How do you book a flight?

[PixiPwr]

I have to admit that I have never needed to do this before! We will be driving to WDW in September. Because my family of 6 had to book two rooms, we will have an extra bed. I would like to invite my sister and her DD (9) to join us for a couple of days as there would be no extra charge for them in our room(s). Anyway, I would like to go ahead and book her flight so she can't say no! What is the best and most economical way to go about doing this? She would depart from either Charlotte or Greensboro.

 

[PCFriar80]

The internet generally offers the most 'economical' way of booking flights. If booking directly with the airline use the internet. You can shop/compare prices
yourself, I would imagine USAir, American, Delta and United would be some of the choices. USAir and United probably offer non-stop service to MCO from Charlotte. Or use a travel service like Orbitz, Expedia, or Travelocity which will compare flight options for you, based on date and time of day. Based on this, try the travel services first to get a general idea of pricing and once you've narrowed down the selection, see if booking directly with the airline saves you a couple of $$.

 

[ducklite]

I WOULD NOT just go ahead and book the flight. She might already have plans--a friend or coworkers wedding for example.

Anne

 

[PixiPwr]

I have already confirmed that she has the long week-end I am considering free, that my Dad can pick them up from their house and take them to the airport on Thursday afternoon and pick them up on Sunday evening. I called the attorney she works for to ensure she can have the time off, verified that this is her week-end with her daughter, and even made sure her ex does not have a problem with their daughter missing school on Friday.

I think I have covered all bases. I just really want to do this for them and would like to have the expenses taken care of when I present it to her. Having never flown, I had no idea where to even begin to look at flight arrangements for them.

 

[minniemee]

I just wanted to let you know that I got prices online for flights then called Delta direct and they gave me a better rate than the sites like expedia and travelocity.
So check with them over the phone and compare prices, sometimes you get a better rate that way!
Have fun on your trip!

 

[Disneyjosh229]

I agree with other posters. Your best bet is to use a comparison site like expedia.com or travelocity.com. These will show you what flights are cheapest and can sort by departure and arival times and connections. From there i would visit the airline you choose to use directly (i.e. us airways is the cheapest, so visit www.usair.com) and check prices. Normally they run $10-$30 p/p cheaper then the travel sites....

 

[PlutoPony]

Typically you must check in for your flight using the credit card used to BOOK the flight.... since your sister wouldn't have your credit card (assuming you pay with one), you may have to go to an airport or city ticket office and show them the credit card sometime before they fly. Check with the airline on this just in case. It will likely cost you more (maybe $15/ticket) to book a flight over the phone talking to a real live person, so book on line if you're comfortable doing it that way.
BTW, Disney does charge for any adults over 2 in a room (altho there have been reports of that being waived on occasion). That fee is $10/nite/additional adult for Values, $15 for Mods and $25 for Deluxe.
Have a good trip!

 

[PCFriar80]

Typically you must check in for your flight using the credit card used to BOOK the flight.... since your sister wouldn't have your credit card (assuming you pay with one), you may have to go to an airport or city ticket office and show them the credit card sometime before they fly. Check with the airline on this just in case. It will likely cost you more (maybe $15/ticket) to book a flight over the phone talking to a real live person, so book on line if you're comfortable doing it that way.
BTW, Disney does charge for any adults over 2 in a room (altho there have been reports of that being waived on occasion). That fee is $10/nite/additional adult for Values, $15 for Mods and $25 for Deluxe.
Have a good trip!

Only for kiosk check-in and not true for Delta. You can use the locator code for your ticket or your skymiles number. Or if you print your boarding pass ahead of time simply scan the bar code under the scanner at kiosk check-in.
Checking in with an agent, you'll need ID with destination. Confirmation number helps as well.