Flying delta to Orlando?

Has anyone done it. The reason I ask is that a delta flight will get us into orland at 5:30 pm and a virgin flight for the same price gets us in there at 10:30pm. We prefer to get there earlier in the arvo so we can get through customs and get to our room and have some dinner and sleep at a decent hour.
For virgin to get us into orlando at 5:30 pm it will cost us an extra $1500. We're thinking it might be worth the $1500

Where are u flying from?
If Aus if will change flights and go through customs in Los Angeles and then get a Delta flight Lax To Orlando.
Virgin Aust does not fly direct to Orlando
We are going Delta from Sydney in Dec and change planes in L.A

I have done this many of times and use to do 1million+ miles a year with Delta (back when I lived in America)

I have done the Delta flights to and from Australia dozens of times.
Same with Virgin Australia

Depends if you interested in either loyalty programs (ie earning miles or points)
Since your based in Australia - Virgin makes more sense from a loyalty standpoint. Even more so since Delta has changed skymiles to reward how much $$$ you spend not actual flight miles.
but airline loyalty programs is a whole can of worms

Delta I find... can offer great product and service
but other other times it can also be not so good. (but I think that's true with just about any airline today)


You did not say what type of ticket you are booking (economy, premium economy, business etc)
there are MASSIVE differences between the different ticket type between these 2 airlines.

delta does not really offer a premium economy service like Virgin does
Delta really gets you a bit extra leg room..but not really any other benefits


typically we find service and product with Virgin Australia allot better than Delta.

Delta you will sometime see older planes that are need of a major rehab


Really at the end of the day...both get you from A - B
it's really just a matter of personal tastes and what matters to you (over all flight time, connection times, loyalty program, service etc)

and of course comes down to how much you want to pay. Also if you want to spend the extra $1,500 or that's $1,500 saved for another trip or something else.

oh one final note
be sure when booking your flight you pay attention to who the actual flight operator is for the flight.
As Delta and Virgin Aus are partners...sometimes you can book with Dealt and end up on a Virgin Australia plane or the other way around.

I wouldn't pay it, but that's my opinion.
Delays can happen.
When we flew in 2013 our Virgin plane sat on the Tarmac at Sydney airport for 3 hours due to mechanical problem
There was even a chance the flight would be cancelled.

again it's up to each individual to determine if it's worth the extra $$

for us personally it's not
we can use the extra $$ for another tip or do some extra things on the current trip

Sorry I meant to add, because of the 3 hr delay, people probably missed connecting flights in L.A.
We were staying there, so no probs for us

Thanks for your input guys. We have a flight cancelled to LA before and it was a huge inconvenience. That was with Virgin. Very dissappointing. We are just booking economy flights.

LivingforDisney said:

Where are u flying from?
If Aus if will change flights and go through customs in Los Angeles and then get a Delta flight Lax To Orlando.
Virgin Aust does not fly direct to Orlando
We are going Delta from Sydney in Dec and change planes in L.A

Click to expand...

Yes, from Brisbane. I don't mind going with Delta for the short flight to Orlando but have never flown with them on a longer flight. I was wondering what everyones experiences with delta were.

I love flying with Delta purely for the arrival in LAX. No terminal change required and almost nobody at immigration. Last time we flew with them it was 40 mins from the plane landing until we were at our next gate. I've waited longer than that for my bags after clearing immigration in Tom Bradley International!

I've flown both Delta and Virgin from Australia. Both were fine. Delta was an older plane but it still got be from A to B.

Have a look at who the flights is operated by. Delta and Virgin codeshare so you could very well end up on a Virgin plane anyways. I just booked flights from Melbourne to Toronto and even though the website classed them as a Delta flight, it is definitely a Virgin plane

For our December 2014/jan 2015 trip around the USA we flew on 11 delta flights including a 17 hour direct flight from Johannesburg (we are South African) to Atlanta and even though they weren't the best flights they were all fine. We only had one delay which I thought was pretty good. Plus on the flight home my son got pretty sick and the air stewards were wonderful to us.

I'm trying to wrap my mind around the statement someone posted here that they used to fly over 2 million miles a year on Delta That's pretty unbelievable. Maybe they meant 200,000 miles a year.

Anyway, OP, no way I'd spend $1,500 more for a flight arriving 5 hours earlier than a cheaper flight.

lol, I thought the same, their feet must never touch the ground.

lost*in*cyberspace said:

I'm trying to wrap my mind around the statement someone posted here that they used to fly over 2 million miles a year on Delta That's pretty unbelievable. Maybe they meant 200,000 miles a year.

Anyway, OP, no way I'd spend $1,500 more for a flight arriving 5 hours earlier than a cheaper flight.

