Need advice and then help from those in Michigan about our flights!

[lillykat]

Ok I am moving to Lansing in a few weeks and so I'm not familiar with the area very much.

We are going to stay at AKL concierge on April 26-May3. We will be getting married in NY on the 24th then going to disney on monday. We will be staying the week before the wedding in NY.

So here is the problem:

Do we fly to NY 4/17 stay then on 4/26 fly to WDW from NY then on 5/3 fly back to MI.

OR

Fly from MI to NY, then 4/25 fly back to MI. Then morning of 4/26 fly from MI to FL and then back to MI.

Which is likely to be cheaper? Also if we do the MI - NY - FL - MI then we have to lug all the luggage for the wedding to FL before we go home.

NOW here is the MI question.

We are in Lansing - I know because my DFH has been there all this year that it tends to be very expensive to fly from there - what airports do you find are the best - should we fly from DTW or from somewhere else to get the best deals? HELP!!!!

 

[Tess]

While I've never flown from Lansing, there are some good deals on occasion from Bishop in Flint. Bishop is a smaller airport and is easily navigable as well as reasonably close to Lansing. Air Tran comes to mind as a carrier that often has attractive rates out of Flint.

Detroit is usually on the high side for flights, but--you may wish to plug it in as an airport choice and see what rate pops for your dates. Spirit flies from Detroit at lower rates (usually) than the other carriers.

Don't underestimate your ability to get a decent fare out of Lansing--you never know when one of the carriers might offer a good one. I can't speak to the fares offered out of Grand Rapids--never checked that one and it might be feasible for you.

Frankly, we've had much better luck getting great rates (or at least better rates) out of Toledo. That would probably be a bit too distant for your needs though.

One thing you should also consider--you are flying at would be "spring break" season. Our county will be on break earlier than your dates, but that doesn't mean the rest of the state will be following suit. It might be difficult to find a "cheaper" fare from anywhere for that time frame.

As to your options for flights. Why not try to price it both ways to see which would be a better option for you? I know on Delta's website there is an area you could use to list the "legs" you want to take and a price will be provided for those selected. It would give you a frame of reference. Frankly, I would think your option #1 would be the easiest and least costly, but that is just a guess.

Good luck!

 

[safetymom]

What you need to ask for is open jaw ticketing. Call the airline and ask them if it would be cheaper to fly from Mich.,NY, FL on one ticket. Sometimes you can do better than buying 2 separate tickets.

 

[nuthut]

I checked on travelocity and for your dates out of lansing going into LGA and on to MCO a multicity ticket is $385 and Flint is $355. If you were to buy two tickets out of Detroit the cost is $204 (DTW-LGA) plus $176(DTW-MCO) . for a total of $380.00. Now I bought tickets to LGA out of Detroit for $144 a person on NWA website. We live in Hastings and have used Lansing many times. We also use Grand Rapids, Flint, Detroit or South Bend, and Toledo depending on the price and how many are flying and all with in two hours from us.

 

[lillykat]

thank you that is very helpful and has given me some options to research

 

[Miscrapper]

I live in Grand Rapids and have read and heard that flights out of Lansing are often cheaper than from here. Every time I have checked though the difference hasn't been enough to warrant the hour plus drive. Flights aren't great from GRR but not outrageous either. You may be able to get non-stop out of DTW and probably save some money but it will take you nearly 2 hours to drive from Lansing.

Good luck!

 

[NotUrsula]

I agree, open-jaw is your best bet, and your best bet for an open-jaw at a good price is to use a TA. One big warning, though; make SURE that your tickets are purchased in the name that will be on your photo ID!!!

A really common mistake that gets made with honeymoon tickets is that in the excitement of it being one's honeymoon, there is a tendency to book the tickets as Mr. & Mrs. X. However, unless you can spare the time to get new photo ID issued between the date of the wedding and your departure, you are not going to have photo ID with that name on it, and if you don't, you are going to experiece h*** on earth trying to board the plane.

I know this one from experience, as it happened to me, long before 9/11. DH bought the tickets with my married name on them, and he almost had to go on our honeymoon alone.