Flight recommendations from New York to MCO/TPA

[Young Pooh]

Hi

We normally fly direct to MCO from the UK but next year will be flying into New York first (either Newark or JFK) for a couple of nights before continuing down to MCO. We will also be flying home from New York.

Can anyone recommend airlines for me to check out for these flights - will consider both MCO or TPA as we will be spending the last few nights on the Gulf Coast.

Also, what is the best time to book these flights to get the best deals - early or nearer the time. (We are looking at the last 2 weeks in August).

Thanks.

 

[Young Pooh]

Does no-one fly from New York?

 

[shafke]

Will you be staying in New York City (Manhattan)? If so then getting to Newark or JFK is about the same.

As for airlines...

I would start at one of the online travel sites to get a feel for prices and which airline may have direct flights.

You can also try www.panynj.com which operate both JFK and Newark.
Click Flight Schedules

Enter the city and date you want to fly and you will get a list of Airlines, Airport, and time, Flight No, number of stops, etc.

 

[Lewisc]

JetBlue flies from JFK to MCO. Good schedule. IFE. Reasonable prices.

Can you book your flight open jaw from UK-NYC return MCO-UK?

 

[DanceRC28]

Also try White Plains airport, code HPN. It is pretty close to the city, but outside enough where you avoid the hussle and bustle. I have seen flights from there to MCO on Airtran for as low as $69/each way. Good luck!

 

[Miffy]

JetBlue flies out of Laguardia, JFK, and Newark to Orlando. Continental flies out of Newark. Delta also has flights to Orlando (maybe out of Laguardia, but I'm not sure because I haven't used them in a while). There must be other airlines as well.

The way I check flights is to go to http://www.sidestep.com to see flights and times. When you type "NYC" into their search engine, choose all NYC airports, since it really doesn't matter which one you use. Also, remember that there's no need to use the same airport for both parts of your trip. I usually search for one-way flights both ways so I can find the times that are best for me. I discovered a couple of years ago that two one-way flights are no more expensive than a round-trip flight. We often fly down on one carrier and return on another.

I live in the city and have never flown out of White Plains, so I can't advise you there.

I'm not sure when the best time to book is, since I've never mastered that myself, but you have a lot of lead time, so you can start looking for deals and take advantage of them when they turn up. Subscribe to sidestep's email service to get regular updates from them. There are a couple of other websites that have similar services. You can also get JetBlue to send you emails about their sales and deals by registering on their website.

HTH

 

[dizct]

If you're staying in Manhattan, LaGuardia (LGA) is the closest (half hour) and cheapest cab ride. JFK and Newark (EWR) are comparable distance, 45-mins to an hour and a half depending on traffic. All flights should be non-stop. Avoid cabbing it to the airports at rush hour: 8:00-10 A.M. and 4:00-7:00 P.M. Traffic is terrible, like leaving London for Heathrow. Early morning flights (before 8:00 A.M.) are typically the cheapest flights. White Plains (HPN) is great, but pretty far from Manhattan. We tip the cab drivers here, roughly 10-20% depending on how happy you are. If you go to JFK it is a flat fare, not a metered fare. If you are staying in midtown Manhattan, near 42nd Street and Park Ave., there is a bus service that takes you directly to either LGA or JFK for much less than the cabs. They pick up and drop off at Park Ave. and 42nd Street right in front of Grand Central Station. You need to be at the airport at least one hour ahead of departure.

From JFK, there are many Jet Blue flights and they are competitively priced. From LGA and HPN, AirTran and Jet Blue are good options. I live in CT and don't use EWR, so I don't have a good feel for which airline is typically cheapest there. A "good" fare would be less than $100 each way. A "great" fare is less than $80 each way.

You can also use www.travelocity.com for fares, but that site does not include Jet Blue flights.

Good luck.

 

[MattM]

AirTran and JetBlue will probably be your best bets on the low fare airlines.

 

[MissMet]

Jetblue!!

cheap, leather seats, most legroom in all of coach, live tv, great schedule...

I'm a big fan, in case I didn't already make that clear.

 

[Tozzie]

Hi

We normally fly direct to MCO from the UK but next year will be flying into New York first (either Newark or JFK) for a couple of nights before continuing down to MCO. We will also be flying home from New York.

Can anyone recommend airlines for me to check out for these flights - will consider both MCO or TPA as we will be spending the last few nights on the Gulf Coast.

Also, what is the best time to book these flights to get the best deals - early or nearer the time. (We are looking at the last 2 weeks in August).

Thanks.

I fly from either JFK or Laguardia, I fly Delta but all the Major Airlines fly from either or both of these airports. Jetblue and Delta both have the most non stops to MCO. While Jetblue does have the IFE for each seat they are not the cheapest by a long shot as I have checked many flights as I go to Orlando 5-6 times a year. I usually don't purchase my airline tickets until about 6-8 weeks prior and have always gotten more than reasonable fares. In fact I went in August of this year and purchased my ticket about 7 weeks prior and with taxes Delta was $220 RT. Depending on the time of day especially what I have encountered in the mornings for early flights during the week you need to be at the airport about 1 hour before the flight.

 

[jlcd]

Does anyone know if it is easier to drive to JFK or EWR from CT? We have used White Plains in the past, and would like to again, but their rates are much higher right now so we are starting to look at other options.

 

[csarenz]

Does anyone know if it is easier to drive to JFK or EWR from CT? We have used White Plains in the past, and would like to again, but their rates are much higher right now so we are starting to look at other options.

We live in West Haven, and I've always found it easier to drive to Newark. It might be quicker to JFK (at times), but with Newark you can take the 287 ove the Tappen Zee, down the Parkway and right to Newark.

Plus, on-site parking at Newark is much more easily accessible (in my opinion) than at JFK. And if you are flying Continental, Newark is cheaper.

 

[Young Pooh]

Thanks everyone.

I think we will be using Continental from Newark to MCO and then from TPA back to Newark as we intend to spend our last 5 nights over on the Gulf Coast. I am getting a price I am happy with on their UK website.

I am guessing that Newark is more compact than JFK. Is there more than one terminal and is it easy to navigate around?

 

[Miffy]

Thanks everyone.
I am guessing that Newark is more compact than JFK. Is there more than one terminal and is it easy to navigate around?

Hi Young Pooh,

Newark is extremely easy to navigate around, with only 3 terminals (A, B, and C). There's the Newark AirTrain, which goes through all the terminals and parking lots, and which, IMO, is the easiest way to get from Newark back into Manhattan. You take the AirTrain to Newark Penn Station and get a New Jersey Transit train from there into New York Penn Station. Even with waiting for trains, the whole thing takes about 45 minutes, an hour max.

Here's the AirTrain website: http://www.panynj.gov/AIRTRAINNEWARK/on_airport_travel.html

Here's the NJ Transit website:http://www.njtransit.com/hp/hp_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=HomePageTo