Cheapest plane tickets?

[emmabemmainc]

Hi all--My daughter and I are leaving in about a month for WDW and I'm trying to find the cheapest way to buy plane tickets. Is priceline the best bet? The only thing I worry about is arriving really late on our arrival day, although, if it saves me a lot of money, I may just end up doing that. We're leaving on a Sunday and returning on a Monday. Thanks for your help!

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Priceline is fine if you're flexible and don't mind stopovers or certain airlines.

Personally, I prefer using websites like kayak.com or sidestep.com. They will compare airline prices for major carriers out of your airport and they will show you the lowest fares. You can modify the search to include only certain airlines, direct flights only or narrow the take-off/arrival times down.

You may find that one carrier is cheaper flying into MCO but another is cheaper for the return flight. So, you might find it cheaper to book one-way fares.

Another option is to fly in late the night before your vacation starts and stay at an inexpensive hotel for one night. It can be cheaper to pay for the hotel than it is to pay for the higher airfare the following morning.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Tues./Wed./Thurs. are lighter traveling days for resort destinations like WDW. Cheaper airfares are more available on those days than the traditonal Fri./Sat./Sun. flights.

 

[Pennykay]

I just saw that southwest is having a great sale to Orlando. Good luck!

 

[beautifultomorrow]

I second the suggestions to use kayak.com you can set it up to send you daily emails with the current prices on specific dates. I did that and sure enough after a couple of weeks I got one that the prices had dropped significantly. we hurried and booked. the cheap flights were gone within a matter of hours and haven't dropped down nearly that much since!

 

[tinkyrie]

allegiant air is VERY reasonable, but I've never actualy used them. Their origination cities are limited and I think they only fly certain days. But if it works out with your dates, it could be REALLY cheap!

 

[Disneyforus]

We have always had the "best" deal using the actual carriers website. I booked 6 of us round trip out of Detroit for $836 on NorthWest...they are non-stop too! I always price out everything and compare and then decide how flexible we are...that's what saved us big this time...we were willing to fly on cheaper dates.

Good Luck!

 

[emmabemmainc]

We have always had the "best" deal using the actual carriers website. I booked 6 of us round trip out of Detroit for $836 on NorthWest...they are non-stop too! I always price out everything and compare and then decide how flexible we are...that's what saved us big this time...we were willing to fly on cheaper dates.

Good Luck!

That's where I'll be flying out of too.

Thanks everyone for your advice--I will definitely take it!

 

[kristinlynn]

I'll usually compare one way flights from DTW to MCO with Spirit, Airtran and NWA. More often than not we end up flying one airline out and another home. All three of those airlines offer non-stop service from DTW to MCO.

With Airtran you can also check Flint to MCO. And, Allegiant Air also goes direct to MCO from the Lansing airport.

If you'll have a car you might look at flying into other airports in Florida. We've gotten great deals flying into Tampa or Jacksonville before. A year ago we flew USA3000 home from Fort Myers for $75 - we didn't have a car with us but we rented a car from Avis in downtown disney for $35 and droped it off at the Fort Myers airport. In November we flew Spirt to Tampa ($69), again, rented a car at the Tampa airport and dropped off same day at the WDW Dolphin ($45) and then flew on Airtran from MCO to DTW ($99)....so RT that was under $200 per person even with the car, and having the car gave us the ability to stop at the grocery store before getting to our hotel.

 

[secretpantssam]

I also agree that most of the time the carrier's website has better prices for nonstop flights. I'd check there first.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Actually, kayak and sidestep link to the airline's websites thru theirs. With sites like priceline, travelocity or orbitz, you are buying your air travel from them. Kayak and sidestep are search engines. You can still buy your tickets from the individual airline.

 

[gingerwave]

I go straight to southwest. Cut out the middle man.

 

[momejay]

If you are flying out of Detroit, try Spirit Airlines. I have found some great deals with them. Out of around 50 trips, I have only had one bad experience. (Poor me, I was stranded in FLA overnight) Being an annual passholder I was able to get a room at All-star & being stranded & just having come from there, they gave us a great deal. We got an extra half a day in MK. It ended up costing me about $100 more than I intended.

 

[3boymthr]

My brother works for American Airlines. I asked if he could get me discounted tickets to Orlando. His response: Fly to Tampa then rent a car.

Also, if you are very flexible in your arrival and departure dates (which we're not unfortunately), call the airline directly and ask about flying standby. My mom and dad do this all the time.