October 2015 Flight Tips

[Laniy]

Hi everyone, I am booked up to stay at Pop 26 Oct through 2nd November and am planning on staying another 7-10 nights at Cabana Bay when the dates go live on the booking site. As its my first time going to the US, first time booking a multi-part trip DIY and first time ever being in charge of booking flights I'm seeking reassurance!

My query is that I would like to book our flights (just me and my mum) as soon as they come out which I gather to be 11 months before. Is it realistic to be able to get return flights from any of the London airports that fly to Orlando for around £500 per person? Ideally I would like to fly direct and would pay more than this if I had to but I am not against flying indirect if the price difference is likely to be very large. I really would love to be able to book the flights as soon as they come out as I do not have the nerve to wait out for rock bottom prices!

I still feel like it's not real and won't happen until I get my flights booked as I have such awful luck with holidays so I'm very excited about getting them at the end of the year! Have been reading(lurking) on here for many years now and it's been so helpful, I almost feel like I've already been

 

[scoobydooby]

Hi. £500 would be rock bottom prices direct. Not unheard of but pretty unusual nowadays. Of course a deal can be got at 11 months out but they may also be really high that first day. They used to be good the day they came out but doesn't seem to be the case so much any more. It's worth starting to look at prices now for many dates to get your head around what's average and what's possible. Good luck. We all play flight roulette here!!!!!!!

 

[ninamouse]

I have spoken to a few travel reps and they've all said to expect to pay an average of £700 to £750pp for October.

I've booked the flight and hotel package with Disney. It's guaranteed direct flight with either BA or Virgin. We flew Virgin last year and the flights were fab!

Good luck finding the flights you want

 

[Hipster Meg]

We're going to be travelling at the same time, which unfortunately is half term. I've been keeping an eye on flights this year to get some some of idea how much we might pay and to be honest I'm expecting to pay around £700 per person for London to orlando direct. Unfortunately with our sons special needs indirect isn't really an option as we want to make the journey as stress free as we can for him and us! I've been looking at things like using our Tesco points to buy virgin miles so that we can use miles and money to get something off and am crossing my fingers for a sale after Christmas.

 

[wilma-bride]

I very much doubt whether you will be able to get direct flights for £500 during that period as it's an incredibly popular time to travel.

We are going this October (18th Oct-1st Nov) and have paid £650 pp for indirect flights.

 

[dixonsontour]

We've been the last 4 Octobers.

Flights are not cheap as it is half term.

We fly from Manchester and aim for £500 indirect - usually by flying on a weekday. Last year paid £600 as we had to fly Saturday.

Direct prices are a lot more.

 

[Sencybil]

Yes, depends entirely on whether your dates overlap with half term. We went 11th Oct 2013 (Fri) - 2nd Nov (Sun). I booked with Virgin as soon as flights were released and paid about £650pp (our total included a child reduction and some cb so I'm struggling to remember the actual adult fare). Saturday flights were more. At no point subsequent could I have got the flights for less than that.

If we'd been coming back earlier I could have got Thomas Cook flights direct to Sandford for a bit less, but their seasonal flight variations meant they werent an option for our dates. Thomson was more. BA were released later and I didn't wait for a comparison, but they were definitely not cheaper.

So I'd say if you want BA / Virgin, book as soon as released and expect to pay £750 upwards.

Sencybil x

 

[chmurf]

We're also october regulars. I spend hours looking for the right price, on both sides of the channel, as I'm at liberty to go from either Paris or London.

I'll start looking for an october 2015 flight around early january, and probably book by mid february to get a good price.
But I don't expect prices to drop below £650 for a "correct" flight

it's your first time in the US and first time booking, so there are a few basics you need to be aware o

Price is not all. The most important part are flight times.

No matter if you fly direct or indirect, you need to consider the inbound flight (going home) and how soon it takes off.
Some flights will take off at silly hours (such as 7am) so your last day is lost.
Some flights will take off early afternoon (2pm-ish) and your last day is lost too (especially if you take magical express which will pick you up 4 hours before your flight)
Some flights will take off late, but will require an overnight layover at a connecting airport.

