Best airline out of SW Michigan?

[Gorechick]

Hi, We're in Kalamazoo, MI and have a few options of where to fly out of- Kalamazoo- Battle Creek Airport, Grand Rapids, Detrooit, and South Bend, IN.
Unfortunately Southwest doens't fly out of any of those (Boo!), pretty much Delta and Continental/United. What is my best bet for a family of 4- 2 Adults, 2 Kids?

 

[webworm]

Hi, We're in Kalamazoo, MI and have a few options of where to fly out of- Kalamazoo- Battle Creek Airport, Grand Rapids, Detrooit, and South Bend, IN.
Unfortunately Southwest doens't fly out of any of those (Boo!), pretty much Delta and Continental/United. What is my best bet for a family of 4- 2 Adults, 2 Kids?

There is DirectAir from Kalamazoo to Orlando Sanford. Here is a sample of a return fare inc taxes. Just take carryon luggage so no extra fees. Allegiant has several flights from Michigan including Toledo.

KALAMAZOO, MI ORLANDO/SANFORD, FL D1 - 5813 10Aug2012 12:00 PM 10Aug2012 02:31 PM
ORLANDO/SANFORD, FL KALAMAZOO, MI D1 - 5812 17Aug2012 03:15 PM 17Aug2012 05:46 PM
Passengers Fare Per Passenger
Fare Rules Services Taxes Subtotal
1 Adult 99.44 USD 0.00 USD 39.76 USD 139.20 USD

Total Price: 139.20 USD
http://www.visitdirectair.com/
http://www.allegiantair.com/

 

[Fire14]

Southwest flys from detroit and I thought south Bend. Air tran flys from Grand Rapids. I can't speak for KZO or Battle Creek. another idea is check Flint ( easier airport to get out of vs DTW) and a lot of times cheaper flights.

 

[backyardponder]

Southwest does fly out of DTW. If you are going to MCO, you probably need to change planes.

Another Southwest option would be out of Chicago Midway.

 

[Missy29]

SW does fly out of DTW but not direct, at least not the last time I checked. I fly out of DTW and have used, AirTran to MCO with no problem, using Delta for our up coming trip hopefully with out problem.

 

[ain0004]

We have flown Delta for the past 5 years. Always ended up being the cheapest rate.

 

[maxiesmom]

This trip we are flying out of Grand Rapids on Air Tran. Got a good price (less than $200 a person) and have non-stop flights both ways.

In the past we have made the drive to Flint. One year we got an insanely good rate on Continental ($30 a person) and Delta used to have extra cheap rates out of Flint as well. Lately though the rates on Delta have been the same out of Flint and Grand Rapids.

 

[kristenrice]

This trip we are flying out of Grand Rapids on Air Tran. Got a good price (less than $200 a person) and have non-stop flights both ways.

In the past we have made the drive to Flint. One year we got an insanely good rate on Continental ($30 a person) and Delta used to have extra cheap rates out of Flint as well. Lately though the rates on Delta have been the same out of Flint and Grand Rapids.

I've flown AT from GRR non-stop to Orlando for $200. We are driving to Detroit in June to fly AT non-stop for $200 again. We opted to drive to Detroit (even though we live in Grand Rapids) because with our group, we did not really want the 7:45am flight. Out of Detroit, we depart at 11:35 instead. The cost for 4 rooms and parking came to just over $400. With 15 people flying, we saved $50/ticket by flying out of Detroit. So, even with the room and parking, we're still saving almost $300, and we get better flight times.

If AT decides to change our times out of Detroit, we may just opt to switch to the Grand Rapids flights instead, if they're still available. I love AirTran and I will be sad to see them go after such a short time here in GR.

 

[Ellajoan]

Wait a minute--Is Air Tran leaving Grand Rapids? I was hoping to use them mid August!

 

[kristenrice]

Wait a minute--Is Air Tran leaving Grand Rapids? I was hoping to use them mid August!

You'll still be able to use them in August. AirTran was bought by Southwest and so once the merger is "complete", it will be Southwest instead of AirTran flying out of GR.

So, yes, you'll get your two free checked bags...

...but no more assigned seats and no more business class...

 

[Ellajoan]

Oh, wait, I was thinking you meant Allegiant! We often use Allegiant and can usually get flights for about 160-200 round trip. AirTran is merging w/ SouthWest, right?

 

[Gorechick]

Thanks for all the info. I'd love to do SW so I don't have to worry too much about bag fees. I hope I'll be able to get good prices for August.

 

[lotus14]

We are in Kzoo too and traveling in August!

We got in on a slae through Direct Air which made them the cheapest AND we don't have to drive far which is a HUGE bonus. Not to mention the direct flight and reasonable flight departure times which are perfect for flying withkids. It stinks to start and end a vacation by driving 2.5 hours to/from DTW.

The only issue is flying into Sanford. However, for us that is a plus. We are staying off site and renting a car anyway and the much smaller airport appeals to me.