Philadelphia fly-ers. Any out there?

[wecroozin]

HI all fellow Diser's! We will be flying out of Philadelphia to Orlando Int'l in Dec 06(2 wks before xmas). I will be looking for a DIRECT flight. The question I have is what fares should I expect to find(cheapest) online and is there a better time to wait until for the best prices through the discounters? Any secrets?

I am anxious to make a reservation as soon as the dates are released for fear of not getting the time and direct connection we want. Am I being too hasty about reserving our flight? I have been searching out fares on most of the popular discount sites. Are there any secrets anyone knows about for finding the cheapest fares for direct and specific time flights? I have found most prices in the range of $230.00 to 250.00 per person round trip. I have heard of people getting fares around 170 to 190 but I can't find anything close to that anywhere.

I realize we will be flying on Saturdays(not flexible due to work schedules) and that is usually a little more costly. Does anyone have any experience finding fares cheaper than that? There are options to fly to Orlando-Sanford from our local airport, but we do not want the expense of a car rental(from airport to WDW) and we want to take advantage of the Magical Express service from Orlando Int'l. We are relatively new to flying and since we have quite some time to search out options hopefully that will benefit us. Also we are travelling with friends who have never flown yet and I am trying to make the trip as short and sweet as possible when it comes to the transportation.

Thanks in advance for any tips or tricks from those experienced WDW travelers.

 

[meloneyb21]

You could try Southwest. I just booked for April and they are the cheapest as far as I'm concerned. As far as December, I know that they don't release dates until just a couple of months prior. You could also download DING from them for really good prices.

 

[collins316]

I have usually found good fares from USAirways. I book directly from their web site. We only do the direct flights also. I may be more flexible with my departure dates though. I usually get $180 to $200 per ticket, round trip. I try to get mine about 6 months in advance. I waited too close once, (about a month an a half before when I wanted to leave) and the prices went up alot. I also try to get one of the earliest flights out that day- leaving at maybe 8AM. That maximizes my vacation day.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[ducklite]

I've booked as low as $84 r/t on US Airways. I fly r/t MCO to PHL just about every month, almost always direct, and seldome pay over $225 including taxes.

Anne

 

[wecroozin]

Collins you think like I do. I want a first thing in the morning flight to get there and enjoy the afternoon in a park or Downtown for some shopping and dinner at Fulton's. Maximum Magic moments. I will keep watch on US Air's site. I have gotten quotes of around 228pprt on there so far. Our last flight we took US Air and everything went very smooth. I may go with them due to our familiarity of their procedure and location. It will only be our 2nd time in the air. Thanks a bunch for the tips. I can always count on fellow Disney freaks for straight forward advice. I love this crowd.

WOW 84 BUX!!! Man I wish I could find those! You are sooo lucky.

 

[DonnaL]

We just flew SW 12/10 thru 12/17 and our tickets were $116.90 pp rd trip from PHL. When I originally booked (I always book one ways with SW ....that way if I need to change anything it's only one thing not the whole trip) about mid July for 12/10 (12/17 wasn't released yet) the price $79.00 ow. Then, when 12/17 was released in mid August I got $79.00 for the return also. However, SW's policy is to give you the lower price if your flights go on sale.
So, it pays to check the SW site on a daily basis after your ressies are made and see if prices have dropped. They will happily give you credit for the difference. The credit is to be used for a future flight within one year of original purchase. I don't have a problem with that because we go at least twice a year, sometimes three. However, some people have said they will credit your cc if nothing has changed with your reservation (meaning you haven't changed your flight, dates, etc) Don't know for sure because I've never done that.....just taken the credit for future flights. I've got $240.00 just waiting to be used now since our Dec flights ended up being $58.45 each way rather than $88.45 (totals with taxes). We fly on Saturdays also. One thing though...you mentioned using ME ....I don't think SW participates in ME ......not sure though since we always rent a car and haven't checked into it all that much.

 

[wecroozin]

I don't have a problem retrieving my luggage at Orlando and taking it to the ME counter. Especially at those rates for flights. Thanks for the heads up. I will definately keep my eyes open to SW along with US Air.

 

[Good Deeds]

We are flying out of Philadelphia on Saturday (1/21) on Airtran There are lots of good reviews about Airtran on these boards and we flew them last year and were very pleased. They have some great rates if you keep an eye out!!

We are flying direct for 49$ each way. Going out early and coming home late!! It's pretty easy to find $79 each way...but keep an eye out for their sales.

Best Wishes

 

[officer tigger]

We flew out of Philly on 12/04/05 for our WDW trip. We had a 7:40 A.M. flight. We paid $186.90 per person round trip. We booked about six months out.
Also, we stayed at the Marriot at the airport the night before the flight. Ended up being the best choice we made. When we woke up in the morning it had snowed the night before. By 6:A.M. it was raining. Glad we just had to walk out of the hotel and into the U.S. Air terminal. Would have been a real treat trying to unload two small children then park the car in that mess.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

We have used AirTran from Philly to Orlando several times now. Newer planes, friendly employees, and good service. Their prices are pretty good and they run specials that you can only find on their web site. Definitely take the first flight out. Not only does this give you almost a whole day at WDW, chances are they won't change the flight time by more than a few minutes. The only complaint I have is that AirTran is always changing their schedules, which can make a mess of your plans. They will send you an e-mail telling you of any changes, but they come way after the changes have been made. The earliest flight moves by only a few minutes. Flights during the day can sometimes make major time moves or be cancelled.

