Flying from Alberta--is there an easier way?

[nonzerosum]

Does anyone know if there are any direct flights to Orlando from either Edmonton or Calgary? My DH talked to someone the other day who said he's taken several direct flights from Calgary, but I couldn't find anything on expedia or travelocity.

Next question, short of a direct flight, what is your preferred route to get to WDW? Last month we did Edmonton-Chicago-Orlando on the outbound flight, then Orlando-Toronto-Edmonton return. Both were okay, however both required a 3:30 am wake up and 4:15 departure for the airport. YIKES!!! With little kids, this was a bit tricky.

 

[so_are_you]

west jet goes non stop from calgary but its about $1000 a person
northwest flys out at 8 am getting in at 5

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

We travel to Florida a few times a year and unfortunately there are no direct flights from Edmonton. Most flights from the International Airport have at least one stop over somewhere. If you are flying a Canadian carrier it's usually Calgary or Toronto, however I believe AC does offer flights that stop in Denver before heading onto Orlando. If you are flying on a US carrier there are various stop overs depending on what airline you are traveling on.

We usually fly NWA (because their flight schedules are best for us) and we usually leave on a 8:00 am flight with one stop over in Minneapolis. This gets us into Orlando around 5:00 pm. You can get early afternoon flights, however, then you're not getting into Orlando until around 11:00 pm.

Bonny

 

[Calgary DISHeads]

We went through TO last trip from Calgary and will NEVER EVER do that again - you have to pick up your luggage and clear customs in Toronto and we missed our connecting flight, arriving at 3am instead of 7pm which whacked us out for the first couple of days of our holiday. We will either fly direct, or go via the US next time.

 

[nonzerosum]

Thanks soaryou about the West Jet tip. I couldn't find a direct flight with them, but I'll check again-$1000 is steep! It's a drag that us Westerners lose a day travelling there. One of the very few downsides of living in the West IMHO.

 

[calgarygary]

Westjet direct service from Calgary was only seasonal and not available throughout the year.

 

[drag n' fly]

We have flown direct out of Calgary with Air Canada and will be flying direct again in a couple weeks with Westjet. They only seem to fly direct between Jan and April. Our flight in December (with United) is a connecting flight through Denver so we avoid Toronto completely (big big headache). Prices mentioned are posted prices however seat sales happen all the time with both airlines. The most we have ever paid was 2500.00cad and that was for the five of us including taxes return.

 

[Shelebeen]

I think it depends on the time of year... We are going in the summer and there are no direct flights at all... but I thought some people told me you could fly direct from Calgary to MCO...

We ended up booking Calgary to Tampa (stopover in Denver) in August.. it was $900 cheaper, even with the rental cars.... I too hate having to clear customs somewhere other then Calgary .

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Regarding customs - if you fly on a US carrier you clear customs here in Edmonton - both on the departing and arriving flight thus avoiding having to collect your bags and go through customs in either Calgary or Toronto.

 

[jwcollin]

We are flying from Edmonton in August, stopping in Chicago going down and Denver coming back. Excellent fare with United!

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

We are flying from Edmonton in August, stopping in Chicago going down and Denver coming back. Excellent fare with United!

Yep, those US carrier airfares are much better than AC or WJ Our last 2 trips were around $300 pp CDN return (with taxes)

 

[drag n' fly]

Regarding customs - if you fly on a US carrier you clear customs here in Edmonton - both on the departing and arriving flight thus avoiding having to collect your bags and go through customs in either Calgary or Toronto.

If you fly direct from Calgary you clear customs in Calgary.

 

[drag n' fly]

Yep, those US carrier airfares are much better than AC or WJ Our last 2 trips were around $300 pp CDN return (with taxes)

It really is cheaper!! Even though they are not direct flights with those prices it was almost 50% cheaper for us to fly into Tampa with a connect through Denver than it was to fly into Orlando at Christmas!

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

If you fly direct from Calgary you clear customs in Calgary.

That's good if you're close to Calgary but we'd still have to take a flight from Edmonton to Calgary - wait for our bags, and go through customs/recheck our bags. Flying from Edmonton we check our bags once rather than twice if we flew through Calgary, and have the same number of stops.

 

[jwcollin]

Sometime the taxes on the Canadian carriers are almost twice as much as american. I don't care who I fly with! Just get me to Disney!

 

[nonzerosum]

There are some great suggestions here. I think I will be trying US carriers now. Are you generally talking about United and NWA or others too. Any way I can save $ makes more $ available for Disney. I would die to get the $300 fare a pp mentioned. I'm not usually that lucky, or should I say organized.

 

[jwcollin]

We are flying with United this year for $367 return with taxes, last year we flew with Northwest for $374 return with taxes. I would also like the "$300" flights, but I am not upset with what we got. Cheaper than flying to Los Angeles!

 

[TaniaU]

Right now I'd prefer the stopover because i don't think either DH or DS would sit still enough for a direct flight.

I have to book one to Orlando pretty quick and I think it will be the Northwest one, I've seen it as low as $461 for January departure.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Right now I'd prefer the stopover because i don't think either DH or DS would sit still enough for a direct flight.

I have to book one to Orlando pretty quick and I think it will be the Northwest one, I've seen it as low as $461 for January departure.

NWA is who we usually fly with - one stopover in Minneapolis. We like the Minneapolis airport - it's almost like a big shopping mall - and dependiing on how long your stopover is there is lots to see and do while waiting for your next flight.

We had a flight this past January and were able to get airfare for $318 CDN return (with taxes) ... so keep your eyes open for cheaper flights.

 

[lisalonglash]

If fly on an evening flight, you'll arrive at MCO in the morning and won't lose any park/resort time. We're in BC and found that simply driving to Seattle for the flight saves us lots of money and gave us way more options to pick from. I'm not sure if it's an option for you to drive to an airport in the US, but if you can, I'd wager you'll save a whack of money!

We chose direct return flights to/from SEA/MCO for $335 each, all fees in, on Alaska. The best I could find from Vancouver was about $800 and there are NO direct flights from Vancouver to MCO

I hope you're able to find a great flight at a great price!