Does anyone know if a TA could or would help to fly 160 students/chaperones to WDW?

[Kitty 34]

I'm on a committee to help fly 160 plus students and others to Disney next Fall. Our band director wanted to do everything on our own but the lady in charge of getting flights for that many has not been able to do this.

Instead of throwing the whole flying idea out (from Michigan) the window I thought I would ask here.

Do travel agencies help fly that many people??

 

[CherCrazy]

I was a travel agent for over 20 years.

Any good travel agent would LOVE to take on a group like yours! Just make sure you go to a big agency. AAA is a good choice. They have contracts with Disney too.

 

[cruiseonmagic]

Call the group travel desk for the various airlines that fly from your airport. Keep in mind that you may need to take several flights/airlines to keep the price down. Unless you were very lucky and booked the flight now, you will probably need to charter the plane for everyone to be on the same flight--160 will fill a 757.

 

[Lewisc]

The airfare may cost more than you think. Airlines only have a limited number of deeply discounted seats available per flight. Assume you'll get a good fare but not necessarily some of the $100-$120 R/T fares you see advertised.

Basically call group sales for every airline that flies from your airport to Orlando. Check carefully the payment and cancellation terms. They may be different. See what happens if the fare goes down.

 

[deltachi8]

I think with that size of group your loking at a charter. A good TA will be able to help you.

 

[solotraveler]

I think with that size of group your loking at a charter. A good TA will be able to help you.

I agree. I think that you'd probably be looking at 2-3 different flights on the way down otherwise to keep it from being cost-prohibitive. If cost makes bussing a necessity, there are many good motorcoach companies in Michigan that enjoy doing long-haul trips.

Solotraveler

 

[Lewisc]

You may also need transportation when you get down there. People have posted that Disney makes some groups responsible for getting their own transportation to the back stage area. If that's the case you may have to charter buses in Orlando. May swing you toward just chartering buses to get to Orlando.

 

[Kitty 34]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I called AAA and she directed me to a toll free # to Northwest saying they couldn't book that many.

Northwest was having problems finding 3 different planes to accommodate us and gave us a toll free # for their Charter service.

The gentleman at the Charter service was extremely helpful BUT the price was pretty high. We could charter a 757 (nice big plane) but it would cost us a small fortune.

I have a feeling we're going to have to forget about flying and go back to busses. Our band director has done the trip 3 times on buses and just thought it would be fun to try flying.

Thanks again.

 

[vossjemi]

You might also try www.groople.com. Its a TA that specializes in group travel. Good Luck!