Southwest?

[switch15foot]

Considering flying via Buffalo instead of Toronto to potential save some money even with the dollar not being good.

Four adults flying Sept 24 to Oct 2. Plan would be just to drive and park, no need for hotel overnight.

When is the best time to purchase Southwest flights?

Is it worth it flying out of Buffalo?

Normally fly via Westjet and just two adults, due to having Westjet credit card that gets $99 companion flight.

 

[Disneylover99]

Your flights will open up Feb. 18. Generally, we find it's best to book the day flights open for that time of year. Flying out of Buffalo has been worth it for us and we fly SW. The past few years we have managed to get return flights for $198 per person. That price is worth it for us, even with our sinking dollar, especially with no baggage fees. Plus we get direct flights at awesome times.

 

[mshanson3121]

We've flown SW before, it was several years ago, but we had great luck with them. My in-laws flew SW to Florida this summer, and again, had very good luck, and we were able to get much cheaper flights.

 

[lizzyb]

We really like flying out of Buffalo... so much simpler. Southwest is good but if I can I fly with Jetblue.

 

[tiggergal15]

I love SW. Just remember there is no reserved seats. I have never had a problem getting seats together. I love that each person gets 2 checked bags for free! Regular size and weight limits apply of course.

 

[pigletto]

We like Southwest just fine. We always purchase EBCI and are among the first to board the plane. And the two free checked bags are awesome. I also love Jetblue, but almost always find Southwest to be cheaper out of Buffalo. You might want to check both airlines for your flights.
We've flown Southwest maybe 10-12 times now and we love the Buffalo airport. It's exceptionally easy to navigate because it's so small.
On the other hand, due to the dollar, you might not save much at all depending what you are used to paying.

 

[disneymath]

Even with Early Bird check-in fees and an extra hotel night on top of the exchange rate, it is stiil going to be cheaper for us to fly out of BUF on SW for our upcoming trip instead of YYZ on AC or WJ. We are a party of 8, so can't take a chance on last minute deals. Booked in Dec. for July.

 

[switch15foot]

so it sounds like should book as soon as flight dates are available

 

[Disneylover99]

so it sounds like should book as soon as flight dates are available

Only if the prices are good or what you can live with. Decide what your limit is. Right now my limit is $230 per person return and that's only if I can get my exact dates and times I want. Otherwise, we're going to drive.

 

[greenclan67]

I booked our March Break vacation Buf to Mco at $157 and $162 more then I wanted to pay. But I have been watching them like crazy, and today March 12th (my departure day) dropped to $110 and $117 I changed and have a nice credit. They have been all over the map!

 

[allybabba98]

We have driven to Buffalo three times now and for five people the price difference is significant. I like the fact that Buffalo is a small airport and so far we have had good experiences. We did find it was a lot to drive and then board the plane all on the same day but we have three kids in tow so I think with four adults you will be fine.

 

[marisabuzz]

We flew SW to Orlando for the first time last year. We liked the convenience of hitting the Walmart in Niagara, NY before heading to the airport. We also liked that we could check-in our bags at the resort and MDE pickup was 3 hours before flight instead of 4 for international flights. For that trip, we booked our flight late March for our trip over May 2-4. We paid just under $900 USD return for three people nonstop flights to MCO.

This year, we are looking for a June flight on Southwest for four people (we have to pay for a seat for our youngest) and it looks like it'll also be under $900 USD return for four nonstop. The exchange puts it at about $1200CAD. It's still better than paying $1500-$2K for the flight out of YYZ. I've seen it as low as $107pp per flight, even when Black Friday deals were out.

 

[marisabuzz]

Ooh, another thread reminded me of this, but I'm not sure if anyone has done it. We have a CBI mailbox in Niagara. Because we can't get the bands shipped to our home, we plan on getting our Magic Bands shipped there so that we can have them when we land in Orlando. Flying out of Buffalo will let us pick up our bands before heading to the airport.

 

[Disneylover99]

I booked our March Break vacation Buf to Mco at $157 and $162 more then I wanted to pay. But I have been watching them like crazy, and today March 12th (my departure day) dropped to $110 and $117 I changed and have a nice credit. They have been all over the map!

Nice.
As soon as I read this, I ventured over to the SW website and *almost* booked a trip for March break. That's a great price going down on a Saturday.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We fly from BUF a lot and have been from the last 12 years or so. Probably 95% of the time it's on SW. I booked for March break this year when the dates opened up last August. I paid $220 USD each RT. I paid roughly that same price for MB last year. If I had booked the same dates in March flying out of YYZ would have had to pay $700 per ticket and the flight times were terrible.

 

[greenclan67]

We fly from BUF a lot and have been from the last 12 years or so. Probably 95% of the time it's on SW. I booked for March break this year when the dates opened up last August. I paid $220 USD each RT. I paid roughly that same price for MB last year. If I had booked the same dates in March flying out of YYZ would have had to pay $700 per ticket and the flight times were terrible.

Have u checked them lately? They had two flights down to $110 and a couple at $117. They have been going up in the evening and down in the morning.

 

[LittleFlounder]

I'm wondering what the SW prices out of Buffalo will be for a possible August trip...and after adding in the cost of gas to and from the Toronto area and maybe an overnight stay at a hotel....I'm curious if it would even be worth it after all those add-ons, and then the exchange rate. 2 years ago, we flew out of BUF and stayed over the night before and saved loads! I'm beginning to think flights out of YYZ might end up being cheaper this time around.

 

[dsneygirl]

I'm wondering what the SW prices out of Buffalo will be for a possible August trip...and after adding in the cost of gas to and from the Toronto area and maybe an overnight stay at a hotel....I'm curious if it would even be worth it after all those add-ons, and then the exchange rate. 2 years ago, we flew out of BUF and stayed over the night before and saved loads! I'm beginning to think flights out of YYZ might end up being cheaper this time around.

I wouldn't factor in gas at all. We fill up every time we cross and what we save more than covers our trip (even with the exchange) the gas is like 50c.L right now.

Hotels usually run $100-$150.

We have flown Buffalo for years (over 2 dozen trips) and usually figure $200 round trip is a great price.

 

[LittleFlounder]

I wouldn't factor in gas at all. We fill up every time we cross and what we save more than covers our trip (even with the exchange) the gas is like 50c.L right now.

Hotels usually run $100-$150.

We have flown Buffalo for years (over 2 dozen trips) and usually figure $200 round trip is a great price.

I have a figure in gas, as I don't drive and would have to pay a family member the gas money to drive us. There would just be 2 of us flying, so the savings may not be as much for us. Hmmm...

 

[dancin Disney style]

Have u checked them lately? They had two flights down to $110 and a couple at $117. They have been going up in the evening and down in the morning.

After I read your post about the price drop I went back and double checked what I paid. I paid $99 for my southbound and $119 northbound....doubt that I will do any better. I do watch it every day anyway. It's a habit that I developed years ago.
I might change my southbound to leave a day earlier on the same flight. Right now I can do it for an extra $3 each. I'm just waiting until the new semester starts, next week, to see how DD feels about missing an extra day.