Advice from Frequent Fliers

[cariann77]

We are flying for the first time as a family next May. I am terrified of flying and have always won the battle to drive from Michigan to Orlando. This time my husband said no more and we're flying. We are flying Friday to Friday. Some airlines have announced their flights while others haven't. I just priced Delta and it was over $2,000 for all five of us. We very, very rarely fly so, I have a few questions.

How far in advance to like to book for the best price? Get it now or wait until closer?

Is Spirit really that awful of an airline? So far they are looking the cheapest.

Any advice on how we can ensure to sit together as a family? This is my biggest concern.

Any other tips are greatly appreciated!!

 

[holden]

We usually book flights the day they open. We find prices are lowest then.

Haven't flown Spirit. Southwest is great for flights to MCO

If you are concerned about sitting together, book on an airline that allows you to choose your seats at booking. Otherwise sitting together isn't guaranteed. Actually, it's never guaranteed because sometimes airlines change planes which can change your seats, especially if you book late.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Is southwest an option?

 

[Maryemcd]

I recently came across this article that you might find helpful. Although many Southwest loyalists seem to say you have to book right when flights are open, that is not the case with all airlines.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_56cf1648e4b03260bf759b79

 

[kymom99]

Delta allows you to choose your seats when you book. But it's true, they sometimes change flights and consequently, your seats. However, you can always go in and choose different seats as long as the flight isn't full. Now, if they change your flight and you aren't happy with the change, you can call and you may be able to change yo another flight with no additional charge. I did this myself when we were flying to San Diego. They changed us from and early flight to a late one and we had planned to drive straight to Anaheim when we landed. They let me change the flights with no problem

 

[disneyduonj]

The thing with SW is they refund you $$ if your flight goes down in price

 

[sallysue66]

We have flown Spirit many times. Sure it's cramped but for the price it's always been a great deal for us. We have never been bumped or cancelled. i normally don't pay to choose our seats but we have always been seated together.

 

[MillauFr]

Avoid Spirit. Worst airline in the business. What they do to their passengers should be illegal.

 

[scard192]

The thing with SW is they refund you $$ if your flight goes down in price

most fares you get travel funds that can be used for up to 12 months towards another trip. or if booked on points they credit the points back to your account.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

Right now, go on and look at what prices are for late September early October. If they are less than what you are seeing now, then that is the fare you should look for. Check periodically between now and around late February/early March. When you find that price for your dates, buy them. The only airline that this never seems to really work for is Southwest, but it should work for all the others.

 

[ready123go]

@cariann77 , we fly from Michigan 1-5 a year. We fly Spirit and Delta. We've flown AirTran (now Southwest) and Southwest. Happy to help you.

Which airport(s) are you looking to fly from? Detroit Metro has Delta & Spirit. Bishop in Flint (FNT) has Southwest & Delta.

Spirit will allow you to pick your seats. Lots of families use Spirit because of the pricing. Delta is more comfortable, but pricier.

**Edited to add: don't forget to add all the costs up - bags, carry-ons, etc. If you have the Delta Amex you get some free/ reduced rate luggage rates. SW luggage is included.

 

[kydisneyfans]

For a first time scaredy cat flyer, I chose Southwest. Hours/days/weeks of research went into my first flight. It boiled down to SW never having a death due to a crash. My wife had flown before, and the other seatmate was someone flying from Louisville to Cleveland via Chicago(our flight was Louisville to Chicago)-we are from the Cleveland area and I asked why he chose to fly every week since the drive is only 6 hours-had to do to relaxation. We've driven that route 100 times in 15 years. The conversation calmed my nerves once onboard.

That was 2 1/2 year ago-I have done 20+ flights since and it opened areas up that I never dreamed to travel. Southwest is where we look first-free luggage and usually about the lowest cost. There are normally 3 of us and we have never been separated in seating, we check in at exactly the 24 hour mark. I have flown American and it was just OK-I'll use them if SW is too high or the flight times are not good. United was once-was supposed to be twice but a flight cancellation for unknown reasons in New York back in April left us stranded-we rented a car and drove home. I flew Delta in April and was very impressed with the condition of the planes and the flight entertainment options. I will fly them again.

As a whole, I stay away from the super discounters-Allegiant flies into weird airports that normally have more expensive rental cars. I've known 2 who tried Frontier-one couple never made it to Vegas and abandoned their 25th anniversary trip. The other was from Detroit to Orlando and that family arrived 2 days late due to a flight cancellation. Once you add in baggage fees, carry on fees, seat choice fees, credit card fees, drink fees, and a quarter to unlock the restroom(don't think they're quite there yet)-the super discounters are no cheaper than the rest.

Southwest, then Delta would be my 2 choices. American and United are Meh. The others are not an option here. Jetblue/Virgin are too far away to consider.

