Airfare Planning options?

[WDWRook]

Howdy all,

Looking for ideas and planning advice to try and save on airfare for regular annual trips to WDW. We are in process to buy DVC so we're locking in for years of Mickey. We fly from Detroit Metro. There are only two airline that fly nonstop, Delta and Spirit. Southwest, American, and several others fly with a stop that usually includes switching plans, so I'm not sure I'm interested in those.

Delta is at least twice as expensive as Spirit, usually more. But does include some baggage. Spirit is cheap, and we don't need too much for bags, but they can be cramp and a PITA. That said, using free points from signing up for the Spirit CC and some purchases and other stuff, we did manage nearly free round trip tickets a couple weeks ago. It was a pain, and I had to switch our trip days to Monday to Monday.

Is there any easier or better way to save on airfare? We already have the Disney Visa and rack up a decent amount of points on that. There has to be other ways to save on airfare. Thoughts or ideas???

 

[Marionnette]

Howdy all,

Looking for ideas and planning advice to try and save on airfare for regular annual trips to WDW. We are in process to buy DVC so we're locking in for years of Mickey. We fly from Detroit Metro. There are only two airline that fly nonstop, Delta and Spirit. Southwest, American, and several others fly with a stop that usually includes switching plans, so I'm not sure I'm interested in those.

Delta is at least twice as expensive as Spirit, usually more. But does include some baggage. Spirit is cheap, and we don't need too much for bags, but they can be cramp and a PITA. That said, using free points from signing up for the Spirit CC and some purchases and other stuff, we did manage nearly free round trip tickets a couple weeks ago. It was a pain, and I had to switch our trip days to Monday to Monday.

Is there any easier or better way to save on airfare? We already have the Disney Visa and rack up a decent amount of points on that. There has to be other ways to save on airfare. Thoughts or ideas???

Pick your poison.

Southwest, American and some others only have connecting flights. - is it worth spending more to avoid connecting flights?
Delta and Spirit have nonstops but Delta is expensive and Spirit is a PITA - but if you want nonstops, you're either going to have to pay the price or deal with a PITA airline.

Let's face it, you can't have cheap, convenient and comfortable. You have to choose what you can find acceptable and go with it.

Once you've decided to go with one airline, sign up for their FF program, Get their co-branded CC not only for the bonus FF miles, but also for the perks that the card gives you (like priority boarding and free checked bags). Shop thru the FF program's shopping portal to add more miles to your account. Check for additional earning opportunities like dining programs or cell phone provider sign ups. In other words, go all out in an effort to gain as many FF miles as you can. If you see that you're going to end up short by a few points, then keep your eyes open for bonus opportunities for buying miles.

And read Flyer Talk for discussions about your chosen airline's FF program so that you can learn how to maximize your points.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Pick your poison.

Southwest, American and some others only have connecting flights. - is it worth spending more to avoid connecting flights?
Delta and Spirit have nonstops but Delta is expensive and Spirit is a PITA - but if you want nonstops, you're either going to have to pay the price or deal with a PITA airline.

Let's face it, you can't have cheap, convenient and comfortable. You have to choose what you can find acceptable and go with it.

Once you've decided to go with one airline, sign up for their FF program, Get their co-branded CC not only for the bonus FF miles, but also for the perks that the card gives you (like priority boarding and free checked bags). Shop thru the FF program's shopping portal to add more miles to your account. Check for additional earning opportunities like dining programs or cell phone provider sign ups. In other words, go all out in an effort to gain as many FF miles as you can. If you see that you're going to end up short by a few points, then keep your eyes open for bonus opportunities for buying miles.

And read Flyer Talk for discussions about your chosen airline's FF program so that you can learn how to maximize your points.

We also fly out of DTW and just bought into DVC. And yeah, the options do suck. But because I do lots of work travel and always fly Delta, I stick with them because of the flyer miles benefits. We took our first DVC trip in February and I was able to get tickets for $250, but we made a connection in Atlanta. There seems to be so few direct flights each day and the connection isn't a big deal for DH and I. If we had little kids, maybe we would feel different about it. The direct flights seem to usually be closer to the $400 range and seasonality seems to play a big role. So look at historical price date and maybe determine if different times of year may be better. We love late Feb/early March because the weather is nice, the crowds are lighter and its not as busy at work then.

It's pretty silly that flying to Orlando costs around $400. We got direct flights to LAX in November on Delta for just $250. It will be our first Disneyland trip!

 

[NinaBella]

Is there any easier or better way to save on airfare? We already have the Disney Visa and rack up a decent amount of points on that. There has to be other ways to save on airfare. Thoughts or ideas???

Since you said you were not interesting in a connecting flight... I doubt there will be any suggestions for you that would be worth your time.

