Flying out of Philly or ABE

[tripletrouble]

Our first trip to WDW is planned for April. We will be taking our 5 year old triplets with us. We would like to take a direct flight. I looked at the LVIA website and don't see any direct flights. Are there direct flights from ABE?I've been watching the prices on the Air Tran website and they've gone up considerably to fly out of Philadelphia. Should I book now or wait and hope for a better deal? Does anyone have any experiencing booking flights through expedia? TIA
Missy

 

[goofyforlife]

Have you tried Southwest?

 

[tripletrouble]

I tried booking through Southwest. You can only select dates through
April 1. Thanks!

 

[Bill From PA]

Neither Travelocity nor Orbitz show any directs out of ABE. We took USAir out of there direct a few years ago but they dropped that flight. The best we ever did out of PHL was $165 for a direct to MCO. You might want to look at Harrisburg. Prices are all over the place this far out. I usually get the best deals about 2 1/2 to 3 months out. We're taking USAir out of AVP on New Year's Day for $211 with a stop in ATL.

Bill From PA

 

[palmtreegirl]

The only airline that offered direct flights out of ABE was SouthEast and they went out of business.

We're flying out of Philly for our next trip and got a great rate of 49.00 each way through AirTran.

 

[magicalmoments]

Hello. I always flew out of ABE on Southeast but I am sure you heard of Southeasts demise tho last week. I actually had tickets for my Dec 23rd departure from ABE.....anyway~

After scrambling to find airfare at a rate we could afford (since it will be 60 days til we receive our money from SE) I hooked up with a lady at ABE who gave me Transmeridians number. They fly nonstop out of Harrisburg airport. I am told Harrisburg has redone their airport and its beautiful. It looks appealing on the website too.

The folks at Transmeridian were very nice to talk with on the phone. They just started flying to Florida from Harrisburg and are looking to expand. I got 4 round trip tickets from 12/21 (245 PM departure) to 12/30 (1145 departure coming back) for $646. These are prime holiday dates and I feel I was pretty lucky to find these rates. Check them out if you dont mind the drive. I love non stop flights....no layovers! Its great -- in approx 2 1/2 hours I am in sunny Florida...lol

Transmeridian website is www.iflytma.com

Check them out---it may be an option your looking for. If you need any help or have ?'s...let me know.

Stacy
magicalm@verizon.net

 

[MulanMom]

As the previous poster mentioned, SE was pretty much the only airline doing a direct, non-stop flight to Sanford from ABE. We've used Air Tran in the past from PHL and I like the variety of non-stop flights they have. Never booked through Expedia, but have through Travelocity and had a nightmare screw-up. Now I only book directly through an airline's website.

IIRC, I've often seen good fares posted just after Christmas or in early January for spring.

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Harrisburg's new airport is very nice! We were there last month when we went to Hawaii and it seems huge when I remember back to the little hole in the ground it used to be!! LOL

We will be flying Delta out of Harrisburg tomorrow for $133 round trip to Orlando. But, it is not a non-stop flight.

Good luck! Just wanted to say don't be afraid of Harrisburg airport. It is very nice and offers lots of long-term parking.

 

[MiJo]

but, like the previous posters mentioned, there are no longer any direct flights from there. I believe Delta offers flights but there is a stop in Atlanta or somewhere. We will be using AirTrain out of Philly in January and got R/T, direct flights for less than $120, taxes and fees included. I believe the Philly airport is only a little over an hour from Easton, which isn't bad at all. You might also want to try Newark. Keep checking AirTran's site for Web specials.

 

[Let'sGoToDisney]

If at all possible, do not fly out of ABE. We flew into ABE last year and that was OK. But the flight out was terrible. They took both of our suitcases apart, piece by piece. Everything had to be examined. It took about 20 minutes. I don't know what they do when it is busy. From now on we will only fly out of Philadephia and drive to Easton.
Janice

 

[MulanMom]

Never had that experience flying out of ABE, even a few weeks after 9/11. The last few times out of ABE, they did check the luggage immediately after we checked in. Though they might've moved a few things around, they never took everything apart.

 

[goofyforlife]

Southwest dates are now open through June 6 for reservations.

 

[magicalmoments]

This happened to us once on our trip last year. They looked in everyone of our bags, but I wasnt offended, it was random and with the heightened security measures in effect I was actually glad to see they were doing an eficient job. I learned (thru the DIS of course ) to pack what I can in zip lock bags to help with my personal items being laid out on the table. I put all our underwear/bras/socks..etc into the bags and it really did help keep things together.

I have never had a bad experience out of ABE myself. Like I said--I was glad they did a thorough safety check. Now adyas nothing is 100% BUT I felt better knowing they werent taking it lightly.

JMO,
Stacy

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I like AVP myself. You can't beat the drop off and pick up so close to the gates and ticket counter.

Flying out of Philly you have to weigh other options such as parking cost, travel time and in bad weather you may find yourself driving down to Philly the night before which is not only a hassle but can add to the cost.

I am nervous about USair. I'm not confident they will be around in 6 months so I'd hate to buy a ticket only to scramble later. Not to mention I'm waiting for my luggage to be delivered sometime today. It didn't make the connection in Philly. I wonder if they are still having labor problems. This is the first time this has ever happened.