WEST JET DIRECT CALGARY >> ORLANDO/ August and hotel???

[chimo2u]

Hello! I live in Edmonton, but am very interested in the direct flight from Calgary to Orlando with West Jet. We have flown twice to Orlando, once...our first trip was when we where clueless and let AMA do all the planning/booking for our trip. We ended up on United flights from Edmonton. It was a horribly long experience...no TV/radio entertainment and about a 7.5 hr flight with transfers in Detroit. We hated it!! The second time we went (Sept 2009), I was a much-more seasoned planner and booked our trip directly through Disney as well as booked our own airfare directly through AC. I got a decent deal of approx $2,200.00 for the 4 of us and we flew the red eye from Edmonton to Toronto and then caught a 10am flight to Orlando arriving around 1 pm in the afternoon. The flight was not bad, but once again it was long with the layover in Toronto!

This time my son and I are headed to the world on our own August 21-28th. I chose a Saturday to Saturday trip so we could hopefully take advantage of Calgary's direct West Jet flight! The timings look terrific and it would be once up for 5 hrs, and then we are there without all the connections/ transferring!! How do you do customs when travelling on this flight? Do I pre-clear in Calgary before I board?? Also, for those who have bought these direct tickets before, Do you know when they usually go on sale?? I have been looking for about 3 months and they are still showing $428.00/ pp each way. That is quite a high price, I was hoping for under 1,000.00 for 2 people total!

One last question, we are planning on driving up to Calgary the night before and staying at a hotel near the airport. I am currently looking at the Holiday Inn Express Suites Calgary Airport. ($144.00/night) This hotel has a waterslide for the kiddo, a free breakfast in the AM, a complimentary shuttle to the airport and parking for a week at the hotel for my car * $49.00* for the week. If you have tried any Calgary area hotels, what would you suggest as a good "fly in/ fly out hotel??? Is there any other hotels you would suggest I look at, or is this hotel a good choice?

Thanks for taking the time to help me with my plans and questions! I value any and all advice/personal experiences!

Marie

 

[drag n' fly]

Unless things have changed WJ does not fly direct to Orlando in the summer months only fall and winter. Usually there is a layover in Toronto during that time.
There are loads of hotels in and around the airport. The one you mentioned is fine. Airport parking per week has really cheap new low rates so another option is to stay at the Delta onsite and park at the airport onsite. The closest place to sleep and park near the airport is the Acclaim hotel. It is brand new so I do not know much about it and parking rates are like 40 something bucks for the week. hth

 

[chimo2u]

Unless things have changed WJ does not fly direct to Orlando in the summer months only fall and winter. Usually there is a layover in Toronto during that time.
There are loads of hotels in and around the airport. The one you mentioned is fine. Airport parking per week has really cheap new low rates so another option is to stay at the Delta onsite and park at the airport onsite. The closest place to sleep and park near the airport is the Acclaim hotel. It is brand new so I do not know much about it and parking rates are like 40 something bucks for the week. hth

Thanks drag n' fly I was looking at acclaim hotel as well, but I don't think it has a pool. I have been on West Jet's website everyday looking for a good sale!! The dates I chose do have a direct flight...it leaves on Saturdays in the summer and returns on Saturdays as well. It departs at around 9:55 am and arrives in Orlando around 4:55 pm. The departure flight is direct as well, leaving Orlando around 5 pm and arriving back in Calgary at 9:15pm. The schedules are wonderful, which is why I am keeping a close eye on when they may lower the prices. I just looked today and noticed that if I wanted those same flights for around May/June, I could get it for about $ 198 pp each way. This is the price I am waiting for it to drop too so I can book!
Soon hopefully!!
Thanks again for the hotel recommendation, I will price out Acclaims rates versus what we get staying at HIE suites Calgary Airport.
Another Hotel I was looking at was the Sheraton Caviler, I could get that for about $129.00/night, but it does not have breakfast and the parking is an extra charge too for the week.
Keeping fingers crossed that Seat Sales happen soon so I don't miss out on booking the flights I want!!! Any other opinions/thoughts are welcomed!

