As a fellow Canuck...

[torian]

I need some help with flights.

1. We are hoping to fly out of Buffalo- I almost fainted at the prices with Westjet and AirCan!!!

2. Which airline is really good? Airtran, Southwest, Jetblue? Another?

3. Any pitfalls to be aware of with any of the above?

Oh yeah...I'm a white knuckle flyer to boot!

 

[michelle1]

We prefer Southwest and have flown with them many times. We have always had excellent service and they offer more non stop flights than the others you mentioned. AirTran is notorious for changing their schedules, I'm not sure about JetBlue but I've heard they are good to fly with. What I like most about southwest is they don't charge for checked bags and you can make changes to your flights for no charge also. They are no frills so don't expect on board entertainment but they do give free non alcoholic beverages and some snacks and for a short flight to Orlando it is fine.

 

[disneynuts777]

1. I almost always faint when I price out airfare from Toronto

2. In order of preference...Southwest( no baggage fees, I have never had them change there schedule) Jetblue ( on board entertainment...tv's on the back of the seats) Airtran( change there schedule....alot, other than that I have never had a problem.)

You definetly want a direct flight if you are a "white knuckle" flyer.

3. Airtran out of all the airlines will change a direct flight to a stopover or a connector flight.

 

[Kaitlyn08]

I'm flying Air Tran in May, and only have two real complaints:

1. They have already changed my flight times (I just booked in January)
2. You have to pay for checked baggage

On the other hand, I think a lot of airlines now charge for checked baggage, and I have also heard of other airlines frequently changing their flight times, so I suppose Air Tran is not that different.

Air Tran I find has very cheap fares, so I think I'll use them again in the future.

 

[photomama]

My absolute favourite airline of the 3 would be JetBlue. I honestly don't have a single bad thing to say about this airline. We drove to Buffalo many times when I lived in Toronto, prices out of Toronto are double, if not triple the price.

Good luck.

 

[AverysMommy]

I have used all three - JetBlue used to be cheaper but I find they are always higher now.

Southwest is good but no guarantee you will all sit together so you have to be careful if you have young kids - I have never had a problem but you have to consider it if there is a large group that wants to sit together.

I love Airtran -never had an issue and normally cheap.

My next trip I picked Southwest but it was based on time of departures in both directions......if the price difference is less than $100 -then go based on what times you want to travel. Last trip, I took a bad timeslot to save a few bucks and did I ever pay for it with Extremely Tired Kids

 

[iluveeyore]

Southwest for sure - I have flown all airlines you can think of out of Buffalo, and they are by far my favourite for price, schedule and no fees. If you're worried about everyone not sitting together, this rarely happens if you simply go on-line 24 hours before your flight and check in - as long as you are in A or B, you will have no problem finding 3-6 seats together. And no one has assigned seats anyhow, so if another passenger is keeping you from sitting together, I'm sure they'd move if you ask nicely. For coming home, you can check-in online at the front desk of any hotel you are near at the time, just have your confirmation number on you. They don't charge for luggage, and if you sign up for their DING program, you will be notified of cheap flights from Buffalo when available. I just flew with them in January for $72 one way. Last year in the summer we got $160 round-trip each just a month before we left. Also, if you book a flight and it goes down, you can just cancel and re-book online for the cheaper price, and the extra $$ goes in a holding account for a year to be used for future travel.
Enjoy your trip. And Buffalo airport is smaller and so easy to get to and get around at.

 

[Questforthemouse]

Don't forget...You can also fly out of Rochester, NY using JetBlue, Southwest and AirTran and each have direct flights to Orlando. It's about an extra 70 mins beyond driving to the Buffalo airport but sometimes you'll get a cheaper flight or better departure time...

 

[jwood]

Torian

In the past we have flown with Southwest only because the price was right for direct flights.We have had excellent service with them. This year we booked with Airtran because SW started out a little pricey. Our flight to Orlando was changed 5 times before I decided that I didn't want to accept losing a whole day in Orlando as the changes kept getting later and later in the day. I called Airtran and they were really nice to deal with. They refunded the price of the outbound flight without any hassels and I rebooked with SW at a really good price.
For our return flight I kept it with Airtran, the price and time (which has only changed by 5 minutes) are right,although not direct but the biggest thing is the resort check in. Last year we almost missed our flight because it took us 2 hours to check our luggage and get through security. This year we will check our luggage at the Beach Club and head for security. We have prepaid for our seats as there are 5 of us and I didn't want to have to worry about not sitting together. Either way...I think you will be very happy with the price compared to Pearson not to mention the parking and how easy Buffalo airport is. I cannot comment on Jet Blue,I haven't flown with them.
I hope that helps a little
jwood

 

[Winue]

we went with JetBlue last Jan/08 and ad NO complaints. We will be going again this May with JetBlue out of buffalo.

if it is cheaper, go with it!

 

[torian]

Thanks everyone for all your responses so far!

As much as I would like to support our local economy and fly out of pearson, my budget will not allow it. I mean 2500 to over 3000 for pretty much the same flight from buffalo???

Sadly, when we started planning last year the difference was much nicer- Southwest was under $1000 for all 4 of us, and the dollar was on par. But I guess I have to keep telling myself that even with the increase and price and the non-par dollar, I'm STILL saving by flying out of buffalo- which only speaks to how over-priced Pearson flights must be.

I'm thinking of going with Southwest- the times work, and they are direct flights.

Thanks again!