Xmas AirFare HELP PLEASE

[wdwgoofydaddy]

Hello all,

We are planning to be at WDW from Dec 24-28 this coming year and have decided to fly opposed to our usual 24 hour drive. With that in mind, return flights from Toronto, Canada are currently posted at about $700-$1000 per person for direct flights with the times we need. Dec 24 early morning and Dec 28 late evening return.

This being a short trip for us, we do not want to deal with connections so we know we will have pay a bit more.

We looked into flying out of Buffalo, which is about a 1.5 hour drive from our house and found non-stop flights from BUF - MCO for $507 all in per person. This is a significant saving from what we are seeing and I really don't mind the drive to BUF.

Having never traveled out of BUF before, can anyone tell us if $507 is a good deal for xmas? The flight are with Southwest.
Does anyone have any tips for a Canadian flying our of BUF?
Or
Should we wait for a deal to fly our of YYZ?
What is the typical $$$ for a xmas, non-stop flight from YYZ-MCO?
When would be the best time to book?

Sorry for all the questions but we just need help with this. Any guidance you can give would be of great value.

Thanks all in advance

 

[Madame]

If you don't mind driving a bit more I think you might find something a little cheaper out of Detroit. Have you checked there?

 

[Sunshine25]

We always fly out of Buffalo. The savings is significant vs YYZ.
SW is a great airline, and the BUF airport is nice and easy to get around. Park & fly is also much cheaper - around $50/week. And sometimes you can get coupons on the airport website. The only downside for me is when you land, you just want to get home but you still have another 1.5 hrs driving ahead of you.

We've never gone @ Xmas but it sounds reasonable for that time. I've been burned before where I've waited to get a better deal and it never came It's a chance you take. You could always book to secure your seats, and if the price goes down, you can get a credit towards future air fare.

 

[pigletto]

We fly out of Buffalo exclusively for our Disney trips and as long as the fares stay lower or comparable I will never bother with Pearson again for a Florida trip. You clear customs at the border crossing which I have found quicker and easier, they airport itself is small and easy as pie to find your way around. It's just a better experience in every way as far as we are concerned.

We are flying Dec 13th to the 21st with Southwest for under $300 per person, but we booked as soon as dates opened up. They were cheapest at that point. If you are comfortable with the prices you are seeing now book them as they can and will go up. If they do drop you can rebook for credit with Southwest (you have to use it within one year of the original date you booked.)

Check jetblue for prices out of Buffalo as well.

 

[wdwgoofydaddy]

We fly out of Buffalo exclusively for our Disney trips and as long as the fares stay lower or comparable I will never bother with Pearson again for a Florida trip. You clear customs at the border crossing which I have found quicker and easier, they airport itself is small and easy as pie to find your way around. It's just a better experience in every way as far as we are concerned.

We are flying Dec 13th to the 21st with Southwest for under $300 per person, but we booked as soon as dates opened up. They were cheapest at that point. If you are comfortable with the prices you are seeing now book them as they can and will go up. If they do drop you can rebook for credit with Southwest (you have to use it within one year of the original date you booked.)

Check jetblue for prices out of Buffalo as well.

Thanks for the response. We checked Jet Blue and for similar flight on the same days it was about $130 more per person then SouthWest.

Under $300 round trip per person is great but I can understand that it would be cheaper as it does not cross over the actual xmas days.

I'm okay with $507 round trip person because they are no-stop flight and with the times we want too.

 

[grantclaire]

Hi, when you are flying at Xmass it can be very expensive. We are flying out of YYZ on WestJet on Dec 19 returning Dec 29 I booked the first day the flights were released, price was 500 return. I also signed up for a WJ mastercard which gave me a companion flight for 99.00, that is something you might want to look into if you need a new CC. We also flew out of Buffalo the last two Decembers on Southwest, great airport to fly out of! Had weather related delays both trips. The 1.5 hour drive took double the time. One flight down delayed 2 hrs, one trip back cancelled, took 3 days to get us back,( turned out OK having a longer vacation! ) . I know some people stay in Buffalo the night before just in case of weather. Good luck with your search! We love going over the Holidays.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

We were able to take advantage of seat sales for our pre Christmas trip in 2013. We almost always book each leg separately to get flexibility & to get the best possible flight times.

Both Westjet & Air Canada offered 30% off sales. Westjet's was a 'Pink Tag' sale in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness and was in early October... Air Canada was a bit later, in response to the Westjet sale.

Our flights were just over $300 per person non stop return - down on WJ & back on AC.

You can sign up for email alerts on both airline's websites... but I've found that following them on twitter & Facebook often gets me the same info about 12 or more hours earlier then the emails.

Air Canada on twitter is @ACFlightOffers

Westjet is @westjet

Twitter accounts for both have special twitter only offers about once a week.... AC can be any day of the week.. Westjet announces Blue Tag specials there as well - almost always on Thursday. And have Winglet Wednesdays occasionally as well.

 

[wdwgoofydaddy]

Thanks everyone for your responses. We just booked on Southwest flying out of BUF for $507 all in round trip per person. Is in a non-stop flight and the departure to and from are exactly what we wanted. We decided to book after speaking to a trusted US travel agent that confirmed to us that $507 was a very fair price for our dates.

I'm okay with the rate considering it is Xmas and knowing that the demand and price would just increase. Even if it does drop a bit lower, my time and stress associated with looking up flight is worth the difference at this point.

Thanks everyone for sharing tips. I will consider booking way earlier next year.

 

[Disneylover99]

Thanks everyone for sharing tips. I will consider booking way earlier next year.

Don't feel like you missed out. I'm looking at heading down on SW over Christmas as well. I was up at the crack of dawn the day the flights were released. For my dates the price was $610 per person return. Over a month later, that's still the price.

Don't forget to check to see if your flights have dropped from time to time. You can get a credit for future trips. Enjoy your Christmas!

 

[grantclaire]

Have a great trip!