Davenport Iowan looking for a cheaper flight--Rockford, Ohare, Midway, Cedar Rapids?

[IowaGirl]

I am thinking of a trip in about a year to Florida again. I live near Davenport IA, and it is rare that I can get a price from Moline, ILL for less than $250 per person with taxes and fees and all that.
I hear much advertisement for the Rockford Airport, but the airlines are limited. But they do not charge for parking..and it is not that bad of a drive.
I do not particularly like the drive into Chicago for either airport, plus I have to add on parking or a park and fly plus my time. But would do it for a super cheap fare....
I could also go to Cedar Rapids, IA.
Anybody fly out of these airports to Orlando often, what carrier usually has the best deal for you? I have four people in my group.
Or if you do fly out of Moline, how do you get a deal and with what carrier?
Thanks for your input!

 

[Bev J]

How far is the drive to Omaha? We have been very lucky with great airfare from there. For our trip this friday we paid $141 RT on Delta. We have gotten as low as $108 for Orlando in the past 2 years. The last time I checked it was about $220 RT. There usually seems to be lots of flights and times.

Bev

 

[amyjo]

You can fly Trans Meridian airlines out of Rockford and get a direct flight to Sanford (NOT MCO). So, you'll have to rent a car or hire a limo or whatever. The website is iflytma dot com. The flights are usually 69 or 79 per person each way. I live in Rockford and was going to use them but they don't fly the days I need (check their schedule, there isn't a flight every day). We're flying Midwest out of Milwaukee.

 

[siouxi31]

I recently got a round trip fare from MDW to MCO on SW for 115.00/person. If you go to Midway's website, you may find a parking coupon to decrease the cost of parking. I used one last fall and I think it was $5-6/day.

 

[dismom]

Hey there, Iowa Girl! I'm from Bettendorf! Now in the Dallas area. I don't know what prices are like to MCO, but for some reason, flights from DFW to Peoria is about $50 cheaper than Moline. It's worth a try!

Gosh, now I'm homesick for Happy Joe's pizza & some Whitey's ice cream!!

 

[goldcupmom]

I'm from Burlington, now in NM. My bro & family are flying out of Moline on 7/1 - just under $200/ea. I think Air Tran. They did the same in June last summer.

Happy Joes, Whitey's, but how about REAL sweet corn, pork tenderloins and Sterzing potato chips. GEE, I'm hungry!

Living in NM, I'd just love to see some GREEN fields!

 

[Jimdamedic]

Another option is Allegiant Air. They fly out of Peoria. I've seen airfare from them for $89 each way. It is www.allegiantair.com

 

[dzneelvr]

Iowagirl: I second the Rockford/TMA/Sanford route. There are 4 of us (DH, DS-17, DD-15 and me) and we book tickets over their web: iflytma.com and get a 5% discount on top of the $79 price.
I usually start looking at the website 8-9 months before our trip to see what months are being posted and then you can make your ressie when you see your month pop up. What's neat is you can then see where your seats are in the plane. 4 of us flew last June/July for a total of $250. It is a small regional airport; free parking; a very short jaunt from parking lot to terminal and just sooooo hassle free compared with the *&$# chicago traffic just getting to Ohare or Midway.
I can't say enough good things about this. Sanford is the same: small, quick luggage return, and then a 60 minute drive to most resorts (as MCO is). Click on sanfordairport.com for ground transportation choices. We like to treat ourselves and hire a stretch limo from Happy Limo to/from. Fantastic all way around.

 

[becjlek]

You can fly direct on Allegiant Air out of Des Moines now.

 

[hawkrn]

OK, I feel I should know you. I live in Bettendorf! My DS and I are going to WDW on Bix Saturday and we are flying Airtran. We have gone to WDW 4 times in the last 4 years and Airtran wins hands down. And if you book online you get another 5% discount each way, each ticket. We are paying $400 for the 2 of us, which is what I paid last June. Sign up for Airtran.com and they will send you emails for sale fares. Also they usually run them in the QC Times. Usually the fare sales are about 5 months before the trip dates. I also got non-stop flights to Orlando and back for the first time! YEAH!! I can't imagine driving home from Rockford or Peoria after our trip. Plus we have to pick up our dogs at the kennel right away! PM me if you have any questions about anything

 

[hawkrn]

Hey DISMOM, I was at Happy Joes today and they have a new pizza coming out that you would like since you're a Texas girl now. Chipolte! It was yummy! And I can walk to Whitey's! But I'd rather not have the snow!

 

[TeresaMc]

Another Davenportian here.... (maybe we need a QC Dis meet). I am flying from Moline to MCO in December and got fares of $211 ea. Right now I have seen some fare of $89 each way which totals $208 I think.

 

[hawkrn]

Cool! And I thought I was the only QC person on the DIS!

 

[chipscinderelly]

You have some great advice already! I just wanted to say HI since I grew up in Burlington and am now craving HAPPY JOES!!!

 

[IowaGirl]

Thanks everyone!

Lots of Iowans out there!

I think Rockford wins it for me--unless I can get one of those $119 fares on Southwest from Midway--that would be awesome!

Not to burst you ex-Iowan's bubbles, but in my opinion, Happy Joes has gone down a little bit in quality. We had an ex-Iowan stay with us a few months ago and she had to have Happy Joes pizza, Whitey's ice cream and Hungry Hobo. Ice cream was good, but the other stuff was disapointing. The pizza was not bad, just not at all like we remembered it. Hungry Hobo was awful, sorry Hobo!

 

[LisaS]

It's good to know that Whitey's is still good! I always stop by there and get a chocolate malt when I'm back in Iowa to visit family. I live in Massachusetts now and they just don't know how to make good malts out here.

 

[Dimk]

Another Davenportian here.... (maybe we need a QC Dis meet). I am flying from Moline to MCO in December and got fares of $211 ea. Right now I have seen some fare of $89 each way which totals $208 I think.

What airline? We are going in early December and I have been watching. We will be leaving on Dec 2 and return Dec 10. When is the QC DIS meet? I am just south of the QC area.

 

[goldcupmom]

You have some great advice already! I just wanted to say HI since I grew up in Burlington and am now craving HAPPY JOES!!!

Small world. I'm originally from Burlington, too!

 

[Galenamom]

I'm in Galena and we just returned last night/early morning flying Rockford to Sanford using TMA. I would recommend it but there are a few drawback. TMA is small so they don't have as many planes as other airlines. Last night our flight was supposed to leave at 8:15 PM but was delayed until 1:30 AM because the plane wasn't there, due to weather delays from whenever. One delay causes a whole chain reaction of delays. Other than that, we loved the rate and loved the convenience of the smaller airports.

 

[TeresaMc]

The lowest flights ($89) that I seen are AirTran.....that is what I have booked for Dec1-7 at $211 ea.

As far as QC Dis meet....I am all for it if anyone else is......