Question re flights from ewr phl or BWI

[suebeelin]

not sure if this is the right forum but I'm most comfortable in the dvc forum .

Have a question on flights and airports.

We currently live in central PA, and it's a trek to the airports.

Wilkes barre is 1hr, Harrisburg 1.5hr, ewr 2.5hrs, phl 2.5hrs and BWI 3hrs.

No direct flights from Wilkes barre or Harrisburg so ruling then out.

We are very specific on dates (DH has very rigid schedule) and times (kids high maintenance with sleep issues).

We can only fly out btwn 11:30-2:30pm bc of high maint children with sleep issues.

Flights are currently btwn $190 (BWI which we are not familiar with so not comfortable there- No highway there only small roads) to $270 (ewr). Ruling out phl bc flights are $310 at the times we need.

Is it worth trying out BWI to save $350 across 4 tickets? Is BWI better than ewr?

Our trip is in early December so worried about the roads (BWI has no highway or straight shoot).

Should we wait another few months and watch the fates given our narrow restrictions on times and dates?

Any advice appreciated!!

 

[disney junky]

We fly out of BWI all the time. It's a fairly easy airport to navigate with a number of parking options. If you head down 83, it's a pretty direct drive. I think you might be pleased with BWI. We live near Hershey, so it's about 2 hours for us.

 

[suebeelin]

We fly out of BWI all the time. It's a fairly easy airport to navigate with a number of parking options. If you head down 83, it's a pretty direct drive. I think you might be pleased with BWI. We live near Hershey, so it's about 2 hours for us.

We are in Danville, but might move to Hershey next year! If we do can I pick your brain?!!

 

[disney junky]

Yep. I'm actually a realtor in the Palmyra/Hershey area. Just PM me.

 

[suebeelin]

Yep. I'm actually a realtor in the Palmyra/Hershey area. Just PM me.

Will do . DH is finishing up residency and may do fellowship at Hershey. Match day is June 15th, will know then.

Quick question- do you prefer BWI over phl? Do you only fly non stops, as well?

Also, we are getting back on a weekday and worried about rush hour traffic. The flight gets in at 4pm. Should we be worried?

Do yu recommend we wait for prices to drop? It's early December....

 

[cheerdad]

ABE has Allegiant although they probably will not match your times. Small easy to navigate airport. Trenton NJ airport has Frontier Airlines, have never flown Frontier but the airport is small and easy to navigate. Probably easier to get to than Philly.

 

[cheerdad]

I forgot to mention Allegiant flies to Sanford Airport so no DME

 

[disney junky]

I book Southwest as soon as they come available. Wanna get away flights. They have some flights with stops but mostly they are direct. I think you'll probably run into some traffic getting back, but it gets lighter as you head away from BWI. Philadelphia is about the same distance from here, maybe a little longer, but it involves the PA Turnpike and way more traffic. The airport isn't as easy to navigate either. My daughter went to UCF and we did both depending on availability, and I always preferred picking her up in Baltimore. It's not a really large airport.

 

[suebeelin]

ABE has Allegiant although they probably will not match your times. Small easy to navigate airport. Trenton NJ airport has Frontier Airlines, have never flown Frontier but the airport is small and easy to navigate. Probably easier to get to than Philly.

Thx.... Trenton is easy for us bc my parents live 20min away, but the times are horrid (6pm or 9am flight). Can't do Sanford bc no ME and don't want to rent a car.

We are leaning towards just booking JetBlue for $188 out of BWI, but waiting on southwest to open up their December dates (tomorrow).

Decisions, decisions!

We are so comfortable with EWR (lived in mid jersey or NYC until 3yrs ago) that we are shy about new airports!

 

[suebeelin]

I book Southwest as soon as they come available. Wanna get away flights. They have some flights with stops but mostly they are direct. I think you'll probably run into some traffic getting back, but it gets lighter as you head away from BWI. Philadelphia is about the same distance from here, maybe a little longer, but it involves the PA Turnpike and way more traffic. The airport isn't as easy to navigate either. My daughter went to UCF and we did both depending on availability, and I always preferred picking her up in Baltimore. It's not a really large airport.

Thx. We are leaning BWI and outside our comfort zone. I think someone mentioned that SW opens up their December dates tomorrow. Thanks for the tips!!!!!!