So check very carefully how long a flight takes (indirect), you should not exceed 18 hours of total trip time. (you'll find some cheap indirect with 30 hours of travel time, this in unacceptable)

if you're flying indirect with a stop in the US, remember that there is a time consuming procedure clearing immigration, picking up luggage, clearing customs, rechecking bags and clearing security (outbound flight) so do not accept connections in the US shorter than 2hrs (2 hours and 30 minutes is my personnal bare minimum on my way to the US)

so there is a lot to think about when booking a flight, and price is not all.

Also don't jump on flights as soon as they're released. There is a potential for changed flight plans and it's often better to wait a bit.

As far as I'm concerned, I'll book a flight for mid october 2015 and I won't book until february unless I get a very very good price/time compromise before that.

It's not a bad idea to look at flights on kayak right now for your dates as if in 2014 ( day for day, not date for date, for example if you plan on taking off on a sunday, choose the same sunday, for example sunday 26th oct 2014 if you plan on going on sunday 25th october 2015)

you're not going to get realistic prices, but you will be able to see the flight routes and schedule, and make a shortlist of flights you're willing to take.
Once you have a clear view on days, time and duration, you'll be one step closer to choosing your flight once it's released.

 

[orangetiggs]

Booked our oct 14 flights in virgin jan sale, we fly 28/10 to 14/11 lgw to mco and we are paying £500 per adult and 469 per child virgin economy. So you can get them for that budget

 

[wilma-bride]

Booked our oct 14 flights in virgin jan sale, we fly 28/10 to 14/11 lgw to mco and we are paying £500 per adult and 469 per child virgin economy. So you can get them for that budget

But this is outside school holidays whereas OP's dates are for the duration of half term, which will make the difference I think.

 

[orangetiggs]

Its the tuesday in half term, in the jan sake with virgin this year there were most dates in half term for the same price, some were less

 

[wilma-bride]

Its the tuesday in half term, in the jan sake with virgin this year there were most dates in half term for the same price, some were less

I think the point I'm trying to make is that half term is half over by the time you fly out and you are there for at least a week afterwards, which would make your flights less expensive. The flights for the OP's dates would be travelling out and returning within (more or less) the half term period, whi9ch is when those flights will be at a premium price as that is what the majority of people will want (the OP is only planning to go for a week).

 

[orangetiggs]

And the point I was trying to make was don't rush in and but when they are released as you can get then cheaper, we looked at the Saturday as half term started but my dad had to work the Monday so we could only go Tuesday and it was the same price

 

[Laniy]

Thanks for all the replies, it's helpful to get an idea of what others have paid over the years.

I haven't had the chance to check flights for the time we would be buying them (ie last November for the October) but I have been monitoring prices since the beginning of the year for the same dates we will be going but in 2014 (the day of the week not the exact date as mentioned). I've seen the prices fluctuate madly and have seen direct flights at around £600 - £1100, today I found a direct BA flight for 27 Oct - 12 Nov 2014 for £508pp which was at the times we wanted - it arrived at Orlando at 19:10 I think and left at around 18:30 coming home. It's just a matter of not wanting to wait until June next year to book them! I will have to do some more research about sales, I might be able to wait until January if I knew there was a chance a good deal could be had.

As for indirect flights I know the considerations with security and stopover times but as we are not traveling with children I would consider it if it meant saving a substantial amount. As we are going to be there for around 16-17 nights I'm not too concerned about missing the first evening (which seems very likely) and having a long journey home. Our intial plan had us visiting Georgia for a few days on the end of the holiday and on the last day traveling back from Savannah to Orlando by Greyhound in the am - getting a flight very late that night and then arriving in the Uk the next day. But we both agreed despite being adventurous travellers who are very much up for long journeys and the joys of public transport it would be a very tired/grumpy way to end a magical holiday.


