Great airfare deal

[Mama Steph]

I was planning to drive to Florida for our trip in February. Gas would be about $500 (today's prices) plus about $100 for a hotel room each way. Add in meals for the 5 of us at about $100 each way, total is approximately $900. I'm sure I could get the food and hotel cost down a bit but gas is variable. I got an email from Spirit today and decided to check it out. I haven't been able to find less than $225 per person for my dates. Today's price......$137 rt pp!!! Booked it! I'm thrilled not to have to spend 4 days in the car and be able to take Magical Express. I had to change my dates slightly since the deal was for flights on Tuesday and Wednesday and we were supposed to be at Disney M-Sat. The only downside is that we won't be able to spend a couple of days with my parents in Jacksonville like I had planned (since we won't have a car). It gives us 2 more days at Disney though!!

 

[carriemd]

That is amazing. We are on the other side of the country from WDW now and I have been scouting deals from here (Colorado)and haven't seen anything remotely close to that--even to DL, it's all over $200.

 

[hsmamato2]

have fun!!!

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Awesome find!!! Congrats and enjoy your trip!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

.....The only downside is that we won't be able to spend a couple of days with my parents in Jacksonville like I had planned (since we won't have a car). It gives us 2 more days at Disney though!!

No, the downside is that you will be flying on Spirit,

If you have never flown on Spirit, make sure you are prepared for all their extra fees.

 

[luvmikids]

Wow great price. We fly delta at 230/each. Here's to hoping no delays in your travels.

 

[Mama Steph]

No, the downside is that you will be flying on Spirit, If you have never flown on Spirit, make sure you are prepared for all their extra fees.

Lol, my dad said the same thing. I've flown Spirit quite a few times without an issue. I pay $20 for 1 checked bag (I'm good at power packing) and each kid brings a backpack on the plane. We take empty water bottles to fill up after security and our own snacks. I don't pay to choose seats. They've never separated us (even when 8 of us flew together). My kids are old enough now that if we do get separated, I would just try to keep the youngest with myself or a sibling. She's 10 so it's not a huge issue. Since it saves me 4 days on the road (being the only driver) I can handle giving up some perks.

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[wiigirl]

Awesome!

 

[Colleen27]

That's great. I haven't seen anything quite that good in a while. The best I've ever done from Detroit was $110/pp r/t on Spirit, but I scored $202 on Southwest from Flint for the next trip and I'm loving that... Sure it is a little more expensive, but free checked bags more than make up for it!

We're a family of 5 and I never seem to be able to justify driving because I can usually find that sub-$200pp airfare. By the time we figure gas, hotels, and food we just don't save enough to make it worth 4 days in the car. But the one time we did drive I rather enjoyed being able to see some of the rest of FL so I plan to make another driving trip down sometime in the near future.

 

[Mama Steph]

That's great. I haven't seen anything quite that good in a while. The best I've ever done from Detroit was $110/pp r/t on Spirit, but I scored $202 on Southwest from Flint for the next trip and I'm loving that... Sure it is a little more expensive, but free checked bags more than make up for it! We're a family of 5 and I never seem to be able to justify driving because I can usually find that sub-$200pp airfare. By the time we figure gas, hotels, and food we just don't save enough to make it worth 4 days in the car. But the one time we did drive I rather enjoyed being able to see some of the rest of FL so I plan to make another driving trip down sometime in the near future.

I definitely prefer southwest (flew them last month to visit my mom) but couldn't find anything under $250 pp. Sometimes all 7 of us head down and only once have I found airfare that made it a better deal to fly. With 4 or 5, you seem to hit the point a bit quicker. Can't wait to surprise the kids on Christmas!!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[auntmeme7577]

We fly out of Flint too, non stop on SW
They have great prices!
So happy for you and family Mama Steph
Have an AWESOME trip !!

 

[Mama Steph]

I was so excited to get this deal that I forgot one major detail. We were planning to come home on Monday for a reason. Tuesday night is my dd's Confirmation at church!!!! Freaked out today, got physically ill, etc. . . I know the morning flight was more expensive when I booked yesterday and even moreso today. I did the change flight stuff online and it was going to cost the added fare plus $600 to switch!!!! After crying and freaking out some more, I decided to call Spirit and hope for the best. Even if I cancelled, I would have only gotten a $20 refund because of their cancellation fee. Called and asked to speak to someone in America since the gentleman helping me had such broken english I could barely understand him. It took a few minutes but I finally got to talk to someone in the states. The woman who helped me was very nice. There was an additional fee of about $390 but that was quite a bit less than what I had gotten when looking online. She was able to override the change fee of $600. I was having trouble even thinking straight because I was so upset with myself. DH told me to just suck it up and book it. He really doesn't want me driving alone anyway. Went ahead and took care of it. mad at myself but it is still only a bit over $200 rt pp. I guess I can't be too mad. If I had booked the earlier flight yesterday it would have only saved me $100 over doing it today.