Never Flown Before...Who do I book with???

[PinkDaisy8844]

Hi everyone! Okay, here's the deal...I have never been on a plane before in my life..I know probably shocking ... and my DFi has never booked a flight by himself! So...who do you recommend we book the flight with? Do we go straight for the airline companies or do we go through something like travelocity??? It's all very confusing...which is better? Also, when should we book our flight if we are wanting to arrive on Dec. 16th and leave on Dec. 23rd?

Thanks for all of your help and advice!!!

 

[RalphMouth]

where are you flying from ?

Once i know that I can suggest some airlines IMHO to stay away from-

I compare rates from airline websites and your expedia's and orbitz -

Travel agent may be of value to you though-

 

[PinkDaisy8844]

Thanks for such a quick response! I'm flying from Houston...either airport there, I don't have a preference with that!

 

[RalphMouth]

Out of Hobby it's Southwest-

out of Intercontinental it's Continental-

IMHO if prices are similar I'd go w/Continental Airlines because
you can get seat assignments in advance while SW Air has 'open seating'
and if you aren't at the airport early you may get terrible seats
not together. many people call it "cattle calling"
there's several threads here re: SW Airlines http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1446899
They aren't bad but I prefer my assigned seat thankyou.

SW Air can only be booked at their own website and they are only taking reservations through Nov 2nd right now. Continental shows up on expedia, travelocity and orbitz.

There are other airlines but they would require a change of aircraft -
American Air in dallas or Miami-
Northwest in memphis- probably not much cheaper....

if this is your first trip don't worry- you have come to the right place

 

[PinkDaisy8844]

Thanks for all of the information! Is there a difference between travelocity, orbitz, and expedia?

 

[love~disney]

I would search www.kayak.com That is my new favorite site for airfare. It looks at hundreds of sights (including expedia, orbitz, travelocity, and major airline carriers) and lists the best prices. This sight was featured on Good Morning America last summer.
I have always found the best prices with them. Hope this helps.

 

[goofy4tink]

A few thoughts....first of all, I prefer to book through the airlines directly. I just head over to their online site and book that way. It's always been very easy and you don't have to worry about middlemen.
Secondly, flying SW isn't a huge deal. Yes, you can checkin online 24 hrs before your flight to ensure that you get A boarding passes, and that ensures that you will sit together. But, I haven't seen many B pass people that have been split up. It's usually the C section people that may have an issue, especially those at the end of the line. So...just checkin at the 24 hr mark..that should get you into the A section. And you don't have to stand in the line for an hour either. Just get into line when they announce A boarding has started. Same thing goes for your flight home. You will find the resorts to be very helpful when you need to checkin online.

 

[RalphMouth]

A few thoughts....first of all, I prefer to book through the airlines directly. I just head over to their online site and book that way. It's always been very easy and you don't have to worry about middlemen.
Secondly, flying SW isn't a huge deal. Yes, you can checkin online 24 hrs before your flight to ensure that you get A boarding passes, and that ensures that you will sit together. But, I haven't seen many B pass people that have been split up. It's usually the C section people that may have an issue, especially those at the end of the line. So...just checkin at the 24 hr mark..that should get you into the A section. And you don't have to stand in the line for an hour either. Just get into line when they announce A boarding has started. Same thing goes for your flight home. You will find the resorts to be very helpful when you need to checkin online.

IMHO if the airfare is equal for SW and an airline I can get
confirmed assigned seats then I'll skip SW-

 

[redheadx3]

Hey fellow Houstian. I usually try to fly out of IAH because it is closer to my home. Because Contential is based from Houston, I usually find there prices to be the lowest and it is also a non stop flight. That can save alot of time.
Sometimes if you catch Southwest just as prices are released, it may be alittle cheaper but you will have to change planes in Dallas (their home base) and it make take an extra few hours to get to Orlando. I find Contential website to have a good price or even better than Travelocity, Expedia, etc.
Now from my research, booking too far out, like 6 months, you may pay too much. It seems 4 to 2 months the price seems to drop. For example, we plan to go to WDW in Dec. I check prices today and it was $224, then I check if I were to travel in Oct. it was $178. About three weeks ago Oct. flights priced out at $194. Try not fly on Fri. because it is about 20 or 30 dollar more. You can book your whole vacation thru Disney and they will give you the current Continental price for the day. Just watch the prices and you will do ok. I hope I have helped with my lengthy reply.

 

[bradk]

the major flight search engines don't include the budget airlines like southwest, airtran and jetblue (at least i know they don't include JB).

kayak may, but i've never had much luck with it. while my preference is to fly with jetblue all the time, http://www.farecast.com does include it along with the other airlines and has some pretty extensive search features.

JB doesn't fly to MCO from HOU though.

in any case, most airlines aren't going to give you issues. SWA as mentioned doesn't have pre-assigned seating, but they have a liberal policy for cancellations and changes. airtran doesn't assign seats until you check-in.

most legacy carriers are going to let you choose seats at time of purchase. http://www.seatguru.com can help you decide which seats you may prefer. delta's been known to change and cancel flights frequently. legacy airlines are also known for heavier penalties.

for example, jet blue charges $25-$30 per ticket for a change/cancellation fee. i don't think SWA charges any (but can be tricky depending on how you book the flight), but many legacy airlines will charge upwards of $100 per ticket for a change.

you may also want to be aware of the airline policy for standby flights as well as what happens if the prices drop after you've purchased a ticket (less likely to happen with a legacy though)

 

[jlovesee]

I fly somewhat often, atleast a few times a year, and almost always fly southwest.

Against all the Southwest naysayer's... You can have you're "assigned seats" and I will have my on time flights, almost zero delays, never lost luggage, friendly service and easy and simple re-booking/cancellation policy. I have flown them at least 20 times, to at least a dozen different cities and NEVER had to sit apart from my husband, NEVER (to date) had a cancelled, or significantly delayed flight either.

Jeff (my husband)has had his preferred aisle seat almost every single time. It's simple, check in online 24 hrs ahead of time, get your A pass, and get in line when they start to board you are guaranteed an aisle/window seat, it is a mathematical certainty.

Yes I have flown several other airlines, TWA (may it rest in peace), American, Northwest, US Airways, Delta and Midwest. Southwest is still the best.

BTW I second Kayak.com, but definitely book from the airlines website, this is true with every airline.

Jennifer

 

[PinkDaisy8844]

Thank you everyone for all of your wonderful advice! I think I will just look around and compare prices and see what's available and keep all of your opinions in mind! I suppose there is no rush for me yet, right?