Here are the options:

1) Drive (we live in Tampa and drive to Detroit to visit family to save money)

2) Take a flight with a connecting flight

3) Fly into Tampa

4) Fly out of another airport other than Detroit like Columbus (which would require a drive)

5) Marry an airline pilot who works for an airline that gives discounts to employee family members.

Other than that, you don't have many other alternate routes.

 

[WDWRook]

Thanks for the tips. Spirit does have four roundtrip for $625, so hard to complain much about the price. Connecting is just a pain with kids. If it were just a stop but you stay on the same plane, I'd be fine with that. We will drive at some point in time. I drove from Orlando for a family matter last April, and made it in 18 hours. Would be more difficult with two little kids though.

 

[justafigment27]

Is there a reason you have to fly out of DTW? If not, I'd look into other airports.

We live in the Lansing area and have been flying to Orlando on an almost annual basis for the better part of 19 years. I generally check DTW, FNT, GRR & LAN every year because flight schedules and airlines do change. While DTW is usually our best bet for other destinations, it's not always the best option for MCO. I'm not loyal to any airline or any airport. FNT and GRR have pretty regular non-stop flights on SWA and they are both very nice, easy to maneuver airports. Heck, for a time, Allegiant even flew into MCO instead of Sanford so we were able to fly non-stop to MCO from LAN one year. My parents flew from MCO to GRR on a non-stop on Delta last spring - I think it was a seasonal Saturday only flight.

This year, over spring break, we actually flew out of GRR and into FNT on SWA because it saved us a ton of money - we utilized one way car rentals and the cost difference between parking our car for a week and using one way rentals was essentially a wash.

 

[Anthony1971]

We have owned DVC for 12 years... Airfare goes up and down through the years. some years you get a good price others... not so much. What I can tell you is airfare, park tickets and food at Disney are part of owning DVC. It seems in the very recent year maybe last as well but not as much EVRYONE is taking advantage of those traveling to Disney... with Disney the biggest taker... My point is airfare is low now for most other places...except Orlando and unless park attendance drops the airlines will take advantage.. I am paying more this year than other years which makes no sense other then they can... a few things you can do is see what the rates are for Tampa... but the airlines have become wise to this as well... it is a very short drive... I can tell you west palm beach as been lower than both Orlando and Tampa. I have a relative there so not a huge problem for me but it is a 4-5 hour drive. Renting a car is an added expense but can serve you well for breakfast food in the Villa and to get away from a few times during the week from paying 12.00-15.00 for a burger or?? at Disney plus a drink...

 

[Marionnette]

We have owned DVC for 12 years... Airfare goes up and down through the years. some years you get a good price others... not so much. What I can tell you is airfare, park tickets and food at Disney are part of owning DVC. It seems in the very recent year maybe last as well but not as much EVRYONE is taking advantage of those traveling to Disney... with Disney the biggest taker... My point is airfare is low now for most other places...except Orlando and unless park attendance drops the airlines will take advantage.. I am paying more this year than other years which makes no sense other then they can... a few things you can do is see what the rates are for Tampa... but the airlines have become wise to this as well... it is a very short drive... I can tell you west palm beach as been lower than both Orlando and Tampa. I have a relative there so not a huge problem for me but it is a 4-5 hour drive. Renting a car is an added expense but can serve you well for breakfast food in the Villa and to get away from a few times during the week from paying 12.00-15.00 for a burger or?? at Disney plus a drink...

I totally agree with the demand vs. prices. Just this morning , I got an email from a cruise line with outstanding prices for cruises in Europe. The Euro is tanking against the dollar and it's really affordable to travel in the EU ...if you can get there! The price for airfare was more than the cost of the cabin for an 8-night cruise with gratuities, land excursions and beer/wine included! Part of it is the huge tariff that EU nations levy on aircraft originating from the Western Hemisphere and part of it is due to the fact that cheap European travel for us means that the airlines can charge more for us to get there. I actually told my husband that if we were retired and had unlimited time to travel, it would be cheaper to do a re-positioning cruise to Europe and then tour from there!

 

[tasha99]

The one time someone I know flew Spirit (DD), they stranded her for days and she had to rent a car. Spirit doesn't work with other airlines, so if they cancel a flight you could either be stuck for days or forced to buy a ticket last minute (if there are any). I wouldn't risk that on an annual vacation, but ymmv.

 

[danielw888]

By far the least expensive way would be to Fly southwest, and take advantage of a few credit card signups to get free flights. I know you said you dont want connecting flights, but if the flight is free, I dont mind dealing with an extra hour of travel time vs paying multiple hundreds of dollars to avoid an hour and a plane change.

Depending on what days/times you travel, you can go round trip from Detroit to Orlando for 11,704pts per person on southwest. Right now you can sign up for southwest credit cards that offer 50k points after meeting a 2-3k spend. Thats almost enough for 5 round trip flights on southwest. You do have to pay an annual fee the first year for the card, which would be $69-$99 depending on what card you open, and also pay $11.20 per flight in taxes. But for a total of $125-$155 you can get almost five round trip flights if you do it right.