 

[wecroozin]

Once again THANKS for all the info. I had not even heard of AirTran so this is another option I will keep my eye on. You guys are great!

 

[travlnman1]

I personally wouldnt wait until Southwest opens up their flight schedule. I would book Air Tran. They are the best out of Phila because you dont have all the congestion at the terminals the way you do with USAirways.
I booked for June and paid $225.00. High for Phila but I wasnt willing to hang in there until Southwest opened up.

 

[Kycha]

I personally wouldnt wait until Southwest opens up their flight schedule. I would book Air Tran. They are the best out of Phila because you dont have all the congestion at the terminals the way you do with USAirways.

Right now Airtran is the better choice in my opinion. They release their dates much sooner than Southwest. Right now Airtran is showing flights for September. Southwest is only showing up to June. Airtran also allows you to check in via internet up to 24 hours before your flight departs. So you have the chance to pick your seats before you get to the airport. Southwest is basically first come, first served for seating. Airtran and Southwest are comparable in rates. The four times I have used Airtran, I have paid around $150 round trip from Baltimore to MCO.

 

[abk96]

We flew from PHL to MCO in July for $80 round trip with USAirways.

This April we are flying USAirways again for $100 round trip. We were planning on leaving on a Saturday but quickly changed that to Wednesday when we were quoted $556 round trip each. I almost fell over!!

 

[puffkin]

We just flew 12/9-12/17. The prices I got were basically the same for Friday or Saturday departures.

We flew Southwest going down, 6:35 a.m. flight (we always try to get the earliest flight out). I originally booked when flights were released in July at $79 and caught two fare sales which eventually brought the price down to $49. Luckily I was able to get the difference credited back to my credit card, which is a great perk of Southwest.

Coming home, I like to take the latest flight out of MCO, usually on a Saturday. We flew Airtran home on an 8:25 p.m. I believe the latest Southwest flight was 4 p.m. or so which was too early for us. I caught a fare sale in September and got that flight for $59.

I think you should hold out until summer when Southwest releases their flights. Usually after that, Airtran and USAir start having fare sales and the prices come down. I wouldn't fly for over $79 one way to PHL. For your dates, that is way too high. I know it is hard to be patient, but it will pay off in the end.

On a side note, we have flown during that week twice now in December, and both times we have had a snowstorm. Be aware that the City plows the Airport. We were told by Southwest personnel that their gates get plowed last. So, if you fly Southwest and there is bad weather, you will most likely get affected. This trip, only 10% of flights were delayed/cancelled by the weather at PHL, but most were Southwest flights. If we would have been on another airline, we probably wouldn't have been stuck at PHL for 6 hours!

Good luck with your search!

 

[wecroozin]

Ok guys, I'm gonna take the advice and wait it out. Those prices are great! I have checked out the site and they have those fares right on the site. I would never have guessed you could get them that cheap right from them directly. When should I expect to be able to book flights through Airtran or Southwest for December? Any guesstimates as to when they release those schedules?

I gotta make myself a note on the calendar or I'll forget. I am a forgetful person.

 

[DonnaL]

This past year fares up to 12/12 were released on 7/15/05 and beyond the 12th were released about mid August. If the dates of your travel are not all released at once you can still make one way ressies with SW and then as soon as the later dates released make the return ressies. The only difference with this is you will have two confirmation numbers rather than one. Some people also say it makes you more susceptible to TSA screening with a one way. Personally, I haven't found that to be the case. By making the one ways it's also easier if ticket prices drop on one or the other to make the changes. Can't answer any AirTran questions since I haven't flown with them.
We just like SW too much!!!

 

[DonnaL]

Kycha,

You can also check in online with SW 24 hours before flight. We do it all the time. Have never gotten anything but an A boarding pass. A few years back you have to wait until after 12 midnight the day of your flight to check in, but, that was changed to 24 hours before sometime ago.

 

[Kycha]

Kycha,

You can also check in online with SW 24 hours before flight. We do it all the time. Have never gotten anything but an A boarding pass. A few years back you have to wait until after 12 midnight the day of your flight to check in, but, that was changed to 24 hours before sometime ago.

Yes, you are right. But with Airtran you can pick your seat when you check in online. On Southwest you only get the boarding pass, no seating assignment. I don't have a problem with Southwest. If their prices were significantly cheaper than Airtran I would fly them in a heartbeat. I just haven't found much of a difference in fares between the two.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

I think you should hold out until summer when Southwest releases their flights. Usually after that, Airtran and USAir start having fare sales and the prices come down. I wouldn't fly for over $79 one way to PHL. For your dates, that is way too high. I know it is hard to be patient, but it will pay off in the end.

So your prediction is that Airtran for August will probably come lower than the $79 each way it is now listed for?