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so sorry just read our original post (posted from my ipad) and it did read 2 million miles....meant to be 1 million miles.
ipad typo sorry

yes, it's possible to do million miles a year...and we are not alone...there are some other heavy hitters that have done more.
we know a frequent flyer who has done over 10 million lifetime miles with the same airline. most of his flights are not long distance...they are short but frequent

also keep in mind when you have FF status with an airline you earn more miles than you fly as you get bonuses ontop of the distance flown.
it's sad to see Delta and most the other airlines changing over to a revenue based reward system..not how many miles you fly...but how much money you spend



I'm an entertainer and was doing a world tour when we racked up the 1million miles...also worked other gigs on ships, corporate and private events etc


every 2 years we covered all 52 states in the USA while on tour. While mixing in overseas venues
there is no driving (no time for it) it's all time on a plane


most airlines also have ambassadors
usually reserved for VIPS, royalty, movie stars ect
but you can pay for the service as well.
they escort you from gate terminal to your next stop
there is no waiting around at gates, security check points, etc
everything is expedited so you don't have to worry about lay over times..and can book flight almost back to back
some airlines will even drive you out directly to the plane and you walk on.
Atlanta airport is big on this even for their top level frequent flyers


overseas tours has sent me to 80 countries to date
I have lived 8 years of my life in various hotels


at the time of this tour I was also involved in a long distance relationship with my (now wife) who lived in Sydney at the time.
down time or when cast was traveling to next location...I would fly to Sydney
I would only get 2 or 3 days in Australia and then have to fly out again back to USA or to where ever our next gig was
spent more time getting to Australia than I did inside Australia
over period of 5 years I have flown Vegas to Australia 55 times (almost every month)


the show had 3 complete duplicates that were placed around the world
unit A stays within the USA
unit B overseas Europe
unit C overseas Asia- where time would not allow the props to be transported quickly enough in time
so each unit is always in transit at some point while we are doing a show somewhere
that way there is no down time for transporting equipment, customs, or anything else that could cause delays
allows us to do a show in location A...cast travel..arrive in next location where the props were already at waiting to do a show.
all while a tour logistics company and local crew set up and tore down the show


people think entertainment is all glitz...but it's far from that
and those who tour or work on ships etc...spend most of their time in airports or on planes

cruise ships have 2 types of entertainers
those who live on the ship for their contract (say 6 months)
or the pinnacle of ship work know as "fly on" act
you fly in that day or the day before your show...meet the ship in port...do your one night of 2 shows...and fly out the next morning or that night.
most fly on acts...also work on the different ships within that cruise company. So they just hop ship to ship...mixed with a day or 2 at home then back again
any time "off" working on ships...you fill with other gigs or corporate work

We are flying virgin/delta to orlando later this year... Anyone who has done the trip before: do u go through customs and collect your luggage at lax? Never flown on a connecting flight before. The tickets were purchased in the same transaction. Thanks!

mum2fourkids said:

We are flying virgin/delta to orlando later this year... Anyone who has done the trip before: do u go through customs and collect your luggage at lax? Never flown on a connecting flight before. The tickets were purchased in the same transaction. Thanks!

Click to expand...

when you land in LAX - you will exit the plane- walk for about 10 minutes to customs.

wait in line- go up the customs agent with your passport etc

you will then walk a short distance to some escalators that take you down to the bag claim area. It's pretty small only 2 carousals (check both of them for your bags..as they normally start using both of them (without telling you)

you MUST collect your checked bags here
before you can leave the baggage claim area you will be stooped by another customs agent. It's here they can request to inspect your stuff etc.. normally your asked a few questions and sent on your way.

right as you exit this area...there will be a small desk and belt where airline agents will direct you to take your bags if you have connecting flights. If you do you will be able to drop your bags off there.

after this you must exit the airport and go back through security to get into the domestic terminal.

if you don't have your domestic ticket already issued (in your hand) when you exit the airport - you will find all the airline check in counters
just check in and get your tickets and you will be directed where you will find security check point. Which is just a floor up from where you exit



All the above is if you go to the old LAX terminal (which Delta normally uses)

process is still the same if you go to Tom Bradly Terminal
ie - you exit your plane- go through customs- collect your bags (massive baggage area) then you will have to find out where to do from there
as most likely you will need to transfer over to the domestic terminal via bus or 25min or so walk

mum2fourkids said:

We are flying virgin/delta to orlando later this year... Anyone who has done the trip before: do u go through customs and collect your luggage at lax? Never flown on a connecting flight before. The tickets were purchased in the same transaction. Thanks!

Click to expand...

It looks like we'll be there at the same time

orion2185 said:

when you land in LAX - you will exit the plane- walk for about 10 minutes to customs.

wait in line- go up the customs agent with your passport etc

you will then walk a short distance to some escalators that take you down to the bag claim area. It's pretty small only 2 carousals (check both of them for your bags..as they normally start using both of them (without telling you)

you MUST collect your checked bags here
before you can leave the baggage claim area you will be stooped by another customs agent. It's here they can request to inspect your stuff etc.. normally your asked a few questions and sent on your way.

right as you exit this area...there will be a small desk and belt where airline agents will direct you to take your bags if you have connecting flights. If you do you will be able to drop your bags off there.

after this you must exit the airport and go back through security to get into the domestic terminal.

if you don't have your domestic ticket already issued (in your hand) when you exit the airport - you will find all the airline check in counters
just check in and get your tickets and you will be directed where you will find security check point. Which is just a floor up from where you exit



All the above is if you go to the old LAX terminal (which Delta normally uses)

process is still the same if you go to Tom Bradly Terminal
ie - you exit your plane- go through customs- collect your bags (massive baggage area) then you will have to find out where to do from there
as most likely you will need to transfer over to the domestic terminal via bus or 25min or so walk

Click to expand...

Thank you

mum2fourkids said:

We are flying virgin/delta to orlando later this year... Anyone who has done the trip before: do u go through customs and collect your luggage at lax? Never flown on a connecting flight before. The tickets were purchased in the same transaction. Thanks!

Click to expand...

What day are you leaving? We leave from Brisbane on the 27th

Hi jacs1234,

We leave Brisbane on the 22nd nov. we have 8 nights in orlando before our cruise (the dates my tickers start). during this week we will visit seaworld, universal etc.