsessed with WDW and am already making plans for next year! :eek:

[SuzyQue]

We've booked the same week as you for Feb. 2002 so I too am looking for cheap airfare from DTW to MCO, think it's still a little early though. We were looking at leaving the 15th instead of the 16th though, maybe even the 14th if that is the last day of Value season again so we can lock in that rate for the week (I think the AP discount ended then too this year). Email me (icon below) and we can search for airare together. ~ :) ~

[sramille]

I too am obsessed by these boards. My trip is in Nov so I guess it's not too crazy to be searching for airfare. However, I'm looking for a new job so I don't even know where I will want to fly out of by then!!!
I probably won't really worry about it until around Aug-Sept. This will be my 3rd year in a row. The first, I bought my airfare about a month in advance DTW-MCO for $144. The second, I couldn't find any deals even close to that, I think I ended up paying ~$200 FNT-MCO.(cheaper than from Detroit even though I had to stop there and had the same flight DTW-MCO, very strange!)

[sramille]

Are you planning on staying at a Holiday Inn anytime before Sept 2001? I think it was on the Budget Board....there was info about a voucher that you present if you stay before Sept 30 and you get a coupon for a "companion flies free" deal. I think the flights are good anytime through 2002, but don't quote me on that.
Something to look into....
www.holiday-inn.com/flyfree (http://www.holiday-inn.com/flyfree)

[SuzyQue]

~ :) ~

[kbp13]

In August 1999 I flew on one of the local charter companies for $99/rt. Last year in August flew for $125 on ProAir with Guaranteed seating (at least as guaranteed as it could be with them on the brink of bankrupt.

Kurt from MI

CB 1995
Vero/ASMov 1999
DVC joined 1999
OKW 1999
HH 1999
Disneyland Paris 2000
Vero/DCL/BW 2000
HH Dec 2000
AKL Concierge/DCL Magic July 7/Vero July 2001

[pw2pp]

To SuzyQue and TravelSheryl:

I did an impulsive thing last night. Priceline.com e-mailed me and I clicked on the link and I put in my bid for Airfare for my week (Feb 16-23, 2002 - BUSY President's week) and they accepted my bid of $160 per person (plus all taxes and service charges, etc...)

Please tell me I got a good deal!
We fly out of Detroit Metro and Stop in Chicago and then on to TAMPA (I put Tampa airport in as a choice to increase my chances). We leave at 10:43 am for Departure and (here is the bad part) We leave TAMPA at 8:10 am - Yuck! Well, I guess it could have been worse.

I wish I weren't so impulsive - I did it all while my husband was at Home Depot (so he had no input) - although we have discussed all of this. He has no problem with this (He is Wonderful).

I wanted to tell you, SuzyQue, in case this sounds good to you. I know that you are going the same week that we are going.

TravelSheryl, Do you think I did well? The total comes to $193 per person (with tax and Serv. charge). I also bought the Travel Ins for $10 per person (which brings it to $203).

[pw2pp]

I forgot to say that the Airline is UNITED. After priceline accepted my bid, I checked on the cost of that exact same flight and it is $331 per person (with taxes already included). Mine (with taxes) is $193 pp. So that is a savings of $138 per person ($552 savings for all 4 of us).
Then, just for the heck of it, I checked Spirit and theirs is even higher - $286 per person! From what I understand, Spirit is usually the cheapest.

[TravelSheryl]

As others said earlier on this thread, it was too early for you to buy this ticket because the low fare carriers are not yet selling your travel dates so the fares currently available are not indicative of what they will ultimately be. Unfortunately, I can't say that you really got a good deal on this one.

[SuzyQue]

From what I've seen of airfare around President's Week, it sounds good to me, but I'm too chicken to go through price line. Plus last trip we booked through a travel agent (charter) and our outgoing flight was Sat. night and our return flight was Sat. morning so we lost 2 precious days of our Disney vacation. So I think I'll wait but thanks for responding. ~ :) ~