 

[Anthony1971]

for price you can use Google just type in your airport code to Orlando (MCO is the code for Orlando) it will list most airlines and the prices. Just change the dates... it will not list Southwest if it is even available at your airport. If you look at Spirit or similar make sure you understand how it works as their fees can easily make it more expensive when your do not understand how they work... Southwest does include 2 checked bags per person other airlines include none you will need to pay for each checked bag and for example spirit also charges for carry on the major airlines do not. There is nothing to be scared of.... however after one flying trip you may go back to driving as it can be a big hassle... others may feel different... for vacation it is OK at best... for work it is no fun....mix them both...it becomes a hassle but far faster and more relaxed than driving... and sitting on Amtrak is far worse...I have found JetBlue to be very easy to fly while you do need to pay for a checked bag if needed... they give you snacks, have TV's on every seat, are nice to deal with when you have a problem. will credit you if the plane has issues (not weather related) even if the TV does not work they will give you a credit --yes for future travel--and most important they have seat assignments and even if the plane is changed you will have the same seats as they only have a few different airplane models all of which are set up the same except for the smaller planes which they can not change out for without dropping a whole lot of passengers...

 

[scrapquitler]

We are flying for the first time as a family next May. I am terrified of flying and have always won the battle to drive from Michigan to Orlando. This time my husband said no more and we're flying. We are flying Friday to Friday. Some airlines have announced their flights while others haven't. I just priced Delta and it was over $2,000 for all five of us. We very, very rarely fly so, I have a few questions.

How far in advance to like to book for the best price? Get it now or wait until closer?

Is Spirit really that awful of an airline? So far they are looking the cheapest.

Any advice on how we can ensure to sit together as a family? This is my biggest concern.

Any other tips are greatly appreciated!!

I don't fly frequently, but once or twice a year, most years. My experience is that Friday is usually more expensive than other days. Try changing your itinerary to Saturday to Saturday, or Thursday to Thursday, and see if that saves you a bunch.

 

[Dashzap]

Notes I've made about shopping for cheap airfare from various sites:

-shop for flights on Tuesdays
-clear your cookies/history each time
-Friday and Sunday flights are typically most expensive
-book 45 days before you travel
-try Google's ITA Matrix for research https://matrix.itasoftware.com/

Usually when I book airfare I am within a month of my travel date (yeah, I don't plan far in advance), and want to fly from the smaller Chicago airport, and prefer Southwest...so I don't shop around much.

I hate the slow boarding process when there are assigned seats, so I prefer Southwest. We've never had a problem finding seats for the three of us together. It is helpful to do online checkin 24 hours before flight time so you get a good boarding number (it's like numbers at the deli...they board in order). I believe you can pay a bit more to get preferred boarding, but I don't remember how much since we never get it.

(edited to delete reference to app OnTheFly since it hasn't been updated for several years)

 

[PlutoPony]

Any advice on how we can ensure to sit together as a family? This is my biggest concern.

If this is your #1 priority, your best chance of sitting next to your family is an airline that assigns seats. This alone is not a GUARANTEE that you'll be together but at least you can see what's going on with your seat assignments. On ANY airline, check your flights/seats regularly to make sure they don't switch you. Southwest is the main airline that doesn't assign seats, so you may not want to consider them. There are a lot of people who use SW regularly and have minimal trouble getting seats together for their family, especially by buying EBCI for all members of their family at the same time they book their flights. But you won't be able to actually SEE seats assignments and have the visual confirmation that you're sitting together on SW that you will on another airline that actually assigns seats.

Many airlines that assign seats do charge for seat assignments. So again, if that's really important to you to sit together, consider paying for seat assignments. Flights to Orlando are filled with families that want to sit together, so it's a risk to assume someone will want to switch seats with you .....it does happen but I wouldn't want to count on if IF it's super important to you.

Agree w/ a PP, Friday is usually an expensive day to fly. Saturday should be cheaper.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Avoid Spirit. Worst airline in the business. What they do to their passengers should be illegal.

What do they do?

MG

 

[mistysue]

Just to chime in, $200 each round trip from Detroit is good. You might find better, but usually it will be more than that. We paid a little over $150 once, but that was back before the taxes and fees were included in the price, so it probably added up to even more than that.
We leave this week and the lowest I ever found was $260 each.

 

[cariann77]

@cariann77 , we fly from Michigan 1-5 a year. We fly Spirit and Delta. We've flown AirTran (now Southwest) and Southwest. Happy to help you.

Which airport(s) are you looking to fly from? Detroit Metro has Delta & Spirit. Bishop in Flint (FNT) has Southwest & Delta.

Spirit will allow you to pick your seats. Lots of families use Spirit because of the pricing. Delta is more comfortable, but pricier.

**Edited to add: don't forget to add all the costs up - bags, carry-ons, etc. If you have the Delta Amex you get some free/ reduced rate luggage rates. SW luggage is included.

We're in Sterling Heights so, it's about equal distance to either airport. Metro is probably slightly closer. I have never flown out of Bishop. Is it nice? I haven't been looking at Bishop, but I will check it out!

Right now, it's going to be between Delta and Spirit. I am leaning towards paying more and flying on Delta. I would love to try Southwest, but it does not appear to have direct flights. Since I am really uncomfortable flying, I would like to stick with one take off and landing for each leg. Take off is the worst thing for me and whomever is sitting next to me.

Lots of great advice, thanks everyone!!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Delta allows you to choose your seats when you book.........

This is not necessarily true. It depends on the type of fare you purchase. If you buy Delta's Basic Economy Fare, you don't get advanced seat assignments; Delta will assign you a seat at check-in.