magical express?

[rae96]

I just heard that the magical express will not take your luggage if you are flying two different airlines. Is this true? Has anyone flown two different airlines and had their luggage sent at hotel for return flight?

 

[Gracie09]

One airline down and a second home? Yup. I've done it. No problem at all

 

[goofy4tink]

Can't imagine why it would be an issue. DME truly has nothing to do with your luggage service at the end of your stay...that would be RAC.

 

[heidiboo]

I just heard that the magical express will not take your luggage if you are flying two different airlines. Is this true? Has anyone flown two different airlines and had their luggage sent at hotel for return flight?

We flew two different airlines in May and everything was perfect ( Jet Blue and Southwest).

 

[rae96]

We fly to Orlando on southwest and back home on air tran.

I am so glad people have done it with no problems. I was ready to change my flights! Thank you!

 

[Alesia]

I just heard that the magical express will not take your luggage if you are flying two different airlines. Is this true? Has anyone flown two different airlines and had their luggage sent at hotel for return flight?

Where on earth did you hear that?

 

[DebbieB]

There have been issues reported with a mixed AirTran/Southwest itinerary, there was a post earlier today. Sometimes RAC cannot check in the luggage and you have to take it on the bus and check-in at the airport. Your best bet is to book 2 one ways. If the mix is on a connection, then you might have to take it to the airport.

It's not an issue of 2 different airlines, it's a specific issue with AirTran/Southwest. Most likely AirTran booked on Southwest's website. AirTran only has 3 1/2 months left so these issues should go away.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3326107

 

[rae96]

Debbie B....thank you for that link.

That is us!!! We booked through Southwest, but are flying on a flight operated by Air Tran on the way home. I may have to look into changing our flight although I don't know how since there isn't anything available when we need it!

There is no way I can wait in those lines at the Orlando airport with a 5 year old! AHHHHH!!

Anyone have any suggestions on what to do??!!

 

[DebbieB]

Debbie B....thank you for that link.

That is us!!! We booked through Southwest, but are flying on a flight operated by Air Tran on the way home. I may have to look into changing our flight although I don't know how since there isn't anything available when we need it!

There is no way I can wait in those lines at the Orlando airport with a 5 year old! AHHHHH!!

Anyone have any suggestions on what to do??!!

Don't stand in the counter check-in line. Go out the doors to curbside check. It's worth a dollar or two per bag tip. There's rarely a line and never one as long as inside.

 

[lindsey]

Agree with curbside check in. We did this last time and it was great. We had four adults and two kids with lots of luggage.

 

[rae96]

How long does it take to check-in at the airport? Do you think we need to catch an earlier magical express? Is it worth changing our airplane tickets to make it so RAC will take our luggage? (There is only one other time that would work and it costs about $100 more per person)

Sorry for all the questions....I am worried since we have never had to do this before!

 

[bumbershoot]

By the end of your trip, the 5 year old will very likely be VERY used to standing in lines.

And you'll still deal with lines to get through security. There's no escaping lines at an airport, especially an incredibly busy one like MCO.

I wouldn't change flights, personally.

I would guess that they'll be putting you on a bus 3 hours before your flight time, which should be enough time. You can request an earlier one, but then you run the "risk" of being at the airport for a long time...if you do that, be sure to pack stuff to do, so you don't end up getting through the lines quickly and have 2 hours to wait at the gate.

 

[Minniekins]

Agree with curbside check in. We did this last time and it was great. We had four adults and two kids with lots of luggage.

Is there any downside with curbside check-in of luggage? Just checking as we haven't done it in a while. We will be flying about 1 pm out of Chicago Midway to Orlando on Thanksgiving day. Years ago we used to do curbside check-in but for a long time now we've been checking in at the inside desk. I think we probably started doing this to avoid more tips, but really, as a PP said, the few dollars for a couple of bags is not much and worth it to get into the security lines quicker to get to the gate. I think maybe we'll rethink this this year to save some waiting time(though we haven't usually had too long of waits most of the time). We probably also continued to do it because when we were leaving Chicago, it was freezing and we wanted to get inside a.s.a.p. lol!!

 

[DebbieB]

How long does it take to check-in at the airport? Do you think we need to catch an earlier magical express? Is it worth changing our airplane tickets to make it so RAC will take our luggage? (There is only one other time that would work and it costs about $100 more per person)

Sorry for all the questions....I am worried since we have never had to do this before!

I wouldn't change your flight. There's always the possibility that your ticket will be flagged for extra security and RAC cannot take it, regardless of the airline. It happens rarely, but it can. If you would feel more comfortable, take an earlier ME. I would not spend an extra $100 per person.

If you check-in at the counter at the airport, it could be 10 minutes, it could be 30 minutes, it just depends on the lines. Curbside check should be no more than 5 or 10 minutes. I've used curbside check with many airlines and never had a problem. I would check the inside line first to see how long it is.

RAC is long distance curbside check. You are expected to tip them the same ($1 to $2 per bag).

 

[rae96]

Can someone tell me where is the curbside check in for Air Tran? I can't remember where the Magical Express drops you off in relation to the curbside check in.

Thank you so much! I want to make sure I know where to go since RAC won't take our luggage.

 

[OntFamily]

There have been issues reported with a mixed AirTran/Southwest itinerary, there was a post earlier today. Sometimes RAC cannot check in the luggage and you have to take it on the bus and check-in at the airport. Your best bet is to book 2 one ways. If the mix is on a connection, then you might have to take it to the airport.

It's not an issue of 2 different airlines, it's a specific issue with AirTran/Southwest. Most likely AirTran booked on Southwest's website. AirTran only has 3 1/2 months left so these issues should go away.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3326107

We have flown mixed Southwest / Air Tran itinerary (Air Tran was code shared with Southwest -- Southwest flight number, but Air Tran metal).

We had no issue with RAC.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank you so much! I want to make sure I know where to go since RAC won't take our luggage.

They *might not* take it. This hasn't been across the board at all. That's why it has been such a difficult bother, because you can't rely on it being one way or the other.

 

[jimandami]

In December, we had a mixed itinerary and were unable to use RAC. At the time, I was super annoyed because it was early, we had 7 bags, and 2 kids and we hadn't heard any reports at that time that RAC was going to be a problem. When we got to MCO, the SW line was ridiculously long but there was a very nice porter who grabbed us a luggage cart and pushed our luggage to the curbside check-in, which took about 10 minutes. Although at the time it was stressful, it really wasn't that bad, especially if we had known ahead of time it could be a problem. I wouldn't change your flight or take an earlier ME. Just be prepared that you might need to take your own bags and plan to grab a luggage cart when you get off ME because it is a bit of a long walk to the curbside check-in. And remember to tip the guys at curbside check-in.