AirTran Extended Their Schedule!!!

[kristenrice]

Now we know what times we are looking at for our June 2012 vacation.

I know that AT is notorious for changing their times, but I will say, in the past 5 times I've flown with them, they have not changed any of our flights by more than 20 minutes. So, I know that they can (and probably will) tinker with the schedule, but we have to plan based on what we know now, not on what "might" happen.

That being said, I'm looking for some opinions, particularly from those who have traveled with young children/infants.

Ideally, we'd like to fly out of Grand Rapids. It is small and only 15 minutes away. Right now, the non-stop flight (and non-stop is non-negotiable for this trip) is scheduled to depart at 7:45am. Since the GR airport doesn't even open until 5am, I am confident that this flight will not get moved any earlier. The issue I am concerned with is not getting everyone to the airport at 6am (the kids will be too excited to sleep anyways....me too!), but rather what we will do when we arrive at the resort before noon. We are staying in (2) 2BR's at OKW (15 people total, 4 families) and if at least one room isn't ready, we could be stuck with ornery, tired children with nowhere to rest. I'd thought about the pool, but the hours between noon and 4pm in the middle of June could be a problem with heat and possible rain.

The other option on the table is to drive to Detroit the night before, get a good night of sleep and fly out on the 11:30am non-stop. This option would put us in Orlando around 2:00pm and the resort around 3:30pm. This would be a better option as far as times are concerned, for our inbound flight. The downside is the return flight option. There are 2 non-stops from MCO to DTW. One leaves at 10:30am (and nobody wants to be waiting from DME at 7:30am!) and the other leaves at 4:15pm. On the surface, the later flight seems ideal, but flying for 2.5 hours and then following it up with a 2.5 hour drive home doesn't appeal to me, especially since we wouldn't be home until after 9pm. Staying the night in Detroit and driving home in the morning is not an option for this trip.

So, WWYD?
...take the ultra-early, local flight and hope that at least one room is ready upon check in?
...drive across the state to take a flight with better times?

...or...

I've also looked into driving to Detroit in rental cars (one-way) which would cost about $250 for 4 vehicles. Then, we could fly back into GRR and pick up our personal vehicles from the airport. This would be a more expensive option, but still fits in the budget.

Thoughts???

 

[Inkmahm]

Is there a bus you can take to the Detroit airport instead of driving? Then I'd fly out of Detroit to get to MCO and fly direct back to Grand Rapids to go home.

 

[cockermon]

If not having a room is a deal breaker - get studio for day before arrival & check-in when you get there. Use it only just for afternoon naps...

Beats driving 3 hrs. to Detroit and renting cars.

 

[Dizney73]

Just finished booking our flights for June 22 through July 3 for our Fantasy cruise and short stay at WDW on Air Tran! I paid under $1000 for 4 roundtrip flights from our small loca airport to MCO... and the times are very nice, too (for now)!

 

[kristenrice]

After talking to the parties involved, I think we are leaning towards taking the local, early flight and hoping a room is available.

My sister (who has the youngest children in the group...7 months and turning 4 on the trip) says she is OK with the early flight and is assuming that her children will sleep on the plane.

My sister-in-law (who has the oldest kids...10, 9 and 7) said she would do either. Her kids won't take naps and (in her words) "If they get cranky, I'll just tell them to knock it off." She also said she'd be okay flying in and out of Detroit if that becomes necessary.

Dad wants to get to WDW as soon as possible so he is jumping for joy over the 7:45am flight. He doesn't care either way.

We still may split up, though. Dad would like to try and upgrade everyone to BC, but since there are only 12 seats, 2 people would be in coach if we all flew the same flight. Dad said that since he and mom are the "odd two out", they would take the coach seats. I hardly think that is fair since they are the ones paying for the entire trip. He has already contacted AirTran's group sales department (via email) and he is waiting to hear back from them.

