Always drove now going to fly

[Kurby]

So i'm looking for options.

dh and i are going with the 2 girls next New Years.

we've always driven down and odd is a great traveller but it was either in the spring or summer.

i don't like the mountains at night i can't imagine what they would be like with the chance of snow storms at that time of year so we're going to fly this time.

i looked up air transat for this new years around the same days we would be down next year.

looks like the flight down is a early bird 6am which is fine - i like getting there early to get a start to the day but the flight home is also early - 9am i think

does anyone know if air transat only flies early flights with no late afternoon or evening flights?


is there an advantage of flying down one airline and back another?

it bugs me that the flight itself isn't too bad but the taxes are 1.5 - 2 times the price of the flight.

it's nuts but we don't fly much so i'll suck it up for Disney

 

[hockey mom]

Not sure where u are but we fly out of Buffalo to avoid those taxes.

I have used one carrier to get me there and another to get home before. All depends on who has the best times and prices.

 

[disney06]

We are in the same situation, we have always driven down but are thinking of flying this time but a little overwhelmed with the thought of finding flights (through Buffalo or Syracuse).
We are also going for New Years (a Dream cruise) in 2012. It will be a surprise Christmas gift for my two girls, we will hopefully leave Boxing Day or the day after, depending on price.

Two quick questions, when will flights start coming out to book?.......What can I expect for prices at this busy time?.......

Allison

PS we also live close to Peterborough

 

[Kurby]

By the time you drive from Toronto to buffalo pay for gas a nights
Stay and parking is it really so much cheaper to fly out of buffalo?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

By the time you drive from Toronto to buffalo pay for gas a nights
Stay and parking is it really so much cheaper to fly out of buffalo?

Well, I can't speak for the other posters, but here's our summary:

We fly to Orlando on December 31st and return January 7th (so the same general time period as you are looking at for next year).

Before booking, we checked Air Canada and Westjet, and return fares (including taxes and fees) for three of us were anywhere between $1800 and $2400 Canadian. Some of those were not direct flights, either. Plus, at least with Air Canada, there are baggage fees to also consider.

We live east of Toronto, so it takes about 2 - 2.5 hours for us to reach Pearson International Airport from our home. So, we decided to check out our options from Syracuse (a 3 hour drive).

We ended up booking through CAA, and got return airfare from Syracuse on Jetblue for three people, plus our hotel accomodations for seven nights (in a one-bedroom suite with a full kitchen, free hot breakfast buffet daily, free evening social hour with food and alcholic beverages provided, and free shuttle service to Universal, IOA, Seaworld, and Disney parks), and all the taxes, for $1658 Canadian. Jetblue gives us one free checked bag each and had excellent flight times (and both flights are direct). Plus I hear there's free snacks and a TV on every seat.....a bonus when flying with a teenaged son (food + a TV....what more do you need? lol ) And, just to sweeten the pot, we got to choose our seats when booking.

If we had booked our flights alone via the Jetblue website, they would have been about $1050, taxes included, direct & return for the three of us. Higher than many flights but we are also flying out on NYE morning.......which obviously added a premium to the cost. And almost half the price of flying out of Toronto.

Our park and fly hotel at Syracuse is $60 plus tax at the Holiday Inn Express (used 5000 of my Priority Club points plus cash) which is right across from the airport and offers us a free shuttle. Parking is $5 per night, no tax. So total cost for the park and fly is $102.80 taxes included, USD. Even flying out of Toronto, we would have needed a park and fly hotel so this wasn't an extra cost for us when choosing Syracuse.

Gas is essentially the same, albeit a little more for Syracuse. But we can fill the car up with cheaper gas on the US side before heading home. So hopefully that will help negate any price difference on the driving costs.

For us, it was a no-brainer to choose Syracuse (which everyone seems to rave about for ease of getting around). We booked a day at Discovery Cove with the savings.

Now I just pray that Mother Nature smiles on us and gives us sunny, clear weather for travelling.

 

[webworm]

You save big $$$ by flying out of the US but even more if you don't limit yourself to Buffalo. There are many other options.