Indirect flights

[jen_uk]

Ive just priced up flights to Orlando next August on the Opodo website and it came up with £384 for an indirect flight with a stop in Chicago. Ive always flown direct but at that price it is tempting to try indirect!

What are anyone elses experiences of this?

 

[wayneg]

Ive just priced up flights to Orlando next August on the Opodo website and it came up with £384 for an indirect flight with a stop in Chicago. Ive always flown direct but at that price it is tempting to try indirect!

What are anyone elses experiences of this?

Some will not do it, we don't mind especially at that price for August, I would have it booked now.
We have done about half direct, half indirect. If there is £100 or more saving then I will do it, never had a problem, in fact I prefer BMI to Chicago better than Virgin, a lot better airline. Did it last August for just over £300 return, great value. using Chicago again next month for Vegas and CA. Big, busy airport but pretty easy to navigate.
What dates you looking at? I cant find anything under £808 from Manchester, £707 from London.

 

[TinkTatoo]

We always fly indirect as we are in Ireland - We don't mind it at all, we rarely do anything on our traveling days so it doesn't bother us that the journey is longer and it's actually nice to stretch our legs and get something to eat during our stop. Also MCO is a doddle to get through as you are an internal flight when you arrive.

The only thing I would say is to allow plenty of time with your connections

 

[Tinker74]

What dates??...Iam currenrtly looking for August 2008 flights so am really interested with this ...Just looked at Opodo and got £650 per person from manchester 23rd to Sept 6th 2008.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

before Littl'un we used to do it all the time, flying from Birmingham to newark or Chicago. Until he is older, the shorter the journey the better

Sometime we would break the jlourney in the city and do some sightseeing as well.

Very easy to do, if the price is right and you don't mind a longer journey, go for it.

 

[T16GEM]

We are flying Birmingham to Newark then onto MCO in December and this will be the second time that we have used this route, to be honest we like it better as it gives you a chance to have a wander round and chill out, get food or whatever you want to do. And if you save money..... all for the better!

 

[Tinker74]

We are flying Birmingham to Newark then onto MCO in December and this will be the second time that we have used this route, to be honest we like it better as it gives you a chance to have a wander round and chill out, get food or whatever you want to do. And if you save money..... all for the better!

Hi....where did you book this?...i need pointing in the right direction for booking flights as I've always booked a package before

 

[wayneg]

Hi....where did you book this?...i need pointing in the right direction for booking flights as I've always booked a package before

For flights you need to check a few sites as they can vary sometimes.
expedia, opodo, airlinenetwork, are a good start.
moneysupermarket has a travel section thats good for hotels and flights.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

For flights you need to check a few sites as they can vary sometimes.
expedia, opodo, airlinenetwork, are a good start.
moneysupermarket has a travel section thats good for hotels and flights.

Plus don't forget, the airlines themselves. American is good for all flights not just their own

 

[Miffy2003]

Tinker74 - I am guessing TigGem has booked her flights for Continental as B'ham - Newark - Orlando is one of their routes.

I have always found it cheapest to book Continental flights direct with Continental: www.Continental.com

For that sort of price savings I would definitely go for that Jen, what a bargain for August!

We had always flown direct with Virgin / BA / charter in the past until our local airport started flying to Newark most days.

I don't like charter flights as I rarely want to, or are able to travel on the dates or number of nights they dictate to me.

For us, living down in the South West makes the journey to Gatwick long and adds additional costs as we have to stay in a hotel the night before. The journey home is very long and unpleasant when you are jetlagged and want to get home.

Now, we travel an hour to Bristol in our own car, and are through security much quicker than Gatwick. The same applies on the way back when we can be at home putting the kettle on two hours after the plane touches down. With Gatwick in the past we would have been lucky for that to have been under eight hours.

The flights are cheaper and more flexible than charters. I think the Continental staff are fabulous - we have done seven flights with them this year and they were excellent on all of them.

Of course the snag is the longer travel time but it's nice when you get to MCO to not have to do customs and immigration.

We use the time at Newark to look round the shops, have a relaxing bite to eat and the last leg down to Orlando passes in a flash.

