Air travel from NJ/PA.....

[LisaRN97]

This is our first family trip to Disney and I am trying to get the best deal on airfare. I have looked at all the travel sites as well as individual airlines, checked out how many points for Amex as well as AA and Continental. My questions to you who fly from Newark or Allentown (PA) - (these airports are the closest to us) are:

1) With what airline have you gotten the best deal and how far in advance did you book?

2) Did you go through the actual airline reservations or through somewhere like expedia or travelocity?

Thank you in advance!!

 

[maureenann]

We live in the Poconos and have flown out of ABE and Philly. Allegiant flies from ABE to Sanford. We did that once, got a good fare, but you pay for adv seating, bags etc..drives the price up. Plus, there are not many flights so if one gets in late, you could be delayed for HOURS while the flight crew sleeps. That happened to us, we have not flown them since. I do know that Air Tran is beginning flight from ABE to Orlando later this month(too late for us!).
We usually fly SW from Philadelphia.

 

[GrumpyBa*D]

I have flown from Newark and Philly and doing AC later this year.
Things to consider:
when you are going,
how many are going
are you going to check luggage,
how are you getting to the airport

We have ended up on continental the last few times from Newark
flights have been reasonable 90-100 each way plus taxes and we haven't had to pay for luggage yet. but then I pay 100$ to park my car advantage a lot of daily flights so you can fly pretty much your preference also if one is cancelled or postponed another one should be leaving soon

Jet blue you can make reservations about 6 months out and if you book fast you can get 84-89 dollar each way. no charge for luggage and do offer credit if your flight goes down,
same parking fees
down side three flights daily

AC spirit... can get reasonable flights but they charge you for just about everything so fees add up.. minimal # of flights a day a bit cheaper on the parking... security is easier and much less hustle and bussel..

Philly,
Parking is a bit cheaper than Newark if you are loucky you can get a 59 dollar flight on SouthWest and they have minimal fees... you know bags fly free... they don't open their flights thoughuntil about 6 months out...

 

[LisaRN97]

Thank you both!!!

 

[bobrex]

I fly out of ABE all of the time (I'm 20 minutes from the airport). For Disney, I've flown USAir, Delta, and United in order of preference. The keys for me are the departing times, interconnecting airports, and plane sizes:

USAir - We've got a flight booked for September that leaves at 9:00, I'll get to the airport around 8 and have plenty of time. Advantage - I can sleep a little later. The connecting airport is Charlotte - the advantage here is it's a small enough airport that delays are rare and getting from gate to gate isn't that bad. Plus the food court is pretty good. We arrive in Orlando around 1:00, so we have a good part of the afternoon and evening to spend in the parks. On the return flight, we leave at 5:00, so we've got additionall time in the parks that day too. We'll arrive in Allentown before 10:00.

Delta - Our last trip was on Delta. That flight left at 6:30, so it was an early morning (and I'm not a morning person), with a longer wait in ATL. Atlanta is not a fun airport, and is notorious for flight delays. I think we arrived in Orlando around 1:00, so we did have the rest of the day in the parks. The return flight left at 6:30 (even more time in the parks), but didn't arrive at ABE until around 11:30. This is past my wife's bedtime so it was a struggle for her.

United - United has a morning (8:00?) flight through BWI. The plane from ABE to BWI is a tiny commuter (Saab) that feels claustrophobic, doesn't have good cabin storage (you end up gate checking carry ons.), and is noisy. BWI uses a common connecting gate/waiting area, so it gets crowded. Food court is so-so. My wife refuses to use the commuter plane anymore, so I doubt I'll be booking on United anymore.

That leaves Allegiant. They fly into Stanford, so you lose ME. They also have a limited flight schedute, leaving midweek and later in the day (around 4:00), but they do fly direct. I've never used them.

Hope this helps.

 

[gonzo76]

This is our first family trip to Disney and I am trying to get the best deal on airfare. I have looked at all the travel sites as well as individual airlines, checked out how many points for Amex as well as AA and Continental. My questions to you who fly from Newark or Allentown (PA) - (these airports are the closest to us) are:

1) With what airline have you gotten the best deal and how far in advance did you book?

2) Did you go through the actual airline reservations or through somewhere like expedia or travelocity?

Thank you in advance!!

Airtran is now at ABE(Allentown). It might be something to look into.

 

[byrd328]

We are traveling mid September from NJ. I was open to all the local airports since I was looking for the cheapest flight. I preferred newark, but I just couldn't get a good rate. I finally booked in April on Air Tran for $59 each way out of philly. I booked through kayak.com which waived the seat selection fee, saving me another $36.

 

[wdwgypsy]

Air Tran is offering this OW fair till June 30.

Orlando $54 http://www.airtran.com/sale/ABE.aspx?saleID=

I don't know if you can match it to your travel plans or not. I hope so.

 

[bobrex]

Airtran is now at ABE(Allentown). It might be something to look into.

Just be aware that Airtran only flies from ABE to MCO on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, leaving at 3:45 and arriving at 6:45pm.

They fly from MCO to ABE on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, leaving at 12:45 and arriving at 3:10.

In both cases you can save money on the flight, but I'd argue that you lose money on lodging and park time. Arriving at MCO at 7:00 means that the day is shot - it will be close to 9:00 before you check in. So no park time on day 1. The flight on the departure day is early enough that you also can't use the park (or for that matter, the pool) on the last day - you are leaving for the airport around 10:00, so that day is lost.

 

[lurkernj]

We're in central nj, so Newark is most convenient. We also are loyal Continental flyers. I book direct with continental online. We are flying mid-Sept this year and paid $208 each including taxes.

I saw that Airtran was flying for $59 each way out of phil, but there's only 2 of us going this year, so I didn't want to drive (don't know where I'd be goin anyway) and and pay for parking when I can just get hubby to drop me at the door to continental and pick us up. It's about $140 more total, but parking for a week plus the hassle wasn't worth it this time. If it were all 4 of us (with DH driving there), I probably could have been swayed.

 

[byrd328]

We're in central nj, so Newark is most convenient. We also are loyal Continental flyers. I book direct with continental online. We are flying mid-Sept this year and paid $208 each including taxes.

I saw that Airtran was flying for $59 each way out of phil, but there's only 2 of us going this year, so I didn't want to drive (don't know where I'd be goin anyway) and and pay for parking when I can just get hubby to drop me at the door to continental and pick us up. It's about $140 more total, but parking for a week plus the hassle wasn't worth it this time. If it were all 4 of us (with DH driving there), I probably could have been swayed.

208 is good! We're use to making the drive bc we work in the area, but Newark would have been better. Parking seems to be resonable if you shop around and there are tons of coupons floating around. I was getting nervous bc the prices were going in the wrong direction, lol This is my first time flying with them, so we'll see...

 

[marcyinPA]

We live about 10 minutes or less from ABE. I wish we could afford to fly from there. The flights are so pricey! I checked ABE, PHL and EWR for our upcoming trip, and PHL had the lowest fares. It wasn't easy finding direct flights from any of those airports either. I ended up with a 1-stop flight on Air Tran from Philly.

I saw that Air Tran is now flying from ABE, but the flight days and times are rather restricting. I guess if times/days aren't an issue, it would be worth it to fly them.

 

[LisaRN97]

Thank you all!!!