Help Flying Out of MSP

[calie_j]

I just got the ok from H to fly out of MSP for our Nov/Dec trip if I can find fares alot cheaper then La Crosse, WI to make it worth the extra drive and park & fly hotel we'd need. I just spent an hour or more reading thru alot of threads here with a ton of helpful information. I'm a bit wary about going thru ATA/SW because I can't imagine my DD7 doing well not sitting by one of us (she'll either have a meltdown or talk the ears off whoever didn't give up their seat so we could sit together which could be fun to watch from a safe distance ). The posts on Sun Country were very reassuring and they have a GREAT schedule, early departure to make it there in time for Thanksgiving dinner and early afternoon return so we can enjoy one last breakfast and still be home early enough even with the drive home. The prices are still higher then I want to pay so I signed up for a fare watch.

Any suggestions from all the MSP fliers on when is the best time to buy? Will prices come down when ATA/SW fares come out? Sun Country's website prices their flights by one way segments so it looks like I could fly into Tampa and out of Orlando for the same or cheaper then round trip which would work out best since we're visiting my sister in Tampa before she drives us to WDW, anyone done this before (except the Tampa schedule only runs thru April right now, are they dropping this city from their schedule?)? Recommended park and fly hotels, we've always used Days Inn??

Sorry it's alot of questions, any info or suggestions are very much appreciated.

TIA, Calie

 

[dudspizza]

Personally, I love flying Sun Country. I like supporting the little guy.

My suggestion would be to watch www.travelocity.com to keep an eye on flight prices. If you see a flight price under $200, go to that carriers web site to check it out. I have seen NWA priced around $170 or so, but you have to be prepared to snag those prices because they pop up for only a day or so. Be diligent about checking and be ready to purchase now if you get the price you want.

As for Sun Country, keep an eye on their web site (they also come up on Travelocity). I am flying them for 87.44 each way in June, fair price, though, like I have said, I have seen cheaper via Travelocity.

I would also not count on the ATA/SW prices to come any cheaper than $99 each way plus taxes, so they are not that cheap and I personally don't like the no seat assignments of SW.

There is also a new airline flying out of Madison called Allegiant Air. They are running $59 each way for early summer. I have no info on them, just have been reading some posts about the new service, but that would be 3-4 hours for you to drive.

So, now that I have talked in circles, I have probably confused, more than helped.

As for park and fly, I use the Crowne Plaze at I-494 and Pilot Knob Road. Hobbit travel offers a deal for $85 to do park and fly at that hotel. If you book your entire trip with them, there is no fee to book the Crowne Plaza. If not, they do charge a $20 fee. I paid this last year, but we had 2 rooms, so the booking fee wasn't that bad.

Feel free to PM me anytime you would like. I love trying to help people save money, especially MSP people!

Have fun!

Duds

 

[pugdog]

suncountry does not fly to all cities all year round. like duds said check every day and sometimes twice a day. The cheaper fairs usally come out weds around 1 am.
I have flown as cheap as $100 rt on AA before, yes that is not a typo. and have never paid more then 200. and anytime you find it close to 200 get it.
we always go in december and usally get good prices in august.
Right now NWA isn't to bad with 260 but i'll wait a little bit to see what happens.

 

[calie_j]

Thanks for the replies. Everytime I've tried to use travelocity the page won't load on my computer, right now I use expedia and orbitz and have found most of these sites are within a few $$ of each other. Orbitz has very easy sign up for fare watch, just enter the price you want them to notify you when it reaches that amount and they have Sun Country. I priced our flights last year for the exact dates (Thanksgiving day - the 1st Sunday in Dec) and they were 210 out of Madison, for some reason Florida flights are within $10 of both MSP and Chicago (not true for CA or Vegas or others I've checked). We're pretty centrally located and can fly out of Madison (2 hours) La Crosse (1 hour but pricey) MSP (3 -3 1/2 hours) or Chicago (4 - 4 1/2 hours). But this trip schedule is top priority to maximize our vacation time and H has a class the night before in Lacrosse til 10pm so it's closer to have my parents drive us to meet him and drive the 2 hours to MSP instead of him driving 3 hours to Madison with a stop at home to pick us up (and no complications with family finding out we flew out and didn't stay with them or inconvenience them showing up at 1am to stay over and get a ride to the airport, lol).

I think my brother & I stayed at Crowne Plaza for a park & fly to Vegas. I usually book thru AAA to get the discount but am finding it just as easy to call myself and get the AAA rate without paying any fees (after booking my mom's flight I swear they use expedia to book and charge $25 to do it).

Thanks for the tips, I'll be keeping a close eye on the flights with a target of 225 or less with a schedule that meets our requirements and be ready to grab it.

Calie

 

[smart cookie]

You can check Park & Fly rates online at http://www.park-and-fly-hotels.com/minneapolis.html .

I've personally stayed at the Marriott and was happy with the overall park & fly service. It probably isn't the cheapest option. I've also used some of the hotels in Eagan years ago for park and fly.

 

[scoutsmom99]

I don't park and fly, but my experience with airfare here is that it does tend to come down a little my past two trips I paid $230 and $206 round trip on NWA. I have also flown sun country as well and have had good luck with them. Finding something in the low 200s RT is a great deal out of MSP...that being said if you find a good fare buy it right away. (one time I had a fare jump $100 on me within like a day or so...I was certainly kicking myself for that one!) You might also look into the charter companies as well (depending when you are going you might find some deals).

http://www.hobbittravel.com/
http://www.worryfreevacations.com/
http://www.carlsontravel.com/Stellent/websites/get_page.asp?nodeId=50000

Also I track my flights on an excel sheet as well using
www.sidestep.com
http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/prego
and the likes of travelocity, expedia, etc it is a lot of work, but I really enjoy doing it.

 

[zulaya]

Like scoutsmom said, watch the fares like a hawk and jump on something you can live with. Low 200s is a good fare from MSP. Sometimes you can get upper 100s, but those fares really are few and far between so you really can't count on seeing them on NWA or Sun Country. I have seen Airtran more often with upper 100s but I personally don't care for the times they flly their non-stop flights.

Check every day for fares. I can tell you that I have found my best deals on Weds. and Thurs. Not that that's going to be the case for everyone's travel itinerary, but there it is.

Good luck.

 

[pugdog]

One other thing is book through the airline site otherwise the other sites (i.e. Expedia, travelocity ) charge you an extra $5 per ticket.