Drop off charge mco to chicago???

[momtofour]

Dear fellow Dis Board Members,
I REALLY need help with this one! In May, I purchased 6 round trip tickets to Orlando from Chicago. We are scheduled to depart on March 19, and return home to Chicago on Easter Sunday, March 27th. I was able to secure tickets for about $200.00 each, a great deal!! These tickets were purchased from Travelocity with the usual restrictions. Here is the BIG catch. My nephew just got engaged and the wedding is in Memphis on the 26th. There is no changing this date. I feel that we must attend this wedding. It is too far to attend the wedding on Saturday and catch our flight out of Orlando on the 27th. It seems like my ONLY alternative is to rent a van, vacation in Orlando until Friday, and then all of us drive to Memphis! After the wedding is over, drive on home to Chicago!! The surcharge for this return to Chicago is about $400.00! Can anyone offer any suggestions on this one? Any alternatives? Any way to decrease this charge? I am in a panic on this one? HELP!!!

 

[goldilocks_63]

Hi, I used to fly once a week, and sometimes if I wanted to go earlier they would let me fly standby, but I was taking my chances.

And if you need to go later, althought it is somewhat dishonest, can say your car broke down, and then again they have to fly you but on standby. (You have to be delayed due to car problems - that is the magic phrase).

I would possibly try standby, and have a rental car reservation as a backup.

Also, southwest lets you change your dates without a penalty.

What airline did you purchase. I'm trying to find Chicago to Orlando for Spring break, and can only see around $300.

Aaaarrrgghhh.

Best wishes, Goldi.

 

[goldilocks_63]

FF miles might help here too?

 

[ducklite]

Actually I think you're lucky that the surcharge is only $400! It goes by zones, and you are assessed a surcharge for each zone you cross into.

I would look into a couple ideas.

The most logical would be to call the airline and have them apply the value of the tickets you've already gotten to create an "open jaw" trip. ORD/MCO/MEM/ORD I just ran it through Orbitz and found $387 per ticket for that routing. Not bad, actually.

Another option would be to wait--if the airline changes your flight times by more than about two hours (which this far out is a decent possibility) you can cancel and get a full refund. Then rebook what you need.

Would it be possile for maybe just one of the adults to fly up to Memphis and attend the wedding, while the rest of the family stays in WDW? That way you would be represented, but it would keep costs down.

And last, your trip was booked before the wedding. SImply explain that you have non-refundable tickets, hotel rooms booked, etc., and regretfully won't be able to make it.

Anne

 

[momtofour]

Thanks to all for your wonderful ideas thus far! I booked on Travelocity and found that to make a change to my ticket would cost me $130.00. (per ticket) Only $70.00 in value left! The tickets are also nonrefundable so I feel like I am really stuck! Ifa nyone has any further ideas, keep them coming!