Air France or Fly Be?

[Rosie]

Well I'm asking for my sister who lives near Southampton. We are hoping to start planning a trip for May/June next year and wonder which airline Disers use and why?
How far in advance can you book? What flight times are best?
My sister has a dear little son who will be 3 when we go - it will be her second trip and my nephews first . She will be travelling alone with him as DD and I will go Eurostar and meet them at DLP.
Any advice on flights from Southampton would be great

 

[pyebibby]

We flew with Air France from Southampton three years ago and were pleased with the service, we even got a snack included during the flight. but have not flown with flybe from southampton. I would probably go with the cheapest though and most convenient times.

 

[gemmastephenson]

We used Easyjet the last time.I looked at the price of Air France and it seemed a lot more expensive. I know Easyjets flights dont go on sale for next summer until Sept x

 

[ukstitch]

Flybe is by far the best option from southampton. The main reason is because Flybe go to Charles De Gaulles, where as air france only go to Orly... Charles De Gaulles gives you far better options for transfers as you can take the bus or train from the airport straight to Disney.

I've flown Flybe a couple of times (always from Southampton) and they're generally ok - they're not really a budget airline, though they're not a "full fat" airline either. You have to pay for luggage etc and snacks like you would on budget airline, but the planes are nice, clean, comfortable etc...

Flybe are currently taking bookings up until March 2011 - the sooner you book, the cheaper your flight will be. It appears to be 3 flights a day in the week (2 early morning at about 7am and 8am and an early evening at about 6pm) and 1 a day weekend (7am saturday, 6pm sunday).

Costs are currently around £8.50 each way + taxes, so a return will cost about £77 total per person if booked early enough

 

[disney_princess_85]

I've flown with Air France many times and have always found them to be very efficient. Their planes are much nicer than Flybe's.

ETA: Just seen the above reply- I wasn't aware that AF fly to Orly from Southampton. I've only flown to CDG.

 

[Ware Bears]

We used Easyjet the last time.I looked at the price of Air France and it seemed a lot more expensive. I know Easyjets flights dont go on sale for next summer until Sept x

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately if you're not an Easyjet fan the choice from Southampton is between Air France and Flybe.

I've flown with Air France many times and have always found them to be very efficient. Their planes are much nicer than Flybe's.

ETA: Just seen the above reply- I wasn't aware that AF fly to Orly from Southampton. I've only flown to CDG.

Yes, they changed last year ~ don't know why. Flying to Orly wouldn't put me off as we hire a private shuttle, not sure what your sister plans to do but I believe the VEA also runs to Orly.

We've flown from Southampton twice ~ both times we chose Air France because they were cheaper than Flybe and this was before we had started adding luggage on with the latter (it was included with Air France). We took the evening flight over both times (think it left about 6pm) because it was cheaper than the morning one.

Next year we're going over by Eurostar and flying back so I expect we will fly with Flybe as Air France's prices for one-way flights tend to be exorbitant whereas Flybe's don't.

Also ....... you don't hear of Flybe striking, do you

 

[Ware Bears]

Just a thought ~ will you be taking the Eurostar from St Pancras? Could your sister not travel up to take this with you?

 

[Mum to Belle]

We flew Flybe from Southampton on our last trip and will do so again in December. My deciding factor was the times of the flights. As we are only going for short breaks I wanted as much park time as possible and Flybe flew at about 7.15am and back at about 8.50pm. that meant we were checking in by 10am on our first day and being collected at 6pm on our last day.

The flight only lasts about an hour so snacks on board weren't really an issue. I paid with my Airmiles which was another factor, I think the Air France flights were cash only on the Airmiles flight.

We used Ezyshuttle transfer from CDG to Disney - brilliant service!

It was my DD's first flight (age 3) and she loved it - especially as she had her new Trunki to ride on at the airport!!

 

[ExpatDisneyLover]

I've taken VEA from Orly - it takes 45 minutes (1 hour if there is lots of traffic) and costs 18 euro per person.

 

[Rosie]

Thanks for the very helpful replies everyone
I thought about going from St Pancras but it would make it either a very early start for my sister or an overnight stay in London which may not be that nice for her. Usually DD and I go from Ashford as it is an easy 1hr drive from home for us.
For the shortest travelling time and easiest journey I've suggested taxi's to and from Airports and Southampton to CDG. Orly would be a possibility too though and I'm sure she will appreciate the details of the answers here. My idea would be for my sister to offset some of the cost of taxis by booking as early as possible for their flights. I know if I were travelling with a toddler and luggage I would prefer not to have to worry about too many different types of transport - maybe I'm just lazy !
Am I right thinking Fly be flights for end of May next year may be available from end of September?

 

[Ware Bears]

Ah, I can see why flying will be easier for her. I'm the same, even with teens, I prefer to make my life as easy as possible!

I'm afraid I don't know when the next lot of Flybe dates will be released but, as I'm looking to book myself for end of May, I will be constantly checking their site so will post on this board when I've seen them released.

 

[Ware Bears]

Just bumping this as I received an email from Flybe yesterday so today I booked our flights home for next May. I was pleased with the price too ~ I daresay I may have got it cheaper if I'd waited but I can't be flexible with dates so I'm all booked and now we're DEFINITELY going (well, coming back at least, we've got to get there yet. )

ETA: Not sure of the exact date when they will cease operating in/out of CDG but Flybe are now also using Orly airport.

 

[Happy Tappy]

I've flown both Air France and Flybe from Manchester to Paris over the last few weeks. Both had their pro's and cons.

Air France: Newer plane and you get a snack and drink onboard. Check-in wasn't much fun. There was a massive wait at the airport. They flew into 2E at CDG and it's a long walk to get to baggage once you land!

Flybe: Old plane propeller plane! The seats were 2 x 2 which suited us better. Had to pay for food and drinks on the plane. There was no queue at check-in either end.

Next time I fly I'd probably use Flybe because I prefer the seating configuration and there was more leg room.

 

[Steve vRS]

The Flybe planes are brand new Bombardier Q400s which are fuel efficient turbo prop powered.

When we went with Flybe a year ago, we had to leave from an old terminal and made the mistake of going through security too soon. Once in the departure are, there were no shops and one poorly stocked sandwich bar.

Steve

 

[Rosie]

Just bumping this as I received an email from Flybe yesterday so today I booked our flights home for next May. I was pleased with the price too ~ I daresay I may have got it cheaper if I'd waited but I can't be flexible with dates so I'm all booked and now we're DEFINITELY going (well, coming back at least, we've got to get there yet. )

ETA: Not sure of the exact date when they will cease operating in/out of CDG but Flybe are now also using Orly airport.

Thanks for the info and for bumping this Elaine .
I'm a bit miffed as I called Flybe last week and asked if they were stopping using CDG and the girl said No!! She told me flights for May/June would be available from 1st October and to check then. So if my sister does that there will be no flights to CDg and higher prices to Orly .
Just sent my sister a message as i don't want her to miss all the cheap flights.

 

[living20057]

This information has been helpful. I looked into Easyjet and Flybe and both have reasonable rates for me. I am looking to cruise from Barcelona, but I would like to visit both Paris and London. Easyjet offers good rates from Barcelona to London and then London to Paris. I'm going till July, but I have an idea of costs. They were only up to March.