Preferred Airlines

[foodiddiedoo]

This thread is giving me hives. I have flights booked on United and JetBlue because they’ve both had bad stats lately out of Newark. Looks like United improved and JetBlue got worse.

BTW, I just discovered that airlines are under no obligation to tell you why they cancel or delay flights.

I haven't had any issues on my last 4 flights on United out of Newark. Even during the really bad time my EWR to LAX flight took off on time. What remains to be seen if my flight to somewhere smaller like Indianapolis next week will be OK. Try not to worry too much!

 

[Chuck S]

I'm from CA so was used to flying from LAX to MCO so had plenty of options. I'm moving to the DFW area and guess whose main hub is there . For the price, I may be stuck with Southwest because it flies direct and I don't have to deal with the tiers in economy. I want an assigned seat, so this seat changes will work for me with SW but I'm annoyed by the charge for bags.


I actually like LAX - I've never had a hard time getting through security or issues with my flight. They also have tons of flights to MCO and I can usually grab a red-eye.


I will either have to get really good at carry on packing or just eat the cost. I wasn't always flying SW before so the bag charge isn't much of a change for me.

Just FYI, I know no one needs or wants another credit card, but if you get a Southwest Credit Card and charge the flights to that, you get one checked bag free. It can easiliy make up for the annual CC fee, especially if you fly more than once per year. Also American and Delta used to have non-stops to MCO from DFW, as we changed there occasionally when flying from SAT. I don't know if they still do or not, though.

 

[Girlstar30]

I do the every other year AP thing so on the off year Universal comes in, but I sometimes get a week at SSR and then a single night at hard rock - get the benefits crash and go back to SSR. This was Pre Epic where Universal was a 2 day park to me.

I hear a lot of people stay at SSR when theyre doing universal is it closer or something than the rest?

 

[Girlstar30]

We are driving distance to Disneyland. Our primary airline is Alaska.

Mostly fly out of Ontario, CA & San Diego. They have good non stop options. Good service and reliability. I do have the Southwest credit card and use them too. (Glad that card gives me the free checked now after those changes). Just not fan how their schedules bounce city to city patterns, that if one delay someplace, domino effects entire routes. Too many plane changes with limited non stops. My DW has the Alaska card and get the free checked with group C boarding.

That's another appealing thing i should have mentioned, nonstop. Southwest always had 1 or 2 transfers. I know costco is now offering Alaska gift cards instead of Southwest so this is a strong contender

 

[Girlstar30]

RIP Southwest free checked bags, I am still mourning lol We fly out of SLC, so Delta will probably be our new main airline. I do enjoy them, inflight entertainment is great for the kids, just pricey 99% of the time. Breeze's hub is in Provo, so they are becoming increasingly popular here! I heard nothing but good things so we plan on trying them out for December trip!

Me too. I did get them to agree to refund me bag fees for this upcoming trip because I needed to do a change and I bought before the policy, but they're being pretty firm on too bad so sad if you change after the policy even if you bought before youre sol.

Took me blasting them on Twitter (x) to get results, but ofc im not going to be able to do that again nor do I want to

 

[Girlstar30]

From my local airport to MCO my preferred option is JetBlue. Second is southwest. Their changes don’t bother me and for a couple like us the companion pass is a killer deal. I don’t use them more because their options sometimes don’t work for us. Breeze, Avelo and Frontier are options, but they are even more limited and I try to avoid the ultra low cost carriers unless it’s the only option.

In general my preferred airline is Delta, and I use them to other destinations most of the time. I just don’t want a layover in Atlanta that will double my travel time to Orlando.

I used to love jetblue but prices went up a lot since I first started using them which is why I went sw

 

[byurick]

Just FYI, I know no one needs or wants another credit card, but if you get a Southwest Credit Card and charge the flights to that, you get one checked bag free. It can easiliy make up for the annual CC fee, especially if you fly more than once per year. Also American and Delta used to have non-stops to MCO from DFW, as we changed there occasionally when flying from SAT. I don't know if they still do or not, though.

As long as you are the card holder and made the flight reservations you don't have to actually use the CC to pay for the flight to get free bags. They just go by your rapid rewards account.

 

[Girlstar30]

Still SW for us. I've really been disappointed with the frequency of their last minute flight time changes, but with status and companion pass, we don't pay for bags and my flight is free whenever my wife flies.

Plus we've transitioned to carry-on travel for all but the longest of trips, so the bag policy wouldn't have affected us much anyway.

How do you get companion pass?

 

[Brian Noble]

I hear a lot of people stay at SSR when theyre doing universal is it closer or something than the rest?

If you don't need the close-to-Disney-parks location advantage, SSR has a lot to recommend it. Easy striking distance to entertainment/dining in Springs, not hard to book, and modest point requirements.

Even so, I'd probably rather book a Getaway via II at one of the Marriotts for Universal-focused trips, and use my DVC points for a more Disney trip. There are three near the interaction of Central FL Pkwy and Intl Drive.

 

[Mouseforward]

I hear a lot of people stay at SSR when theyre doing universal is it closer or something than the rest?

If you’re not doing Disney, then you want to use your points next to the most restaurants and stores. In addition it’s like 65 acres so plenty of places to take a walk. The other big thing is your car is parked right outside your unit. Contrast that with boardwalk where you gotta walk a mile to your car.