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Another option you might want to look at are flights with Northwest/Delta. Unfortunately their flights aren't direct however, their flight times are great and there are tons of flights with only 1 stopover (usually in Minneapolis for an hour or two at the most). We like being able to clear US customs here in Edmonton and find spending time at the Minneapolis airport quite enjoyable (tons of shopping/restaurants) and it allows us to walk and stretch our legs.

 

[disneyvacationmom]

The fares for Aug.--Calgary to Orlando are showing as regular fares--sign up on the Westjet webpage to get e-mails and they will send you notice as to when there is a seat sale--otherwise, I would just keep checking until the price comes down.
The only time we have stayed in a hotel in Calgary was at the Best Western Port-o-Call. It was very nice-- very friendly and helpful staff(they actually shuttled me to a mall one day when I asked about a bus to a mall--then they came back and picked me up)--not sure about a pool though but just a warning, book the hotel early as when we were trying to book a room near the airport, they were few and far between.

 

[dis_guy]

We've just come back from Orlando last evening. My favourite way to get to Orlando from Edmonton is on United through Denver.

The United Express flights to/from Denver are on CRJs or E170s and yes, I know some people don't care for the smaller jets but it's only a 2.5 hour flight. We usually have a short layover (as in get off the first flight, grab pizza as you go by the food court and get onto the next plane) of around an hour in Denver.

The flight from Denver to Orlando used to be almost exclusively Airbus A320s but this time we got a Boeing 757 which was a nice change. We had the venerable A320 on the way back to Denver.

Loads of people have horror stories about United's customer service but we've only ever had friendly, polite, agents and crews. On this trip we bought the tickets through Air Canada because they were cheaper on the AC site than United's. Somehow AC botched the seat reservations so we had no preselected seats when we got to the airport. The gate agents looked after us and we got an exit row (A,B,C, and D) for both directions when all they really had to do was stick us in random seats all over the plane.

As always, your mileage may vary.

 

[ABCanada]

I agree with dis guy.

We usually fly United via Denver and have found the times and connections good. We have never had any issues with the service. (My 15 yo does complain about the lack of TV on the Edmonton Denver leg.)

Second choice is NWA via Minneapolis St Paul.

Have also flown Continental via Huston and that was fine as well.

All total times were under 8 hours with some closer to 7.

Avoid Chicago connections.

For our pre Christmas trip this year we tried the direct Calgary flights. Unless there was a significant cost saving I do not think I would do it again. It is nice not having a connection to worry about and having the back of seat TVs but that did not make up for the added time and cost involved in driving to Calgary and staying at a hotel there.

We stayed at the Delta at the Airport, we find it the most convenient with the overhead walkway to the terminal. (No worrying about allowing time for getting parked or taking a shuttle prior to your flight.) Traveling on the weekend you should be able to get a good rate. For us, the cheaper of the two nights, a week night but close to Christmas, was $119 without breakfast. Parking in the parkade, right at the hotel entrance, was $200 for two weeks. If we had used the economy lot it would have been half of that.

 

[chimo2u]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies so far....I am learning much useful information from all your suggestions. At the moment, however, I am finding myself very partial to the Calgary direct flight even though I am coming from Edmonton. I love the idea of going up in the air once, not transferring and just getting where I want to go as quickly as possible!! I am not much of a good flier as is , and I enjoy getting on and off an airplane as quickly as I can, I hate takeoff and landings, so one less leg is better for me, LOL
I know I have a 3 hour drive to Calgary the night before and the day after I return home; however, I was thinking that perhaps my son and I could think of that as "part of the holiday" He loves hotels, so it will only add to the adventure! West Jet is also my favourite airline, so another big plus for me to get these tickets I am hoping for. For anyone who's flown this route (direct Calgary) do you pre-clear customs in Calgary prior to boarding the plane?? I have never flown directly so I am unsure of the airport procedure for customs in this situation.

