Several questions about flying/airlines

[bigbabyblues]

I have never flown, but my DH has. He normally flies NW, only one time he flew Delta, and it was horrible from what he said; said he'd never go Delta again. We were planning on using his FF miles from NW to get two of our plane tickets for our Disney trip, but since our trip was moved from May 2005 to Sept 04 last week, there are no seats available on the flight we wanted to use FF miles.

DH called NW VIP World Perks line (whatever it's called, the # he was trying to book with FF miles) and after he found out couldn't use FF, he asked about ticket prices. He was quoted somewhere around $820, that is from Columbus, OH to Detroit, MI with an hour layover, then from Detroit to MCO. Return is the same way, for 2 adult tickets, a child, and a discounted (I think) ticket for our 15-month old. He stopped at a TA office in the mall last Sunday just to see if they had anything, and they had a direct flight from Columbus to MCO that would cost about $740 for all of us, but it was a Delta flight.

DH still wants to go with NW, because he thinks DS3 would like the train inside Detroit airport. I think that's crazy, it's more money, and it's going to require changing planes.

Can I have opinions from people who've flown before? Am I missing something?

Thanks!

Steph

 

[Chicago526]

I've never flown either airline, so I can't comment on the airlines themselves.

But I'd take the non-stop flight on Delta (and make sure it's a non-stop and not direct. Direct means it DOES make a stop, you just don't have to change planes). A connecting or direct flight means you have 2 chances of being delayed or canceled, plus the hassle of changing aircraft with 2 little ones in tow. And it seems the non-stop on DL (if it is a true non-stop, that is!) is cheaper.

However, I have heard that Delta's customer services leave a bit to be desired, and that NW tends to have rather good service, and that's important to some people. But I could care less about friendly flight attendants if it means a non-stop flight that gets me from point A to point B safely.

Thats just my 2 cents!

 

[NotUrsula]

Well, my DH is on a Delta embargo, too, but he's not stupid enough to refuse to fly them entirely if it turned out that they had the best price by a wide margin. In our case, the reason that Delta is in our bad book is the Atlanta airport. We were on a flight that we now refer to as the Vomit Express, because it sat on the runway for so long on a clear sunny day (with the A/C off) that the temperature inside the aircraft reached around 100 degrees, causing several people, including our DS, to start becoming ill. The whole ground-based ordeal lasted 3 hours and 18 minutes, then we had to suffer through a 2 hour flight on that plane. Hartsfield stacks planes in a big way, and we will move heaven and earth not to make a transfer there now, especially in summer.

I find it interesting that your DH is so sold on NWA; their service record is so bad that they are commonly nicknamed "Northworst" by frequent flyers. Do you know what happened on that Delta flight? If the incident was related to the airport he was in, avoiding the airport might be enough to avoid the problem. BTW, lots of airports have trains, including MCO (Orlando Int'l) ; where you have to ride a monorail from the main terminal to the concourse areas. Yes, your DS probably will like it; we always joke that the MCO monorail counts as the first and last ride of every Disney trip for our son.

As for your own flights, I just checked Travelocity's flexible date engine for September. Delta and USAir are both showing lots of availability on non-stop flights from CMH to MCO, and at this moment in time, they are both showing a low fare of $183 for that route. The flight times on Delta look a bit better, however.
Southwest also flies that route nonstop; they have an even better price at the moment, though only by a few dollars. (A travel agent won't quote Southwest, because they don't pay commission. BTW, Southwest's FF plan does not have seat availability restrictions; if there are seats on the plane, you can have them. Your DH might want to consider that if FF travel is important to him.)

 

[bigbabyblues]

Thanks for the input!

I didn't realize there was a difference between direct and non-stop, I think he did say non-stop though. I'll have him check to make sure.

I don't know exactly what happened on the flight, I did at one time, but I don't remember. I have heard others complain about NW, maybe he's just been lucky?

Thanks for the tip about the train at MCO too, if that's DH true reasoning, then there's no reason to pay more money and have to change planes.

 

[safetymom]

I have flown through Detroit and I really enjoyed the airport. I do a lot of flying and really enjoy checking out each airport. The elevated train and the tunnel with the lights and music are fun to see.

So if you had to connect through Detroit it wouldn't necessarily be a bad choice.

 

[CarolA]

You pay your money you take your chances. In reality NW is no better or worse the Delta. Any of them can have a bad day.

I would take the shorter cheaper flight in a heartbeat regardless of the airline.

Personally swearing off an airline is dangerous. If you keep doing that pretty soon you are walking (I have had pretty horrid experiences on NW, USAIR, Delta, SW and AA. If I gave them all up I would be in bad shape! LOL!)

 

[Jestocost]

You can have a bad experience on any airline; I don't know that in most cases one is universally and significantly worse (or better) than the others. Same with airports.

Your DH had a bad experience on Delta, I bet the people who sat on the runway in a NW plane for eight hours during a snowstorm after landing in Detroit (which was after being delayed overnight somewhere in Florida) won't fly them again.

For my part, most of my worst flying experiences have occurred while connecting through Detroit: touch and go landings, six hour delays (thank heavens for the Jose Cuervo Tequilaria!), etc. It's a reasonably nice airport now, but I wouldn't choose to spend half a day there (or in any airport).

I'd actually pay more for a non-stop (but a Delta "non-stop" from Columbus to MCO seems odd since Delta has a hub in Cincinnati) no matter what airline. Connections always put you at a significantly higher risk of delays, cancellations and missed flights, and they take a lot more time that would be better spent at WDW (or home).

 

[dcfromva]

bigbabyblues,
I just peeked over at expedia and I noticed several non-stop flights on DAL from CMH (Columbus) to MCO (Orlando) in late Sept just to confirm.

I am not a frequent flyer like some of the folks on this board, but I usually fly somewhere between 6 to 10 flights a year. (I usually go for the best price--but I will pay a little more for a non-stop. )I generally fly Delta once a year.
If you can get a non-stop flight and for less money, Wow! I would say go for it! Just by having to land at an airport and then the layover time and the taxi/take off time, et'c adds time onto your travel day. When it comes to traveling with young children, Less is truly more .

-DC

 

[The Dog]

I fly Northwest because they have rust bucket aircraft from the Nixon administration.

 

[seashoreCM]

Originally posted by NotUrsula
Vomit Express, because it sat on the runway for so long on a clear sunny day (with the A/C off) that the temperature inside the aircraft reached around 100 degrees, causing several people, including our DS, to start becoming ill.

Are you sure the passenger compartment wasn't running out of oxygen?

Did anybody have to be taken off the plane and treated? Maybe passengers need to take the initiative to ask to get off the plane if they are feeling ill.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

If you're on Northwest, making a connection in Detroit is very easy ... the whole terminal is pretty much a big long straight line. I haven't had the opportunity to fly Delta yet, but I've only had mostly minor problems in years of flying with Northwest.