 

[Girlstar30]

If you don't need the close-to-Disney-parks location advantage, SSR has a lot to recommend it. Easy striking distance to entertainment/dining in Springs, not hard to book, and modest point requirements.

Even so, I'd probably rather book a Getaway via II at one of the Marriotts for Universal-focused trips, and use my DVC points for a more Disney trip. There are three near the interaction of Central FL Pkwy and Intl Drive.

II is a beast i haven't tried to slay yet lol, the whole thing seems so confusing to me

 

[Girlstar30]

If you’re not doing Disney, then you want to use your points next to the most restaurants and stores. In addition it’s like 65 acres so plenty of places to take a walk. The other big thing is your car is parked right outside your unit. Contrast that with boardwalk where you gotta walk a mile to your car.

Makes sense! At least i got that home resort advantage

 

[Girlstar30]

We’ve been loyal to Jetblue for our NYC area to MCO flights. Over 10yrs now.

The Jetblue credit card perks play a big part. Automatically it includes 50lb checked luggage for up to 4ppl (even if not using the card to pay for flight - the system recognizes you as a cardholder and automatically removes checked fees for your party). That has been great. We started with really good sign-up bonuses, and when booking flights on points those include all of our carryon luggage plus no change fees.

Which airport depends on flight times and pricing. HPN, EWR, JFK, LGA are within similar proximity for us. I ordered them from our most to least convenient. Best prices are usually the opposite order Though it is nice to have so many options!

I need to look into these airline credit cards now for sure, I try to avoid credit cards as I love to shop

 

[Girlstar30]

Southwest used to be mine, but recently we had to fly United, and even though we flew first class, we came back thinking "Well, maybe Southwest's changes won't be that bad!" The only other two airlines within 230 miles of us only fly 2-3 times week. So we're really stuck!

I think it will be like everything else where people are pissed at first and then it becomes the new normal.

I haven't totally discounted it yet, i just wouldnt buy lower than the wanna get away plus now and im sure other airlines will be comparable now thar lowest tier is out of the question for me.

The new rules are a bit confusing, they count the one year change timeline from when you originally booked and not from when you actually change it which I wasnt too happy about either, one thing is for sure, I sure would not like to work for them right now!

 

[Girlstar30]

I’m really upset about SW changes too, especially the baggage changes . We used to always drive to Orlando but last year we decided we’d start flying down every year and this past January we flew from DC to MCO on SW for around $800 round trip (including extra for priority boarding) for 5 of us and we each had at least one checked and one carry on bag. Now we’ll have to pay a lot more I guess, we stay for two weeks at a time so we pack a lot.

Same here i need at least two large suitcases for flying for myself, it saved a lot of $$. Everything that made them great is gone, RIP. I dont know anyone other airlines that offers free bags like that without having a cc

 

[Girlstar30]

We're in Oregon. Our preferred airline is Alaska. We made the change from Southwest about 7-8 years ago, primarily because Southwest was mostly only connecting flights, and with wife now needing a wheelchair, that became difficult. Alaska has the only non-stop flight from PDX-MCO of any airline. Great timing on that flight as well. For the past 4 years, Alaska has been cheaper than SWA. So pretty much a no-brainer. Why pay more to spend 10-12 hours traveling on SWA, when we can get there in <6 on Alaska?

Steve

With Alaska selling gcs at Costco now the same way southwest did, i feel like they want to scoop all us scorned sw folks up and I am here for it

 

[Girlstar30]

We are loyal to Delta. It helps that we live in a hub city but I don’t ever consider other airlines. Changes/cancellations are very easy with them which I appreciate very much, I rarely fly on the same itinerary as my initial booking!

Me neither which is why I need a new airline

 

[Girlstar30]

I'm from CA so was used to flying from LAX to MCO so had plenty of options. I'm moving to the DFW area and guess whose main hub is there . For the price, I may be stuck with Southwest because it flies direct and I don't have to deal with the tiers in economy. I want an assigned seat, so this seat changes will work for me with SW but I'm annoyed by the charge for bags.


I actually like LAX - I've never had a hard time getting through security or issues with my flight. They also have tons of flights to MCO and I can usually grab a red-eye.


I will either have to get really good at carry on packing or just eat the cost. I wasn't always flying SW before so the bag charge isn't much of a change for me.

We were so spoiled with the two free checked bags per person and the change any time and get the flight difference it is so sad lol

 

[Girlstar30]

I haven't had any issues on my last 4 flights on United out of Newark. Even during the really bad time my EWR to LAX flight took off on time. What remains to be seen if my flight to somewhere smaller like Indianapolis next week will be OK. Try not to worry too much!

As a california native i just love the smaller airlines, Lgb being my favorite its so much faster

 

[VGCgroupie]

If you don't need the close-to-Disney-parks location advantage, SSR has a lot to recommend it. Easy striking distance to entertainment/dining in Springs, not hard to book, and modest point requirements.

Even so, I'd probably rather book a Getaway via II at one of the Marriotts for Universal-focused trips, and use my DVC points for a more Disney trip. There are three near the interaction of Central FL Pkwy and Intl Drive.

I used to say Id do SSR for Universal, but now with Epic Universe and the new accommodations I would for sure stay on site there.