Once again, thanks for all the thoughtful replies, it definitely gives me ideas to look into in the event that the tickets I want don't come available!

 

[monkey30]

keep checking wj as they have some great deals. With booking through the vacations we got kids fly free and then the deals disney was offereing.

we are also leaving from calgary

 

[monkey30]

yes u pre clear customs in calgary if it is direct also for hotels check ones that are in the 32aver ne area and barlow trl as this is very close to the airport and have a ton if different options.

shearaton
greenwood inn just to name a few

 

[Canadamom]

We've stayed at the Acclaim Hotel in Calgary our past two trips to Florida. I think we paid $139 or $129 this past November with our AMA rate and that included our room, breakfast in the morning (four in our room), and free parking for the time we were away (8 nights/ 9 days). They now have a rooftop hot tub (no pool) and there are DVD's you can borrow (free) for use in your room. Free shuttle to and from the airport. I would totally stay there again. (and no, despite my post, I don't have shares in the hotel...haha).

 

[Rayner]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies so far....I am learning much useful information from all your suggestions. At the moment, however, I am finding myself very partial to the Calgary direct flight even though I am coming from Edmonton. I love the idea of going up in the air once, not transferring and just getting where I want to go as quickly as possible!! I am not much of a good flier as is , and I enjoy getting on and off an airplane as quickly as I can, I hate takeoff and landings, so one less leg is better for me, LOL
I know I have a 3 hour drive to Calgary the night before and the day after I return home; however, I was thinking that perhaps my son and I could think of that as "part of the holiday" He loves hotels, so it will only add to the adventure! West Jet is also my favourite airline, so another big plus for me to get these tickets I am hoping for. For anyone who's flown this route (direct Calgary) do you pre-clear customs in Calgary prior to boarding the plane?? I have never flown directly so I am unsure of the airport procedure for customs in this situation.

Once again, thanks for all the thoughtful replies, it definitely gives me ideas to look into in the event that the tickets I want don't come available!

I just booked a direct flight for September from Toronto to Orlando. I randomly check and was surprised to find it on sale. I believe your dates are on sale as well.

 

[chimo2u]

I just booked a direct flight for September from Toronto to Orlando. I randomly check and was surprised to find it on sale. I believe your dates are on sale as well.

Imagine my surprise when I looked last night and found them on sale for $170.00!!!!!! Each way (Total for 2 tickets was $900.00) Thankfully I booked them last night because when I went back tonight to look....they where still showing as a "Seat Sale" but this time the price was UP to $348.00 each way (down from a regular rate of $458.00) but still quite high!! If I had waited to book tonight, I would have had to pay $1,600.00, a whopping $700.00 more!!! I am happy I saw the sale when I did!!
YIPEE ALL BOOKED and so happy to be flying direct!!!!

P.S. ETA: NOW West Jet's customer service line is something short of a disaster!! I had trouble booking the first time I tried my Credit card and it did not go thru, when I tried to get WJ customer service I could not get through at all!!!! Thank goodness I got it all cleared up through my CC company and was able to go online and book again, this second time the transaction was successful. They are crazy if they think ppl should wait upwards of 3-4 hrs to get any help!!!! I was not impressed for the first time, as I usually LOVE WJ!!! I still love the airline, but am not impressed by the lack of customer service right now!

 

[samsmainla]

If a hotel with pool close to the airport is what your after, I say try the Best western Port o call. They have just opened a waterslide park that is very cool, and a big hit with my 11 year old! Also the Sheraton Cavalier has a great pool/slide. Both have airport shuttle.

 

[Rayner]

YIPEE ALL BOOKED and so happy to be flying direct!!!!

Congratulations! I got a heck of a deal as well. I was also glad that I booked this morning because the price would have been an additional $400 this afternoon. Timing is everything.