newbie flight questions!

[scoobyc]

sorry if i'm missing anything obvious here but finding it almost unbearable not to spend some of my hard earned and want to get things right! I'm looking at booking flights from inverness to orlando via lgw (first part flybe second part virgin).
1. Can i book my luggage through all the way from inverness to orlando or will i have to pick it up in lgw and rebook it in again? Will it help if i prebook over the internet with this?
2. I'm looking to book the flights through expedia/opodo (they're the same price for both flights compared to just the one at virgin atlantic), are there any downsides to this other than limitations to upgrades?
3. Am i governed by the same rules as the normal flights from these companies ie is it just a flight bought through a third party with no other differences eg luggage etc?

think thats all but there might be updates
thanks for looking.

 

[UKDEB]

If you're changing carriers, I'm almost certain you'll have to re-check your baggage. We have some posters here who regularly take internal flights to LGW before flying on to Orlando, so no doubt someone who knows the answer to this will be along soon.

These days we tend to book directly with VA, but we've often booked through third parties in the past and there are no disadvantages that spring to mind. The only difference from booking directly is that any amendments would have to be made with the company you booked through.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

1. I believe if your flights are all on one ticket then you can book your luggage all the way through. You need to confirm that you will not get two sets of tickets.
Another advantage is that you should get the virgin baggage allowance if it's all on one ticket.

2. I don't know of any real downsides, I always go for the cheapest source of tickets for a particular carrier

3. Luggage allowance, response to flight delays etc are no different.

We did EDI/LGW/MCO last month with Virgin and prefer LGW as it's less chaotic than LHR but the times between flights back north can be large and result in a long time at the airport on your return

We flew BA for the domestic flight this time as they were cheaper than Easyjet even 6 months in advance so maybe consider this. The BA website gives the best BA prices and you may also get better connection times. This may also allow you to use LHR as an alternative route as there are many more BA flights from LHR.

Just make sure you build in additional time for potential delays on your incoming flight to ensure you make the connection.

 

[Jakey Rowling]

please ignore until I figure how to delete duplicate posts

 

[carolfoy]

Jakeys right, if your ticket shows a 'through fare' i.e. starting and end destination your luggage will get transferred, as Flybe only codeshare with Lufthansa and British Midland its highly unlikely you'll be getting a through fare.
Be prepared to collect luggage and re check in at LGW

 

[ScottishDisMam]

We've went a few times now, and go Aberdeen/LGW/MCO.We've always done BA all the way through and had no probs, and been cheaper if you book enough in advance ( we ar a family of 5). Last year though we went Aberdeen - Manchester with BMI then Manchester - MCO with Virgin. We were told by Virgin we would have to get our luggage at Man but when we booked into Aberdeen they checked the luggage right through - possibly because it was all one booking, and because we did ask at check in if this would be possible.
We are going back in October, and have booked BA again. Personally there wasnt really a price difference, but we found Virgin to be very cramped and just not so good. Also the Downtown Disney check in was so overwhelmed with people checking in, that they turned people away - including my sister and husband, so half us checked in at DD but we still had to get to airport earlier to check in my sister which was a bit of a pain.
Having said all that your going to Disney So you know you'll have a great time whatever.

Lisa

 

[scoobyc]

thanks for all the repiles. I've got the 2 fares inv-lgw-mco down to £376 each and i've also looked at ba etc but theres very limitied flights in nov/dec by the looks of it and can't find anything with ba as suggested. Also any other carriers meant that i had to have another stop and having done it a few times before, i find the less stops the better!

 

[scottishsue]

We've went a few times now, and go Aberdeen/LGW/MCO.We've always done BA all the way through and had no probs

Same here Lisa - if you are going with the same airline all the way your luggage will get checked right through to MCO. You'll probably have to collect and re-check your luggage through.

We've been with Air France, KLM and now BA, as they are handy for us up here. But even if you do have to check in again it's worth it when you get to the other end !!