Just returned from 4-day Disney Wonder Cruise + 5 days at WDW. We live in northwest NJ and usually fly out of Newark because of convenient schedules, but this trip we used Southeast Airlines out of Allentown, PA because we got a tremendous price of $138 per person.
I was a little nervous flying a small charter airline (what happens if there's a mechanical problem with the plane and there's no back-up? What if they cancel or change the flight which they have greater flexibility to do since they are a public charter? What happens if our family of 4 can't sit near each other because they don't pre-assign seats? etc. etc. etc.)
Our experience turned out to be very positive. They did change our flight times but that was 3-4 months before our trip and we were allowed to switch days with no penalty. When we arrived at LVI (Lehigh Valley International, formerly Allentown airport) we were assigned two seats in row 18 and two in row 19. That turned out to be fine since the MD-80 planes they use have 3 seats on one side of the aisle but only 2 on the other so we were on the side with just 2 seats. The check-in counter was cramped and we did wait about 15 minutes (and we arrived early).
There was plenty of room for carry-ons. We departed on-time. The flight was smooth and quiet (though there was a lot more noise near the front of the plane). The plane was clean though you could tell it was older. The bathroom was a little smelly and the air conditioning was not the greatest (when we arrived in Sanford, they asked us to close the shades and turn our air all the way on to help keep the plane cool). The flight attendents were nice. They had snack boxes for sale and they had complimentary beverages.
It took a long time for our bags to get to the baggage carousel. Not sure if this was due to the airline, or the Sanford airport. The airport itself was nice, uncrowded, easy to get a rental car and be on our way.
The return flight was about the same. Similar wait at ticket counter, though much more room. Easy drop-off of car at rental counter (used Hertz drop-box to return keys because we had an early flight before rental counters opened). Flight left on time and we arrived back at LVI on schedule. 20 minute wait for luggage to start appearing on carousel! Quick and easy exit from LVI.
All in all, we had a good experience and would definitely consider Southeast Airlines again, especially when the airfare is so much cheaper than Delta or Continental out of Newark which we have always used in the past.
I was a little nervous flying a small charter airline (what happens if there's a mechanical problem with the plane and there's no back-up? What if they cancel or change the flight which they have greater flexibility to do since they are a public charter? What happens if our family of 4 can't sit near each other because they don't pre-assign seats? etc. etc. etc.)
Our experience turned out to be very positive. They did change our flight times but that was 3-4 months before our trip and we were allowed to switch days with no penalty. When we arrived at LVI (Lehigh Valley International, formerly Allentown airport) we were assigned two seats in row 18 and two in row 19. That turned out to be fine since the MD-80 planes they use have 3 seats on one side of the aisle but only 2 on the other so we were on the side with just 2 seats. The check-in counter was cramped and we did wait about 15 minutes (and we arrived early).
There was plenty of room for carry-ons. We departed on-time. The flight was smooth and quiet (though there was a lot more noise near the front of the plane). The plane was clean though you could tell it was older. The bathroom was a little smelly and the air conditioning was not the greatest (when we arrived in Sanford, they asked us to close the shades and turn our air all the way on to help keep the plane cool). The flight attendents were nice. They had snack boxes for sale and they had complimentary beverages.
It took a long time for our bags to get to the baggage carousel. Not sure if this was due to the airline, or the Sanford airport. The airport itself was nice, uncrowded, easy to get a rental car and be on our way.
The return flight was about the same. Similar wait at ticket counter, though much more room. Easy drop-off of car at rental counter (used Hertz drop-box to return keys because we had an early flight before rental counters opened). Flight left on time and we arrived back at LVI on schedule. 20 minute wait for luggage to start appearing on carousel! Quick and easy exit from LVI.
All in all, we had a good experience and would definitely consider Southeast Airlines again, especially when the airfare is so much cheaper than Delta or Continental out of Newark which we have always used in the past.