Also if you get two cards in the same persons name you can work to get a companion pass, so that one person flys free when you fly. That makes the points go even farther. If you want to research it there are tons of blogs around that explain it. Just google Companion Pass SW Credit Card.

I know this involves a non-direct flight, but for the cost savings, it would be well worth it to me.

 

[cedricandsophie]

My niece swears by spirit o fly to fort Myers from Chicsgo. She regularly gets $9 fares. I've flown it once, never again. U pay for seats, for carryon, for checked luggage, for water, etc. and the seats are smaller than almost anywhere. Plus if your flight is delayed or cancelled there is no recourse. If you fly delta sign up for mileage program and look for credit card that gives miles. We are united fliers and have two credit cards that give miles. It's amazing how fast they add up.

 

[DisneyArie]

My vote would be for Southwest. Sign up for their cc and use it to rack up points.

If you absolutely cannot tolerate connecting flights, then I would suggest Delta 1000% over Spirit. I know too many friends from college that have tried to save money by using Spirit and have horror stories. For me, comfort and reliability are worth the extra money.

Whatever your experience is, being at Disney makes EVERYTHING better

 

[bear_mom]

I second the option of checking other airports. Depending on where you live FNT might not be that much further away.

We have actually flow out of Toronto before because the flights were so much cheaper.

 

[Happy_Haunt999]

IDK if anyone else has said this yet here as I haven't read the entire thread yet, but Frontier is a decent airline (better than Spirit, who I'd never fly), and they fly nonstop from DTW to MCO and are decently priced. And if you join their Den deals club, you get even better $'s on flights.

 

[belle032]

I go with Southwest absolutely any time I can. Being able to check 2 bags for free is huge! I love that you can rebook your flight for no hassle if you find a lower price and the amount is credited to you for a future flight. Flights are always decently priced and I've always had a great experience with them!

 

[jimitrout]

have a question specifically about Southwest. We are a family of 4 with 2 kids never flown 5 & 7 and my wife and I havent flown in years. We just signed up for rapid rewards card. I see Wanna Get away flights are alot cheaper. My wife's first and only priority is that we sit together. Is this a problem with that fare or should I bump up to next level or are there just no assurances because of the open seating policy. Thank You and hope this was the correct place to pose this question.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

have a question specifically about Southwest. We are a family of 4 with 2 kids never flown 5 & 7 and my wife and I havent flown in years. We just signed up for rapid rewards card. I see Wanna Get away flights are alot cheaper. My wife's first and only priority is that we sit together. Is this a problem with that fare or should I bump up to next level or are there just no assurances because of the open seating policy. Thank You and hope this was the correct place to pose this question.

I also have not flown in a few years and have never flown southwest. We just purchased through them for our family of four. I also want us to be able to sit together. I bought the wanna get away fare and the early bird check in. The early bird check in was $15 each so $120 round trip for 4, but I read you will get a lower boarding number with this.

 

[seashoreCM]

You might want to rework your numbers for Disney Vacation Club itself.

You might have more flexibility in booking resorts directly as opposed to belonging to DVC. In turn this flexibility may give you more airfare choices, notably last minute fare sales.

 

[crisi]

have a question specifically about Southwest. We are a family of 4 with 2 kids never flown 5 & 7 and my wife and I havent flown in years. We just signed up for rapid rewards card. I see Wanna Get away flights are alot cheaper. My wife's first and only priority is that we sit together. Is this a problem with that fare or should I bump up to next level or are there just no assurances because of the open seating policy. Thank You and hope this was the correct place to pose this question.

You might be better off asking on the transportation board, but I'll give you a generalized answer.

All flights to Orlando involve families (unless a big conference is happening) and all families want to sit together. So you will want to be able to get seats as soon as possible for the airline if you really need to sit together. If you are with an airline like Delta, that means booking the class of tickets where you get to pick when you book. If that's flying a no-frills airline, that is paying for whatever boarding gets you onboard earliest - and even then, it can be problematic depending on how many "early boarding" the airline sells.

Also, the vast majority of airplanes that fly into Orlando are three seats across on each side. So a family of four will have one across the aisle, or need to sit two and two. Frankly, having flowing with little ones, two and two is a lot easier - when one parent sits across the aisle, they can't really parent. And since you can't really talk across seatbacks, it doesn't matter if you are "together"

(The plus side is that once your kids are old enough, emergency exit row seating tends to be EASY to get).

 

[Lvsdisney]

Don't forget that you can apply your Disney Visa rewards to your airfare purchases (as long as you use the card to purchase). I would think with the extra Disney travel you'll be doing, you'd rack up disney points quickly!