Ontario March Break MCO Flyers ...

[disneymath]

For those who travel during Ontario's March Break week, WHEN do you typically find the best airfares to/from MCO? Most airlines haven't even released March 2013 yet, but since there will be 8 of us travelling I need a plan of attack to get the best flight prices possible.

If it were a summer trip, we would typically drive to Toronto or Buffalo, but with the our limited time off and possible weather, we've decided to fly RT from home. Our most convenient (and likely most expensive) option is Air Canada from home connecting through YYZ. Porter to Toronto with ground transfers to BUF or Porter to a location in the US (Newark / Boston / ChicagoMDW / WashingtonIAD) and then something RT to MCO are also possiblities.

We are planning on staying near the airport or in Port Canaveral prior to our cruise, no need for Magical Express, so if you know of options that involve airports other than MCO, please share them too!

TIA!

 

[mtmbyck]

I booked for this March last July as soon as they released. It's usually around the 7/8 month window. Guessing you will change your tune on flying Toronto to anywhere. Every flight I saw was $700+. You should plan to fly on weekdays as I find weekends during March Break are much higher. If you are willing to do that many stopovers, try Travelocity to show you the different flight options. Sanford is another airport very close to Orlando but I've never found a deal to this destination over Orlando International.

If you are sold on a Canadian carrier, look into Airtransat. Pretty basic planes but much less than Air Canada. You could also look into Sunwing out of Toronto and book separately to Toronto. But as mentioned, for March Break the cheapest I saw was $500 direct from YYZ or Montreal then I had to get there for another $200. We paid $320 RTdirect from Syracuse.

 

[disneymath]

I booked for this March last July as soon as they released. It's usually around the 7/8 month window. Guessing you will change your tune on flying Toronto to anywhere. Every flight I saw was $700+. You should plan to fly on weekdays as I find weekends during March Break are much higher. If you are willing to do that many stopovers, try Travelocity to show you the different flight options. Sanford is another airport very close to Orlando but I've never found a deal to this destination over Orlando International.

If you are sold on a Canadian carrier, look into Airtransat. Pretty basic planes but much less than Air Canada. You could also look into Sunwing out of Toronto and book separately to Toronto. But as mentioned, for March Break the cheapest I saw was $500 direct from YYZ or Montreal then I had to get there for another $200. We paid $320 RTdirect from Syracuse.

Thanks for the reply ... I'll start looking at Jet Blue, etc. near the end of June then.

We flew RT BUF-MCO for our December 2011 trip and couldn't believe the serivce we got (Jet Blue especially on the way down, AirTran just average on the way back) for the price we paid. Unfortunately, it is about a 12-hour drive from home to BUF and other similar US airports and we don't have the time to add a driving day to either side of our trip during March Break ... our home airport is served by AC and Porter, so for this trip we're stuck with where they fly and hoping for decent connections from there.

 

[Baloo'sCrew]

June / July is indeed the time to look if you are interested in Jet Blue. They released bookings through January 6th 2013 this past weekend. We have booked by early July for our last two mid-Feb trips and have gotten great rates. You can sign up for free release date alerts on their website. Not sure if the other carriers you mentioned do the same but it's worth looking into. Good luck with your planning!

 

[boundfordisney]

we are on the fantasy as well for march break, glad to know when to be ready to book airfare! will most likely be flying with jetblue out of buffalo, but I am a little worried on the weather in buffalo at this time of year, I keep second guessing this time to cruise and wonder if I should change it to a summer cruise instead. Taking our 2 grandkids who are in high school so it has to be march break or summer holidays to cruise, I really would love to see san juan but its worrying me about a freak snowstorm when we are driving to buffalo. Will fly down on the friday, kids will have to take that day off but we wouldnt be able to fly down any sooner then that. Ok someone tell me march break is a great time to go!

 

[papertraveller]

We'll see you on the Fantasy too!

Last year I booked WestJet at March Break, and got it as soon as the schedule opened up. The year before was Southwest out to Buffalo. Not sure what we'll be doing this year -- I kind of like exploring the Porter to Washington idea.

Ah well -- just more stuff to research!

 

[disneymath]

we are on the fantasy as well for march break, glad to know when to be ready to book airfare! will most likely be flying with jetblue out of buffalo, but I am a little worried on the weather in buffalo at this time of year, I keep second guessing this time to cruise and wonder if I should change it to a summer cruise instead. Taking our 2 grandkids who are in high school so it has to be march break or summer holidays to cruise, I really would love to see san juan but its worrying me about a freak snowstorm when we are driving to buffalo. Will fly down on the friday, kids will have to take that day off but we wouldnt be able to fly down any sooner then that. Ok someone tell me march break is a great time to go!

I hear you about snowstorm worries ... our plan is to try to leave after working on Thursday just as an extra precaution.

We'll see you on the Fantasy too!

Last year I booked WestJet at March Break, and got it as soon as the schedule opened up. The year before was Southwest out to Buffalo. Not sure what we'll be doing this year -- I kind of like exploring the Porter to Washington idea.

Ah well -- just more stuff to research!

The little bit of playing I've done leads me to believe that costwise (at least form our home airport) Porter will only be a benefit in getting to Toronto. Then again, they didn't have our dates released yet when I checked the site yesterday.