Flying out of Indianapolis?

[ski_mom]

We are thinking of flying out of the Indianapolis airport for the first time. We usually fly out of St. Louis, but there will be 7 of us this time (my parents are coming with us) so the price difference is enough to make us think about driving the extra 2 hours to the Indianapolis airport.

Has anyone ever done this (driven to a further airport to save on the price of the flights)?

Also, what is the Indianapolis airport like? Is it difficult to find your way around and how much is the parking?

Thanks!

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Originally posted by ski_mom

Has anyone ever done this (driven to a further airport to save on the price of the flights)?

Don't know anything about the Indianapolis airport, so I can't help you with that, but I've flown out of Detroit (closest airport) as well as Flint and Grand Rapids to save money.

Living in the Ann Arbor area, I have a lot of different airports to pick from
DTW - Detroit
FNT - Flint
LAN - Lansing
AZO - Kalamazoo
BTL - Battle Creek
GRR - Grand Rapids
TOL or TDZ - Toledo

When I fly out of Syracuse, I always look at flights out of Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany, but usually the cost savings isn't significant enough to go out of my way.

 

[holidaybarb]

I have flown out of Indy, Lousiville, Columbus, and Dayton. Airfares out of Cincinnati are notoriously high so I often drive to other airports.

Here's how I look at it. If I can get a nonstop out of Indy, that's comparable to stopping somewhere if I were to fly out of Cincy. Indy fares are great, IMO. Southwest has a good schedule to Orlando with two nonstops a day, I think.

Last summer ten of us drove to Indy to fly to Orlando together. It was a good deal and no one minded saving lots of $$$. Just check to see if there's a time difference.

Sorry I don't remember parking fees but I'll bet the Indy Airport website will have that. I think they have more than one long-term parking area and the fees are lower at one than the other. Check the website. Have a great trip!

 

[KathyR]

We live 2.5 hours north of IND, but we always fly out of IND instead of the local airport. The cost for multiple tickets since we have a family is way to much to use our local airport. We have had no trouble navigating the airport. ATA is our preffered airline for going to MCO. They have early flights down and late return flights which suits our vacations well. Their fares are really good too! We usually get tickets for around $145 r/t.

Parking fees vary as there are several lots to choose from. You can check the fees for the different lots at the IND website here:

http://www.indianapolisairport.com/

We have used both the economy and the tiger parking lots before w/no problems. The economy lot is not well marked and took a little while for us to find the entrance. You must turn down the street w/a gas station on the corner after the tiger lot to get to the entrance. Of course we were kind of tired at the time having gone to bed at midnight and gotten up at 3AM to make our trek to Indy Perhaps it is not as badly marked as we thought??? But my Mom and Brother could not find it either, and had to use the Tiger lot instead. They had forgotten my instructions to turn at the gas station

 

[SB in KY]

Being the thrifty (AKA cheap) soul that I am we fly out of different airports all the time. We live in Louisville and have flown out of Louisville, Lexington, Nashville and Indy for cheaper fares.... a 2 hour drive doesn't seem like much to save $400 - 500.

We are flying out of Indy in April for our spring break trip. I agree with a previous poster...we drive 2 hours, and fly non-stop from Indy and still arrive before the AM flight we could have booked out of Louisville (and I didn't have to circle Atlanta for 45 minutes in the process!!)

I wouln't do it to save the family $40 or 50 but for $400...you bet.

Indy's airport is really small and easy to navigate. We use a private parking service that is right by the remote lot...better shuttle service and if you pay for 5 days the rest of the week is free...so it winds up being cheaper than the economy lot for a week (and they load and unload all your luggage from the car).

 

[danny1649]

Is easy to get around wll not be hard or confusing to get to you gate.

 

[schell]

I was thinking of parking at Thrifty Car Rental, has anyone used them, it is 3.99 a day. Here is a link
http://www.thrifty.com/teamowner/IND/airport_parking/index4672.asp

 

[Gary M]

I fly out of IND several times a year so am very familar with the airport. ATA and SWA airlines both have non-stop flights to MCO.

www.ata.com

www.southwest.com

You would probably be coming in on I-70 which runs on the edge of IND. IND is on the westside of Indy. We always park in a private lot called Indy Park Ride and Fly www.indyparkrideandfly.com

Check their website for coupons. This parking is so convienent.

The airport only has 4 concourses and is very easy to get around.

If you have any questions e-mail me at garymerr@comcast.net

 

[ibidforit]

We also drive 2 1/2 hours to the airport in Indy. It is a pretty small airport, so it is very easy to get around.

I also vote for Indy Park Ride and Fly. It is very convienent to get to, and they have always given us great service! I think it costs about $40/week with their coupon.

Gretchen

 

[iloveokw]

I'm going to add my two cents and suggest 1st Class Express parking. $35 a week. If you belong to AAA they give a discount. It is very close to the airport. Indy is a great airport - very easy to get around.

 

[TDS373X]

We also drive from Cincinnati to Indy to fly. Airfares from here are ridiculous Thank you Delta I always park in the tiger lot which is about 7.00/day mostly because the shuttles are easy to spot (tiger stripes) and because I'm usually travelling with young DD and the first lot is just easier. However after reading posts from my fellow hoosier travellers I am going to check out the other options for our next trip

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We, too, always use Park Ride and Fly. It is so easy, and if you specify, they will wash your car for you. We love ATA's direct flight!