Ottawa to Orlando Flight Options

[mabba18]

Hi,

Just starting to put together my trip. Hitting Pop Century Sept 16-23, and I'm looking at flight options.

What I am leaning towards is Air Canada. I'm getting $181 each way, total w/tax for 2 $923.52. If I understand correctly, this is a sale that ends May 1.

This seems fine to me, but does anyone think they will go much lower or should I book now for peace of mind? I really don't like the idea of waiting for possible seat sales till June or July to book, just to save another $10-20 each way.

Flying out of Buffalo or Detroit is not possible for us. Montreal or Toronto might be possible if the savings are enough. Do we have any other options besides AC and Westjet?

Any ideas or advice would greatly appreciated!

 

[Subrbnmommy]

There are lots of other options. Go to expedia.ca you'll see a variety of US carriers. Of course with a US airline, you won't be able to fly direct but the prices are usually quite competitive. If you're not flying direct anyways, I prefer connecting in the the US then connecting in Montreal or Toronto and having to deal with picking up luggage & customs in transit.

Ohh, forgot to add, if you find a flight on Expedia, go the airline's website and compare the price, sometimes the ticket will be a bit cheaper.

 

[MoserFamily]

We just flew West Jet for the first time a couple of weeks ago. We decided to do that because we wanted to fly direct to Orlando (we had our 2-year-old daughter with us and didn't want the hassle of changing planes). I think it was slightly more expensive than AC, but well worth it. The flight was only 3.5 hours, the service was wonderful, and each of the seats has its own satellite TV. We had the major Canadian networks (CTV, CBC, etc.) and even had some specialty channels, like Treehouse (great for my daughter) and TLC. Plus, if you really wanted, you could buy a pay-per-view movie. Honestly, though, even without the TV, the WJ service was worth it.

I agree with the other poster, though. You can find other carriers that will fly out of Ottawa. I'm pretty sure they don't fly direct, but you might be able to find a good deal. Check out travelocity or expedia for an idea of which ones. I further agree that if you're going to switch planes, though, do it in the US. There's nothing worse than having to get your luggage and go through customs in a Toronto layover. You're much better going through customs at the Ottawa airport.

I hope that helps.

Sandi

 

[Melanie151]

If you are willing to travel a bit, you can try Syracuse Airport. It is 3 hours from Ottawa, but very easy to get to. We are going from September 13 to 23 and payed $716 for a family of 4, including tax with Jet Blue on a direct flight. We saved more than $1200 not flying out of Ottawa (plus most flights are not direct).

 

[highland3]

If you are willing to travel a bit, you can try Syracuse Airport. It is 3 hours from Ottawa, but very easy to get to. We are going from September 13 to 23 and payed $716 for a family of 4, including tax with Jet Blue on a direct flight. We saved more than $1200 not flying out of Ottawa (plus most flights are not direct).

I agree. I love flying out of SYR!

 

[mabba18]

Thanks for all the quick replies.

I think I just need to get over my apprehension about using an American carrier. Looking before, I wasn't sure if the possible difficulties of transferring in the US would be worth the $80-100 savings. Too many bad news stories about canceled flights in the last few weeks, I guess.

Now I know that transferring in the US would be less hassle, I'll pick an American carrier. I've only been to Pearson once, and I cannot imagine trying to get through customs, and get another plane in one hour at 8am.

Westjet never gave me direct flights. I think they only run from YOW during peak season. I would have liked to fly WestJet or AC, because I've had good experiences with both.

Looking at Jet Blue, it offers huge savings, BUT the flight times are terrible. We would lose first and last days in the World or we would have to stay overnight in Syracuse both ways. It is very tempting, but it just doesn't work for us. We don't drive, and would have to arrange with friends/family, and pay them too .

expedia.ca gave me C$842.60 via Detroit on Northwest, with good arrival and departure times. travelocity and Northwest's site gave me the same thing for slightly more.

Thanks to all your help, I feel that I have had good look around for flights, and that this is the best I'm gonna do without waiting for a seat sale, which, like I said, I don't wanna do.

Is there any reason for me to not take these flights, and start working on those ADRs?