Trans Meridian Airlines

[Loriannf]

We're flying TMA on Friday. Does anyone know if they have beverage/snacks available on their flights? We're going Toledo to Sanford at 7:55 a.m.
I've no problem taking snacks, but don't want to take drinks unless I have to.

Thanks.

Lori

 

[snowy76]

We fly TMA from Syracuse and are always on the 7:40 flight. They no longer serve meals because the flight is just over two hours.... but yes, they do have beverage service and a small snack like pretzels.

 

[snowy76]

I should add -- although I like TMA -- be ready if there are any delays this week due to Dennis...

Being a charter airline, TMA has a hard time recovering from weather-related delays. On July 1 we waited six hours longer then scheduled for our flight to leave Sanford because of storms the night before in Illinois and Ohio. The Rockford, Toledo, Syracuse, and Allentown flights were all delayed until TMA could get planes on loan from other charter airlines.

 

[kendzee94]

Snowy 76- I have to ask you because we're also in central NY. How was the TMA flight to Sanford. We usually take USAIR and are considering TMA due to the direct flight. My hesitation is for two reasons: (we took TMA to/from Vegas last year and I thought one of the planes was not in good condition-moldings falling off around the windows, pilot having to check the owner's manual to get the safety light on verifying door was locked-yikes!) the condition of the planes and the length of the trip to WDW from Sanford.

 

[snowy76]

We've done the flight to Sanford twice; this year we flew a 757 and I thought the plane was in very good shape (I've definitely heard about the condition of some of the planes so I was looking for this). One odd thing was that one of the lavatory lights did not go on until you locked the door but other than that we were fine.

We probably got out of the gate here around 7:45... flight was scheduled to land at 10:15 and we pulled into the gate around then... I think they told us actual flight time was 2:15. The ride was very smooth; the route does not go over the ocean, but once we were past Jacksonville the pilot took us over the beach at Daytona. I was sitting with a boy who had never flown before and his mom, and it made for a fun flight.

You know how it is out of Syracuse. You can't usually beat TMA's fares. JetBlue used to be competitive here but no more. And no one else flies direct at this point. So we'll keep with them for the time being. Like I said, I was definitely looking this time for plane issues, but had none. Don't forget though, if you go with TMA, you're another 40 minutes further out from Disney. So sometimes the ground transportation costs balance out that airfare savings. Let me know if you need any other info.

Where in CNY are you? We're in Camillus.

 

[CarolA]

We've done the flight to Sanford twice; this year we flew a 757 and I thought the plane was in very good shape (I've definitely heard about the condition of some of the planes so I was looking for this). One odd thing was that one of the lavatory lights did not go on until you locked the door but other than that we were fine.

.

That is actually a design feature on some planes to make sure you lock the door so there was nothing wrong there.

 

[kendzee94]

Where in CNY are you? We're in Camillus.

We're just outside of Cortland. So I have either Binghamton, Ithaca, or Syracuse to fly out of and believe it or not, Syracuse is the cheapest for us to fly out of. I'm trying to figure out whether to take US AIR or TMA out of Syracuse based on layover (or lack therof) and price. It looks like Sanford will cost about $80 more for the limo/van service that we need. Thanks for the info.

 

[Alexander]

We also fly out of Syracuse, we're up on Lake Ontario, near Oswego. We haven't flown TMA because I've been able to find better fares on United and Delta for the dates and times we want to fly, or I can book these other airlines a lot sooner for holiday weeks.

Anyhow, I was wondering where is Sanford airport? I thought it was next to MCO, but must be not if it's 40 minutes further for WDW. What ground transportation is available when you get there? Are there rental car agencies? Will they transport you to MCO? I had no idea that it was further away. Any insight would be great! I would have booked a flight and then not known what to do!

 

[snowy76]

That is actually a design feature on some planes to make sure you lock the door so there was nothing wrong there.

Oh, that makes sense! But the other lav did NOT do this. Odd.

 

[Loops]

We flew Transmeridian in April from Allentown, PA. They did have beverage service and snack service....our return flight we had lunch/beverage

 

[snowy76]

I got my master's in ed at Oswego!

Sanford airport is in a suburb on the northern end of Orlando. It's not affiliated with MCO. We've taken a town car from there (ran us about double the price compared to MCO) and in June we rented a car for the day (about $40) and drove ourselves. All the major rental companies are at Sanford. To get to WDW you can take I-4 (no tolls but lots of traffic) or take SR 417 (about $6 in tolls but almost no traffic even during rush hour).

One advantage we like about Sanford is it's much smaller than MCO. Actually, it's even smaller than Hancock in Syracuse. You're literally in and out in 10 minutes, which makes the drive not such a bad compromise, for us.

 

[CarolA]

Oh, that makes sense! But the other lav did NOT do this. Odd.

I bet they overrode the feature during some repair job.... I once flew to London with my Boyfriend who would not use the bathroom on the plane... (That's a LONG FLIGHT!) He went to the bathroom to take out his contacts, came out and said "How do I turn the light on" I explained he had to lock the door.... "I am NOT locking that door" He then tried to convince me he is not clastrophobic....