 

[Anal Annie]

Can't help with your driving issues but we live in MD and are approximately 1 hr. from each BWI, National and Dulles so I always search for each of them BUT BWI would always be our 1st choice if the price is right. There are 2 Fastpark lots within 10 minutes (the one on W. Nursery Rd. is only like $7.40 / day and they literally tell you what row to park in & send the shuttle immediately behind you to pick you up). The airport itself is easy to navigate too. I always look for decent flights on SW & JetBlue. I hawk both airlines prices & book as soon as I see the best price on the best flight times for us - often one-way at a time. For our trip this past January I got round trip on JetBlue for $146. Then I recently booked a combo of SW & JetBlue for our September trip (JB down & SW return) for $165. Worst thing about JB is they don't offer many direct flights - most go thru Boston which is simply stoooopid. Anyway, maybe u could even drive down to Baltimore the night before & do a "stay & fly" package that includes parking w/ a shuttle to BWI if the price is right? Nobody wants to drive further than they have to but don't be afraid of BWI.

 

[cassie58]

With SW opening tomorrow, I would definitely check out BWI, as I believe they are a hub for SW , and have quite a few flights, and we noticed they were often about $10-20 cheaper than out of Philly. We are in S. Jersey, so use Philly as closest, but have looked at BWI, since my mother-in-law lives in DE and uses it to fly to brother-in-law's in AL, and thinks it is pretty easy to navigate. People on here have also reported that SW usually has a big sale in early June, with certain flights being really good prices, so,you might want to keep an eye on that if nothing pops for you tomorrow. The good thing about SW is the no change fees if you need to change anything, and the credit back if a flight drops in price, and if one way has a great deal, you can book that and then keep checking for the other way. And of course, no bag fees to deal with!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Thx....
Decisions, decisions!

We are so comfortable with EWR (lived in mid jersey or NYC until 3yrs ago) that we are shy about new airports!

Off topic....can you recommend off site parking at Newark? We have a 3 week vacation, Coming home on Icelandic, we are not familiar with Newark. More comfortable with Philly.

 

[suebeelin]

Off topic....can you recommend off site parking at Newark? We have a 3 week vacation, Coming home on Icelandic, we are not familiar with Newark. More comfortable with Philly.

We haven't used offsite parking at ewr (only onsite, which is steep- otherwise we could NJ Transit it), but I know they are ok bc my brother has used offsite parking. I think he finds groupon deals for their offsite parking, as well. He's very into cost cutting

FYI- my parents live right outside Princeton (Plainsboro), and my dad *just* uber'ed hos trip to Newark airport for under $60. Don't know how far you are from Newark, but it might make sense to check out uber. Before uber, cabs from Princeton ran $100-125 to Newark one way.

Another alternative is to drive to a NJ transit station (metro park? Secaucus?), where parking was $5/day (haven't checked in a few years). But that would be a wash bc I think offsite parking is $7-8/day.

I hope that helps-- 3 weeks is a super long time!!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We haven't used offsite parking at ewr (only onsite, which is steep- otherwise we could NJ Transit it), but I know they are ok bc my brother has used offsite parking. I think he finds groupon deals for their offsite parking, as well. He's very into cost cutting

FYI- my parents live right outside Princeton (Plainsboro), and my dad *just* uber'ed hos trip to Newark airport for under $60. Don't know how far you are from Newark, but it might make sense to check out uber. Before uber, cabs from Princeton ran $100-125 to Newark one way.

Another alternative is to drive to a NJ transit station (metro park? Secaucus?), where parking was $5/day (haven't checked in a few years). But that would be a wash bc I think offsite parking is $7-8/day.

I hope that helps-- 3 weeks is a super long time!!!

Yes it helps. I would most likely be traveling to/from Toms River. You have given me things to think about.

 

[suebeelin]

Yes it helps. I would most likely be traveling to/from Toms River. You have given me things to think about.

My brother lives in toms river!! He just bought into DVC, as well as his house there (green island Blvd?). You should do a jersey shore dvc get together, lol!

I'll find out how much uber'ing it from toms river will be. I think it's similarly priced.

 

[suebeelin]

Ouch, it looks like $100-136/trip on uber from toms river. It still might be worth it if you're gone 21 days ($8/day or $168 vs $200-270 but saving time and gas).

My brother commutes to Manhattan everyday, if it makes you feel better

 

[CraigInPA]

For a 3 week trip, I'd see if there's a shuttle/limo service that I could take. No way would I want to put my car in a lot in Newark for 3 weeks and expect it to still be there when I return. It's a fact that the Newark airport leads the nation in auto theft. Plus, a shuttle avoids having to dig out your car if it should snow.

 

[suebeelin]

Ahhh, this never occurred to me. Then again I don't steal cars...

http://hubpages.com/travel/Airport-Parking-Dangers