*also it's not just a week we are going for, we want to spend around 10 days at Cabana Bay after staying at Pop which would take our dept date to the 11th or 12th of November. I didn't realise we were traveling in halfterm all the research in the world and some things just completely escape you.

 

[edinburghlass]

Price today for BA is a sale price book before 7/8 July I think so bare that in mind.

 

[crabbie1]

Thanks for all the replies, it's helpful to get an idea of what others have paid over the years. I haven't had the chance to check flights for the time we would be buying them (ie last November for the October) but I have been monitoring prices since the beginning of the year for the same dates we will be going but in 2014 (the day of the week not the exact date as mentioned). I've seen the prices fluctuate madly and have seen direct flights at around £600 - £1100, today I found a direct BA flight for 27 Oct - 12 Nov 2014 for £508pp which was at the times we wanted - it arrived at Orlando at 19:10 I think and left at around 18:30 coming home. It's just a matter of not wanting to wait until June next year to book them! I will have to do some more research about sales, I might be able to wait until January if I knew there was a chance a good deal could be had. As for indirect flights I know the considerations with security and stopover times but as we are not traveling with children I would consider it if it meant saving a substantial amount. As we are going to be there for around 16-17 nights I'm not too concerned about missing the first evening (which seems very likely) and having a long journey home. Our intial plan had us visiting Georgia for a few days on the end of the holiday and on the last day traveling back from Savannah to Orlando by Greyhound in the am - getting a flight very late that night and then arriving in the Uk the next day. But we both agreed despite being adventurous travellers who are very much up for long journeys and the joys of public transport it would be a very tired/grumpy way to end a magical holiday. *also it's not just a week we are going for, we want to spend around 10 days at Cabana Bay after staying at Pop which would take our dept date to the 11th or 12th of November. I didn't realise we were traveling in halfterm all the research in the world and some things just completely escape you.

Congrats on ur first trip. As jo said( wilma bride) it is a half term and I doubt you will get it below £600 with inflation. I hope u do but dont rush to book. People book as soon as but I never have even for august. Wayne states abt 23 weeks before or when sales are on but its a case of keep looking. You have a great first hotel choice. I loved pop.

 

[MrRomance]

Hi everyone, I am booked up to stay at Pop 26 Oct through 2nd November and am planning on staying another 7-10 nights at Cabana Bay when the dates go live on the booking site. As its my first time going to the US, first time booking a multi-part trip DIY and first time ever being in charge of booking flights I'm seeking reassurance!

My query is that I would like to book our flights (just me and my mum) as soon as they come out which I gather to be 11 months before. Is it realistic to be able to get return flights from any of the London airports that fly to Orlando for around £500 per person? Ideally I would like to fly direct and would pay more than this if I had to but I am not against flying indirect if the price difference is likely to be very large. I really would love to be able to book the flights as soon as they come out as I do not have the nerve to wait out for rock bottom prices!

I still feel like it's not real and won't happen until I get my flights booked as I have such awful luck with holidays so I'm very excited about getting them at the end of the year! Have been reading(lurking) on here for many years now and it's been so helpful, I almost feel like I've already been

We usually go 28th/29th October to 11th/12th November each year, although we are not going in 2015 because we are hoping to move to FL early next year. I have some good news and some bad news...

Bad news is booking at 11 months will not get you the best deal and is likely to come in much higher than £500. Good news is that for the last 3 years, BA have had a flight sale in December and you can get decent prices then!

Our price for 2014 (Fly Drive) for 2 adults and 1 child was £1777. So if you take off the cost of the car and the extra child flight, you'll be right around £500. If BA do the same as they have done the last few years, you should be able to get flights for close to the price you want to pay direct. No guarantees obviously, just my experience.

 

[scoobydooby]

There are flights from Manchester to Dublin with Aer Lingus in October this year for £545. I just did a check. In May you could go for. £325 which is incredible! Are they really horrible for these prices?