Flying from Buffalo questions

[MillbrookMom]

1. Which airlines do you normally book through?
2. Do you book directly on those airlines' sites? through another website like expedia, or through a travel agent?
3. Any recommendations on hotels in near the airport with a park and fly program?

Thanks.

 

[iluveeyore]

How far away are you driving from? Buffalo airport is small and very easy to get to and navigate through, so you might be able to save on a night's hotel stay. Parking is maximum $40 week - if you go online to the Buffalo airport website, you can print a parking coupon for $2 off.
We always book through Southwest - one of the only airlines that offers at least two non-stop flights each day. We always get the cheapest flights through them. Sign up for Southwest Ding! (use 14225 for zip code) and you will get notified of deals each day if they're available for Buffalo to Orlando. We flew last year for $140 round trip in July! We always book directly online with Southwest and have never had a problem. I use the online check-in 24 hours before our flight so we have our boarding passes when we get there and just have to check luggage.
When you park your car, a free shuttle is waiting right there to take you to the terminal. There's a park 'n fly across the street - check the airport website www.buffaloairport.com for all the information and links to other airlines as well. It doesn't hurt to check other airlines if non-stop isn't important - we've also flown US Airways, Airtran and Delta from Buffalo, just always have a connection.
Happy planning!

 

[MillbrookMom]

How far away are you driving from?

Thanks for all the info, that will be a great help. We would be driving from an hour EAST of Toronto....so we'd probably go down the night before.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Lots of us stay over night using the park sleep and fly option. Some hotels have their own rates and some advertise on parksleepfly.com I've stayed at the millenium and the Best Western. Both were clean and had breakfast included. Their package includes leaving your vehicle in their parking lot and using their free shuttle to the airport.

You'll notice most of the people flying out of Buffalo are canadians!

 

[A&CsMom]

Jetblue is another airline to consider. They now have one direct flight per day each way (early morning). However, Southwest does usually have the best price.

I would point out that you shouldn't leave anything you would hate to lose in your vehicle at the park'n'fly. I'm sure this doesn't happen all the time, but my friend's Honda CRV was stolen from there a few years ago. Luckily it just happened that she had cleaned it out before she left and didn't have anything special in it.

 

[jayjay13]

Jetblue is another airline to consider. They now have one direct flight per day each way (early morning). However, Southwest does usually have the best price.

I would point out that you shouldn't leave anything you would hate to lose in your vehicle at the park'n'fly. I'm sure this doesn't happen all the time, but my friend's Honda CRV was stolen from there a few years ago. Luckily it just happened that she had cleaned it out before she left and didn't have anything special in it.

Is parking at a hotel any safer? Just curious if anyone had their car stolen or broken into @ a hotel.

 

[CdnDisneyNut]

Is parking at a hotel any safer? Just curious if anyone had their car stolen or broken into @ a hotel.

I stayed at the Sleep Inn. They parked my car down the road from the hotel at a self storage company (also owned by hotel manager) I was worried about the car being parked there but there was no damage.

 

[disneyfan2]

I stayed at the Sleep Inn. They parked my car down the road from the hotel at a self storage company (also owned by hotel manager) I was worried about the car being parked there but there was no damage.

wow i did not know that. we were thinking about staying here. Do you have to leave your car keys?

 

[CdnDisneyNut]

wow i did not know that. we were thinking about staying here. Do you have to leave your car keys?

No. You keep the keys Some cars are parked in the airport parking lot across the steeet from the hotel and the others are parked down the steet where I did.

 

[Lavendar]

We did the Park/Sleep/Fly at the Days Inn directly across from the airport and it was nice (included breakfast). One thing to watch for when deciding on a hotel is when the shuttle starts and how often it runs. Some don't start until 6:30 or later and others only run hourly.

I've found that Southwest has consistently lower prices and more direct flights from Buffalo. The good think about Southwest is you can book your flight the day they're released (watch their site) and if you get a Ding or a special that's lower they will credit your account the difference. (IF you call them.) It gives you piece of mind and a $$ towards next years trip to WDW.

 

[jenkh]

We've used Homewood Suites (actually we almost always use them) There a tad pricier but sometimes you can get a great deal. (especially if your a hilton hotel member) It includes breakfast and shuttle and parking right at the hotel.

Good luck with your search!

 

[SandraC]

1. Which airlines do you normally book through?

We booked Southwest in March 2007, DING $54

2. Do you book directly on those airlines' sites? through another website like expedia, or through a travel agent?

We booked online thru Southwest website.

3. Any recommendations on hotels in near the airport with a park and fly program?

We stayed at Homewood Suites Hilton for $149. That included dinner, breakfast, airport shuttle and parked my car for two weeks.

 

[Lillian68]

1. Which airlines do you normally book through?

I have flown Southwest and US Airways, but I am trying Jetblue for the first time this March. I've flown Delta, but not as struck on them (though I wouldn't rule them out if they had the lowest price).