Thanks for all the input. If anyone has any more thoughts about air travel with a large group, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Redarrow5150]

I live in West Michigan and will tell you if you can fly out of Grand Rapids at a decent price (Airtran) then do it! Grand Rapids has no where the security issues like going through Metro in Detroit.

Now we know what times we are looking at for our June 2012 vacation.

I know that AT is notorious for changing their times, but I will say, in the past 5 times I've flown with them, they have not changed any of our flights by more than 20 minutes. So, I know that they can (and probably will) tinker with the schedule, but we have to plan based on what we know now, not on what "might" happen.

That being said, I'm looking for some opinions, particularly from those who have traveled with young children/infants.

Ideally, we'd like to fly out of Grand Rapids. It is small and only 15 minutes away. Right now, the non-stop flight (and non-stop is non-negotiable for this trip) is scheduled to depart at 7:45am. Since the GR airport doesn't even open until 5am, I am confident that this flight will not get moved any earlier. The issue I am concerned with is not getting everyone to the airport at 6am (the kids will be too excited to sleep anyways....me too!), but rather what we will do when we arrive at the resort before noon. We are staying in (2) 2BR's at OKW (15 people total, 4 families) and if at least one room isn't ready, we could be stuck with ornery, tired children with nowhere to rest. I'd thought about the pool, but the hours between noon and 4pm in the middle of June could be a problem with heat and possible rain.

The other option on the table is to drive to Detroit the night before, get a good night of sleep and fly out on the 11:30am non-stop. This option would put us in Orlando around 2:00pm and the resort around 3:30pm. This would be a better option as far as times are concerned, for our inbound flight. The downside is the return flight option. There are 2 non-stops from MCO to DTW. One leaves at 10:30am (and nobody wants to be waiting from DME at 7:30am!) and the other leaves at 4:15pm. On the surface, the later flight seems ideal, but flying for 2.5 hours and then following it up with a 2.5 hour drive home doesn't appeal to me, especially since we wouldn't be home until after 9pm. Staying the night in Detroit and driving home in the morning is not an option for this trip.

So, WWYD?
...take the ultra-early, local flight and hope that at least one room is ready upon check in?
...drive across the state to take a flight with better times?

...or...

I've also looked into driving to Detroit in rental cars (one-way) which would cost about $250 for 4 vehicles. Then, we could fly back into GRR and pick up our personal vehicles from the airport. This would be a more expensive option, but still fits in the budget.

Thoughts???

 

[lotus14]

Absolutely agree you should fly from GR if you can. So much less headache for everyone even if it is early. If you got to OKW and the room wasn't ready, you could always go right to a park and go back when you get the text that you can get in the room. The kids will be so happy to be at a park that even if they are tired (Do you REALLY think they'll sleep on a plane?) they will probably be decently behaved. Saving a 3 hour drive on each end not to mention possibly several hotel rooms sounds like a much better deal than the possibility that kids MIGHT be crabby.

By the way, we are in Kalamazoo and hoping to do exactly the same thing.

 

[Lisa0620]

The Hyatt at MCO has this:

Day Use Rooms Available
Air travel can be exhausting, especially when long layovers are involved. During your next flight, recharge your batteries with a nap or shower in one of the Day Use Rooms at Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport. Available from 10am to 6pm daily, these special guest rooms are ideal for families looking to keep their children comfortable and entertained while traveling. Add a measure of relaxation to your next airport layover, and enjoy the comforts of the Hyatt Touch.
For more information, please call 407 825 1234.

I assume you would get use of the pool too, which w/b fun for the older kids while the littler ones crash.

 

[dudspizza]

No matter what, I take the earliest flight possible. Things will work out, just pack swimsuits etc and go from there. If rooms are not available, check your bags with bell services and take a bus to MK. Jump on the monorail and go for a free ride. Stop at each monorail resort and shop, walk, eat, relax, look for characters, and whatever you can do. The kids will be excited. The best thing is that it is free!

Another option is to go to DTD for a meal and some fun.

If DME is handling your bags, all you would have to check with Bell Services would be carry ons.....

Duds

 

[kristenrice]

Alrighty...I have an update...