Taking all into consideration, I would err towards flying indirect if it meant avoiding the trek to Gatwick, even if it wasn't cheaper

Good advice above about leaving plenty of connection time!

 

[wayneg]

Plus don't forget, the airlines themselves. American is good for all flights not just their own

You are right. I go next month to Vegas/DLR (with a connecting flight between vegas and LAX) with AA. Booked direct with them for just over £400 each. All others I listed in my last post wanted £600+
Virgin flights should not be cheaper anywhere but there own site as tehy have price guarantee.

 

[castanea1985]

For those considering an indirect flight through Newark....
remember you'll great views of the Manhattan Skyline too!!!

Tracy

 

[Tinker74]

Thanks for the help guys and girls...

For those going to Newark...do you book that flight first and then find a connecting flight to orlando?...Or are both flights included in one price if you know what I mean..
Iam no good at all the flights milarky...

 

[Miffy2003]

Thanks for the help guys and girls...

For those going to Newark...do you book that flight first and then find a connecting flight to orlando?...Or are both flights included in one price if you know what I mean..
Iam no good at all the flights milarky...

Just book one flight - from where you get on the plane to where you want to end up eventually.

For example if you wanted Birmingham to Orlando, just put it Birmingham to Orlando and the website will route you through Newark automatically (if that's the route it takes).

 

[Tinker74]

Thanks Miffy...
I just tried that on continental site...but its still giving me a price of £2500 for 2 adults and 2 kids....Maybe Iam looking too early..they haven't released late august flights yet...ideally I'd like 20th Aug for 10 -14 nights for under £2000...iam not having much luck
Really love to hear from the OP on how she got her price...it sounds great.

 

[TinkTatoo]

For those considering an indirect flight through Newark....remember you'll great views of the Manhattan Skyline too!!!

Tracy

DH took this photo it's a bit hazy but you get the ides

.....Maybe Iam looking too early..they haven't released late august flights yet...ideally I'd like 20th Aug for 10 -14 nights for under £2000...iam not having much luck ......

I'm in the process of booking Continental flights coming back near 20th August and they have only just released those dates. The latest date they have at the moment is 25th August so you'd have to leave it about 2 weeks before your return dates are loaded.

Be sure to tick the Find Lower Fare +/- 3 Days box as it will show you lower fares which you might be able to take by moving your flights around a few days.

I've actually found Tues and Wed are the best days for the cheaper fares.

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

We're flying indirect next month - our first trip non-direct. We wanted to go to Tampa since we're spending a few days on the beach first, flying AA into Chicago then down to Tampa £360 each for three adults. A bargain compared to the £800 both VA and BA wanted for our 8 nights

I had two issues flying indrect - one was that we used the same airline for both legs of the journies and second that we had a long change over time (we've got 3 hours, hopefully will be enough!).

 

[Jakey Rowling]

Ive just priced up flights to Orlando next August on the Opodo website and it came up with £384 for an indirect flight with a stop in Chicago. Ive always flown direct but at that price it is tempting to try indirect!

What are anyone elses experiences of this?

I've done continental from Edinburgh to MCO when the price suited.
A worse journey out time-wise as we usually stop overnight in the UK but a better journey back getting the "internal" flight over with in local time and landing at our local airport.

I notice you are South East based so consider the added time. I say this from experience but even so at that price I would go for it.

One other tip given other comments is use the continental website via somebody like http://anonymouse.org/anonwww.html which hides your location.

I know that I get better prices from the continental website in $ from my work which hides the location details than from home in £.

 

[disneyholic family]

we only fly indirect, as from where we live there are no direct flights to orlando....
we always fly through JFK in NYC.....

on the way back we always stop in NYC for a 3 day whirlwind (3 broadway shows, plus lots of great food and sightseeing)..

if you're going through chicago, that's another great city for sightseeing....
it's a beautiful city....really beautiful.....definitely worth a 2 day visit....another great walking town (in the downtown loop area)....

 

[floridalol]

I flew AA via Dallas/Fort Worth. Did a 2 night stopover on the return journey and went to see Dealey Plaza, where Kennedy was assassinated, and a great tour of the city. I would certainly do indirect again but only if I was going to do a stopover.