2. Do you book directly on those airlines' sites? through another website like expedia, or through a travel agent?

I've tried Expedia. ca, travelocity.ca, but also directly through the website. Southwest has good prices, but they don't have a system to reserve seats, so it sometimes feels like a free-for-all when you get to board. I've flown US Airways for a roundtrip of $150 Cdn. once and their service is very good. I chose Jetblue b/c theirs was the best price for March. Jetblue (and Southwest I'm not sure about) won't show up on Expedia and Travelocity.

3. Any recommendations on hotels in near the airport with a park and fly program?

For the first time I stayed at a hotel and park and fly. We leave in Burlington, so it's an 1 1/2 drive in total, but since my plane was 5:30 a.m., and I would still have to park a car (plus not wanting to worry about weather), I chose to get a few hours more sleep. It was $100 total for the night and to park and fly. Their shuttle runs 24/7, you just arrange the time to leave upon check in. The courtesy phone at the baggage claim is used to call them to have them pick you up on the return (just make sure you have your luggage already because they are really quick, and if you're not there at the stop just outside baggage claim, they will take off ).

 

[KNovacovschi]

We flew with Airtran which we booked through our travel agent Tripcentral at the time we booked the rest of the vacation. I enjoyed Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Not much for shopping like the larger airports but much quieter. We parked in long term preferred and paid approximately $55US after taxes for the week. Also there we took a shuttle from our car to the airport. Which I though was great.

 

[disneyfan2]

We did the Park/Sleep/Fly at the Days Inn directly across from the airport and it was nice (included breakfast). One thing to watch for when deciding on a hotel is when the shuttle starts and how often it runs. Some don't start until 6:30 or later and others only run hourly.

i just reserved a Days inn Park N fly. How did you find this? What time should we arrange shuttle by, our flight leaves at 7:10 so i figure we should be there by 5:15. Is there usually a delay in shuttle service this early in the morning. Any other advice ?

 

[Copper Queen]

We just booked our September flight. We are a family of four and I was able to book for $99 plus tax each way. We are doing outbound with Delta and inbound with AirTran. I contemplated about whether or not to wait and book later with hopefully a lower price but I figured I was very happy with this fare so I booked now. I did comparisons with all the travel discounters and ended up booking directly.

I can't recommend any airport hotels since this is the first time we are doing this.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

We just booked our September flight. We are a family of four and I was able to book for $99 plus tax each way. We are doing outbound with Delta and inbound with AirTran. I contemplated about whether or not to wait and book later with hopefully a lower price but I figured I was very happy with this fare so I booked now. I did comparisons with all the travel discounters and ended up booking directly

I booked our way down in August already with Jetblue for $89 direct. I was thinking of waiting for southwest to open up but I hate their "no assigned seats" loading policies. Too stressfull for my kids. I'm still looking for flights home.

just reserved a Days inn Park N fly. How did you find this? What time should we arrange shuttle by, our flight leaves at 7:10 so i figure we should be there by 5:15. Is there usually a delay in shuttle service this early in the morning. Any other advice ?

The airport is not open 24 hours. You should be just fine using their earliest shuttle. It's not like there are many flights earlier than yours that are causing lineups at security. Also remeber that the Buffalo airport is considerably smaller than Toronto's. However, I would phone the hotel directly and ask them what they think you should do? They've had plenty of experience with early flights.

 

[busterblue]

We booked Southwest about a month ago. 795.00 Cdn for direct return flights for the whole family of four. I can't see how they can fly someone to Orlando and back for less than 200.00 Cdn but, hey I'm happy to pay it!

I am a little leary of the cattle call seating as we have a 5 & 7 year old with us but I will go online early to try and get an "A" zone boarding pass and first crack at the seating.

I already posted on the other Buffalo Airport thread (sorry) but I would appreciate any input on the services available once you clear security. We don't want to try and bring any liquids through security. It looks like there are a couple options to buy bottled water/juice once your past security. Do these places really overcharge since they have a captive market? any recent experiences?

Also, any other hints for a first time southwest flyer would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lordnamis]

Ive flown Southwest out of Buffalo many times and never had a problem. Make sure you go online the day before(24 hours) and print out your boarding pass. If you do this you will for sure have an A or B boarding pass and loading will be fine and you will all be able to sit together no problem. Its the people that dont print out there boarding cards the night before and have 8-10 people with them and will never be able to sit together that dont like Southwest. As for food and drinks there are lots of places to get drinks and small sandwiches and salads and things past security. There are actually 2 right across from the Southwest gates. Print Boarding passes 24 hours ahead and you will have a great trip.

Have FUN

 

[dsneygirl]

I already posted on the other Buffalo Airport thread (sorry) but I would appreciate any input on the services available once you clear security. We don't want to try and bring any liquids through security. It looks like there are a couple options to buy bottled water/juice once your past security. Do these places really overcharge since they have a captive market? any recent experiences?

Also, any other hints for a first time southwest flyer would be greatly appreciated.

Typical airport inflated prices but no different than anywhere else.