First, we called AT's group reservations today. The website is showing the non-stop from GRR-MCO at $96...and the MCO-GRR at $378. (Odd, since Orbitz shows the return leg at $96 also). Anyways, the AT group sales agent quoted us $533/person for that flight! So, that option is currently out the window.

Then, we looked again at the Detroit option. Without using the group sales (which really gives us no significant advantage), we could book 9 seats on the DTW-MCO non-stop and the MCO-DTW non-stop for $92 each way, per person. There *are* still at least 9 seats available at that price.

Dad wants to upgrade all of us so here is what we are thinking...

Book 1 reservation with 9 people (my family of 4 and my brother's family of 5)...book 1 reservation of 3 (my sister's family of 3 + a lap baby)...and then book my parents as a reservation of 2. Reason? At 24 hours, me and my sister can check in simultaneously at EXACTLY 24-hours so that we can secure all 12 BC seats. (*Obviously, this wouldn't work if there are any that have been booked ahead of time) We are aware that we may not all be able to upgrade and we are all OK with that. The main purpose of the upgrade is to help defray some of the luggage issues. Even if only 4 people get the upgrade, that should still cover all of our group's checked bags.

So, tomorrow, dad is planning on booking my family and my brother's family. Then, we'll see what that does to the flight's price. Assuming it doesn't completely deplete that fare bucket, he will then proceed with booking the remaining tickets.

After talking to all involved, it seems that everyone would RATHER fly out of Detroit. My sister has some friends on that side of the mitten who she'd like to visit so she is thinking about getting a room after our return night and then visiting them the next day. My SiL says she doesn't mind one bit since the flight times are better and the driving isn't an issue. My mom would prefer it too....but dad just wants to get to WDW!! He likes the 7:45am flight out of Grand Rapids.

Now, I just hope that maybe AT does a little tinkering with the times. IIRC, if they move our flight times, they will allow us to switch to a different flight...even a different *airport*, without adding to the cost. Then, we could see about getting that flight out of GR anyways.

We went ahead and reserved 2 rooms and a suite on the park and fly rate at the Fairfield Inn. I have Marriott points to use to book our 4th room, but I am waiting until it is confirmed that this is our final plan. The 4 rooms including parking will only cost about $170 more (total) than what it would cost just to park our cars at the GR airport so it is a pretty nice deal.

Oh, and we are planning on paying for and securing the coach seats that we'd actually want, just in case that the BC upgrades don't come through for everyone.

 

[TheWog]

Sounds good. Good luck!

 

[kristenrice]

We pulled the trigger!

Last night, we booked 15 seats, non-stop round-trip from Detroit.

Since we bought a seat for my new niece (who just turned 2 weeks old!), my dad's plans for upgrade have changed. Initially, he was going to put the 13 of us (kids/grandkids) in BC while he and mom sat in coach. This would only work if DN traveled as a lap baby. Now that she has a seat, they would have to split up a family and nobody wants to do that. So, to be fair, dad says that he will upgrade my family and my sister's family (8 people) on the way down, and then the other 7 people (my brother's family of 5 and my parents) on the way back.

We are currently booked in rows 12-16 which all offer priority boarding (zone 1). Hopefully, the upgrade will work out since that will eliminate any baggage fees. Even with 7 people upgrading on the way back, that would still cover 14 checked bags. Mom wasn't sure that would be enough. I told her that my family only checks 1 bag total. I can't imagine hauling 14 checked bags, carryons, strollers and car seats through the airport.

Now, we'll just have to watch the flight time. If it changes (moves to a later departure), we may just see if they will switch us to the Grand Rapids flight. Dad was very happy with the price too. I think he said that the 15 tickets cost a total of $3700. When he made his trip budget 5 years ago (he's been planning and saving for this trip for a LONG time), he'd figured $7000 for the airfare budget. He's elated that even with the upgrade fees, AND the seat for the baby that he hadn't planned on, he is still spending about 40% less than what he'd budgeted.