Best Airline for non-stop flight from Detroit to Orlando?

[Topher99]

Hi all!!
We are dreaming of booking a trip for after Easter. In the past we have taken Spirit Air flights, but with their new baggage charges, I am not sure this is the best way to go ($40+ for checked bag and $20+ for a carryon). Any suggestions as to other carriers??
Thanks.
Topher

 

[Srbright]

I don't know where you are but SW has direct flights out of Flint. We just paid $240 per ticket for September flights.

Delta is direct out of DTW but the prices, at least for September are still over $300 each.

Stacy

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

If Southwest flies out of your airport they have no checked bag fees and up to 2 bags per person plus a carry on and a personal item like a purse or backpack.

Just the bag fees we saved last October when all 5 of us went and had 2 checked bags each saved us about $400 off what another airline would have charged.

You can sign up for a Southwest airlines Chase Visa and get 50,000 airline miles after meeting minimum purchase requirements. We did that and those miles paid for 3 of our 5 tickets last fall.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

I don't know where you are but SW has direct flights out of Flint. We just paid $240 per ticket for September flights.

Delta is direct out of DTW but the prices, at least for September are still over $300 each.

Stacy

Direct or non stop??? They are not the same thing.

 

[Andeevan]

Second vote for Flint here. Southwest has non-stop flights and no baggage fees. We just got round trip tickets for our Oct trip for $250 each. We checked Detroit but the prices were higher.

 

[Gorechick]

What's your location? In August we flew Delta with 1 stop under $300 each from Grand Rapids.

 

[Topher99]

I am in Ontario, Canada......Detroit and Flint are both close, and I could also go via Buffalo.

 

[lizabu]

Delta is good. You can usually find tickets around $250. If you need them after this Easter you are too close to your date to get a great deal. You can sign up for airfare watches on sites such as kayak and trip advisor. They will email you when the price drops. I've noticed about 3 months out the price is the best. Then it spikes. Then a couple weeks before departure it drops again. Just keep checking religiously.

 

[sk8jdgca]

Look at Cleveland too. It is only 20 minutes farther from Windsor

 

[geckodani]

I've had good luck with Airtran ($240 in Jan) and Delta ($276 in Dec) out of Detroit.

 

[Colleen27]

Spirit, AirTran, and Delta are your only non-stop choices. Of the three, I prefer either A/T or Spirit simply because I find the smaller terminal easier than dealing with McNamara. Make sure when you price Spirit you take their fees into account; sometimes they are still the cheapest even with bag fees tacked on, but sometimes the fees make the more expensive carriers the better deal.

Flint is an easier airport if you're willing to make the drive, and parking is cheaper too. For Easter dates that would still be AirTran; Southwest is taking over that route effective 4/14. The downside there is that they only have one non-stop in each direction per day so there's zero flexibility on flight times. I prefer Flint Bishop over Detroit Metro but usually end up flying out of Metro if I have any restrictions or strong preferences on flight times.

I'm not sure how prices are running for around Easter but I'd expect them to be on the high side at this point. I've done really well with airfare to/from Orlando, usually paying under $200pp r/t, but the best deals seem to come around 6-8 weeks in advance.

 

[danjoealexis3006]

We used to fly spirit all the time out of DTW but the by the time they added seats, baggage, and every other fee under the sun it was cheaper to fly Delta. We are next week flying out of Bishop for the first time so I can't comment on Bishop and airtran yet!

 

[brokenlola]

Does Frontier fly out of your airports? We got $110 non-stop round trip St. Louis to Orlando.

 

[sara mom]

If you are in Ontario.....Southwest/Air Tran out of Buffalo has tons of inexpensive options. At least 1 direct to MCO daily. Thpse flights are usually 2.5-3 hours. Switching planes with layovers takes about 4.5 -5 hours.

Free bags too!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Came here to suggest Flint-Bishop and Southwest in the old AirTran gates, but got beaten to the punch.

 

[serene56]

Direct or non stop??? They are not the same thing.

a direct flights stops some where- you just dont get off the plane.
a non stop is just that--

especially when / if working with an agent.

you ask for a direct flight-- you will get a lay over somewhere.

Please be careful