Flights Question out of US

[brighteyes]

Hi all,

I am planning a trip for next August, 2014 hopefully with FD with my DS who will be 18 at the time. My question is, when do I start looking for flights? Should I be looking at SW or Jet Blue? What typically are the prices I can expect out of BUff or Detroit?
When would be the best time to book the cheapest flights?


Any help would be appreciated Thanks in advance!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We are big fans of JetBlue. They give you a good bang for your buck by including one checked bag per person, advance seat selection, and unlimited snacks in your airfare cost. They also have a TV on each seat which makes the flight itself much more enjoyable.

We have avoided Southwest thus far because we don't like the open seating policy. I know there are tons of folks who love Southwest (and I'm sure they are a good airline) but as nervous flyers and for our own personal comfort, we all want to be guaranteed an aisle seat. We also want to be sitting with each other. This might or might not happen when travelling via SW. I also don't think they have the TV's on each seat.

For our August 2012 and 2013 trips, we purchased our airfare the January prior. Not the day the flights were released, but within a short while thereafter. With JetBlue in particular, we find that prices generally increase as the flight date grows closer. With both SW and JB, if your flights DO decrease in price, they will credit you the difference if you call their customer service department, and you can apply that credit toward a future flight on their airline.

I don't know where you are located, but we have flown from both Buffalo and Syracuse. JetBlue has been the cheapest for our August trips out of Syracuse. For our Christmas 2012 trip, it was cheapest to fly AirTran and JetBlue out of Buffalo (by about $400 vs. the same dates from SYR). We are in Southeastern Ontario so SYR is actually a better airport for us than BUF (we don't have to cross Toronto traffic to get there) but both are doable.

Don't get your heart fully set on Free Dining for the end of August just yet. While many Canadians got PINs for free dining (I was one of them, though mine went to waste as we don't like staying onsite) there are many other folks who were shut out of free dining in 2013 for the first time in many years, as Disney delayed the free dining season until early September. Hopefully it will all work out for you as planned but I thought it was worth mentioning so you can manage your hopes & expectations accordingly.

Have fun planning! Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[Disneylover99]

I think flights for end of August usually open up with AT/SW at the very beginning of February. We aim for under $250 per person rt out of Buffalo, and we only book direct flights.

 

[dsneygirl]

I think flights for end of August usually open up with AT/SW at the very beginning of February. We aim for under $250 per person rt out of Buffalo, and we only book direct flights.

$250 return or less is good. For Sept we got $198 return and I was doing this We are loyal to SW. We love the loyalty program and the no fee for changes. We once changed the night before to come home later, no penalty.

We have at least 2 dozen RT under our belt on SW and have never had an issue with the open seating.

 

[mamabear0222]

$250 return or less is good. For Sept we got $198 return and I was doing this We are loyal to SW. We love the loyalty program and the no fee for changes. We once changed the night before to come home later, no penalty.

We have at least 2 dozen RT under our belt on SW and have never had an issue with the open seating.

Hi isn't the no fee change like every airline as long as the price has not increased otherwise pay the difference in fare?

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[Disneylover99]

Hi isn't the no fee change like every airline as long as the price has not increased otherwise pay the difference in fare?

Sent from my Samsung S3 using DISBoards

I think AirTran charges $75 per ticket to change, plus the difference in price if there is a price difference.

 

[mamabear0222]

I think AirTran charges $75 per ticket to change, plus the difference in price if there is a price difference.

Yes about the same on JB. But pp states SW has no change fees?

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[Disneylover99]

Yes about the same on JB. But pp states SW has no change fees?

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SW has no change fees for flights but you do pay the difference in price if the flight you are changing to costs more or you get a credit if the flight you switch to costs less.

 

[dsneygirl]

SW has no change fees for flights but you do pay the difference in price if the flight you are changing to costs more or you get a credit if the flight you switch to costs less.

Exactly. You pay the difference if the flight is more expensive than what you have paid.

 

[MarcJ55]

Hi all,

I am planning a trip for next August, 2014 hopefully with FD with my DS who will be 18 at the time. My question is, when do I start looking for flights? Should I be looking at SW or Jet Blue? What typically are the prices I can expect out of BUff or Detroit?
When would be the best time to book the cheapest flights?


Any help would be appreciated Thanks in advance!!

Cast a wide net: look for a flight out of either city and nab it if it looks good. For instance, on our last trip, we flew into MCO and out of FLL for less than $100 each way to SEA. Looked at all nearby airlines.

I'd book right away if you can get a flight for less than $150 each way. Otherwise, hang tight. You've got lots and lots of time. I wouldn't worry until about 8 weeks before you plan to go.

 

[andrniki]

Living in Windsor, we fly direct out of Detroit every year in August. For us, we love Delta, never had a single problem. We find that flights are cheapest about 3 months before the trip and Wednesday is a good day for deals. We use kayak.com to get good deals. Our trip this year was $278 round trip per person.

 

[pooksma]

Just had our first SW experience and no issues with open seating. The three of us sat together down and back. The only piece of advice I would give is to check in ASAP. We had some trouble checking in through DH's Blackberry. Tried again at the resort and still no go.

Since your boarding group is assigned based on when you check in, I was starting to panic. Found out that the reason was my hyphenated last name!!!

DS did complain (briefly) about the lack of seat back tvs but he was able to keep himself busy and flights were short.

 

[brighteyes]

Thank you all for your replies!! I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for flights soon!!

As far as free dining goes, I am hoping for it, since I think it would be our biggest savings, I am trying for a two week trip!! Especially since we don't fit the nuclear family def and he is considered an adult.

I don't think any other summer promos would beat free dining for price for two adults. Or would a room only code be more beneficial???

 

[brighteyes]

Forgot to add, I am in Kitchener, ON, but have family in Sarnia, so flying out of detroit would be an option as well.

I also have a friend in Bradenton, FL who I would be visiting so flying to whatever airport is close to their might be an option as well. I just want to get the cheapest flights!

 

[myzel]

I was pricing a winter trip today and found Air Canada was cheaper than Flying out of Bangor.

 

[alotachips]

I'm having a hard time finding flights here in the Maritimes for less than $3000 (family of 4). We are going in November of this year. We flew out of Portland last time we went and driving to the states again is looking pretty tempting. I just hate the 10hour drive to get there

 

[brighteyes]

I'm having a hard time finding flights here in the Maritimes for less than $3000 (family of 4). We are going in November of this year. We flew out of Portland last time we went and driving to the states again is looking pretty tempting. I just hate the 10hour drive to get there

That is a long drive, especially before a flight!!

If I wasn't such a fraidy cat, I would just drive to disney myself. But it is only me and DS so I would be the only one driving and about 3 hours in the car is all I can handle Otherwise I would be doing the trip OFTEN!!!!!

 

[rickysgirl]

We are in Sarnia and have gone at the end of August for the last 5 years. This year Southwest started flying out of flint and the prices cannot be beat especially if you include that they include 2 free checked bags. The times of the return flight was a bit late but that's ok for us as we only have another hour...and the border will be less busy then. We have always flown delta out of Detroit.

Another thing to keep in mind is we always have had free dining....until this year...we stay in a value family suite so this year they offered us a room discount...not as attractive for us as we travel with hungry teen boys...we purchased the quick service plan.

 

[brighteyes]

how much were the flights out of flint? and how long of a drive is that from sarnia?

Same questions for detroit too.

I dont care about flight times either. I just wanna get there coming back late is fine by me LOL