Airfare to MCO is Prohibitive

[kylenne]

We’re looking for 3rd week December and the Dec 22 flight home back to EWR Newark?

They’re all $738 on JetBlue Maybe we just won’t go home.

LaGuardia is reasonable though, so that’s the backup plan.

For TRON we booked in Feb for the upcoming weekend. Had to compromise if we wanted EWR- 5am and 6am flights. That kept the cost of the tickets around $230 RT each (17k points +$11). Works out OK since it’s a short 3 day trip.

Honestly with JetBlue I find the best thing is to watch out for flash sales. They have them fairly often and since covid their schedule goes out way farther than it used to. I booked our May flights during their Cyber Monday sale last year for like 35k points +$11 RT total for the both of us. Which is a steal for a trip that starts Memorial Day weekend out of JFK. I forget how much it would have been cash, but iirc less than like 150 RT pp. Probably much more cost effective to have paid cash but aside from maybe a transatlantic Mint flight I have nothing else to spend TB points on tbqh.

I just wish they still had the 5:30a JFK-MCO flights but that was a pandemic casualty. First flight out now is 6:35a.

 

[Leigh L]

Honestly with JetBlue I find the best thing is to watch out for flash sales. They have them fairly often and since covid their schedule goes out way farther than it used to. I booked our May flights during their Cyber Monday sale last year for like 35k points +$11 RT total for the both of us. Which is a steal for a trip that starts Memorial Day weekend out of JFK. I forget how much it would have been cash, but iirc less than like 150 RT pp. Probably much more cost effective to have paid cash but aside from maybe a transatlantic Mint flight I have nothing else to spend TB points on tbqh.

I just wish they still had the 5:30a JFK-MCO flights but that was a pandemic casualty. First flight out now is 6:35a.

Congrats on the awesome deal, that's amazing for Memorial Day weekend!

I've noticed JB has some fantastic flash sales prices. Lately, I've seen some good ones pop up, but none of the dates so far have worked for us. I keep looking for June on JB and United for price drops.

Does JB still do a lot of canceling?

As an aside, during the pandemic, we were able to get $29 one-way flights (incl. bags) on JB from DCA to MCO. Those were just too tempting to pass up, lol.

 

[kylenne]

Congrats on the awesome deal, that's amazing for Memorial Day weekend!

I've noticed JB has some fantastic flash sales prices. Lately, I've seen some good ones pop up, but none of the dates so far have worked for us. I keep looking for June on JB and United for price drops.

Does JB still do a lot of canceling?

As an aside, during the pandemic, we were able to get $29 one-way flights (incl. bags) on JB from DCA to MCO. Those were just too tempting to pass up, lol.

I’ve been fortunate as far as avoiding the canceling, it has never been an issue barring weather but I fly out of JFK 99% of the time and it’s one of their main hubs. These planes always fly extremely full on this route so I think they see less need to outright cancel. At worst a departure time will get shifted very slightly.

 

[Leigh L]

I’ve been fortunate as far as avoiding the canceling, it has never been an issue barring weather but I fly out of JFK 99% of the time and it’s one of their main hubs. These planes always fly extremely full on this route so I think they see less need to outright cancel. At worst a departure time will get shifted very slightly.

Thanks!
Hopefully, it's better now here than it was the last two years. I haven't flown them in a bit (and we got great prices, but knew we needed flexibility when taking them during the Covid time).

 

[Dakota731]

I'd say it's at least an hour from Sanford to Disney (and that's assuming no traffic). I do prefer Sanford to MCO. It is much smaller and easier to navigate and in my experience check in and security is generally faster. The only downside is that if you fly something like Allegiant they may not run flights to your destination every day, so if there are problems you have less options with alternate flights.

And it’s only $268 for Sunny transportation round trip to take all six of us to and from the airport so Sanford maybe a money saved for us

 

[gardenrooms]

Hello @gardenrooms as you are flying from San Francisco I'm not sure what airlines you are flying with because I usually fly from Manchester (MAN) to Orlando (MCO) with Virgin Atlantic. Anyway I can give some advice about booking flights on how to get a deal if it helps.
Book early between 11 months to 9 months advance.
Some airlines might offer last minute offers.
A lot of long haul airlines offer ODR (out of date range flights) which means booking flights early via tour operator only before they are available to book online please remember ODR flights don't come under a price match which can cost more but it might be worth it because you are guaranteed your seat.
Virgin Atlantic, TUI and British Airways do black Friday deals and January sales but if you are in the US the airlines might do black Friday and January sales.
Have a look in the newspaper for savings and maybe follow the Travel weekly facebook page.
Also some airlines do Disney packages with flight, hotel and park tickets because the airlines from Manchester (MAN) do Disney packages.

Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[pweyl36]

We drive half the time. I have been checking prices out of Newark for months. Nothing less than $800 - $900 for the two of us without luggage. We are leaving in less than two weeks. We were set on driving.

I checked again about a week ago - I see price a little less than $600. I grabbed it. I added luggage for me r/t - total $658. Still high compared to a few years ago. But now it seems like a bargain. (DH will have his carry-on).

The last time we flew was in October 2022 but we had a credit from a previous flight (COVID). If this is the new trend, we will keep driving and stay longer (Disney/Vero Beach).

wilm, de has a new airline Avelo that flies to orlando $49

 

[AnnaS]

wilm, de has a new airline Avelo that flies to orlando $49

For us, it's Newark, NJ. My daughter lives in DE - - this might be an option for her (she is not too far.

 

[gardenrooms]

United is just all over the place. One day the tickets were in the $700s and the next, over $1700! Crazy! Then when the tickets for the flights I wanted came down below $1,000 again all the other flights were still over $1,000. "My" flights briefly got into the $700s (while the others were still over $1000) then went up again. Today most are in the $800s and $900s (including my flights). I finally bit the bullet and bought tickets in the low $700s, I just couldn't stand the United roller coaster any more. Next trip, we will research airline fare patterns to at least choose better days and weeks (though it will still have to be July or early August) to fly before booking anything else, but this year I decided I would handle the excessive price just to keep my sanity (the family was talking about rebooking our Universal hotel and/or our DVCs to change dates, but I am concerned about availability). lol I did tell my son I would pay for whatever the difference was if the fares are less at 100 days out.

 

[snowwite]

Not sure if flying into Tampa (TPA) and renting a car is an option for you, but we always check both airports. Lately, flying into and out of TPA has cost less than MCO. We really like the TPA airport - much less hectic than MCO and car rental prices are less than at MCO.

We nearly always fly to TPA now. Sure it’s a longer drive but it’s well worth the savings.

 

[snowwite]

Wow, those are some crazy airfares. We're not planning on going to Orlando anytime soon, but just for fun I picked a week in early June. Boston to Orlando, non-stop, on Delta or JetBlue is $238/pp roundtrip. If I wanted to fly Frontier or Spirit it drops to $215/pp roundtrip.

Also check Manchester and Providence instead of Boston and Sanford and Tampa instead of Orlando. If you want to save on car rental you can drive as far as DC then board the auto train which includes meals and takes you to Sanford with your car.

 

[Bellex917]

Considering Trenton is about 90 minutes from us - not that bad. Years ago someone at work flew out of Trenton rather than Newark - but he lived in NJ. BUT

Considering parking our car fee at Trenton (we usually have car service pick us up to Newark), tolls, gas and bridge - (does this include seats and luggage? lo) - not sure if it would all be worth it to us. I hate flying/afraid of flying - but will fly - I get picky with plane, seat, airline, etc. I know it's all in my head.

We just booked our flights to Italy - we will pay a little more - I won't do more than two stops, make the stop at certain countries, picky about seats.......see where I am going with this - definitely not a happy flyer.

Thank you. Great suggestion though!!!

We flew out of Trenton in Sept for the first time and it was the craziest experience (in a good way). We usually use a car service to Newark too, but drove and the parking was so cheap (I don't remember, but maybe $7-8 a day) and it was like you were parking at a local store- it was so close and easy. No terminals, nothing. You walk in, you go right through the check which is right there, and then you're in the waiting area. You walk right on to the plane from the outside lol! ZERO frills, but we had a great experience and would do it again for sure.

 

[Genie+]

For JetBlue Newark is almost always our highest prices, Laguardia the lowest and JFK in the middle. HPN/Westchester used to be competitive up until about 5 yrs ago. Laguardia is another 30 minutes from our house but potential traffic requires a much bigger cushion.

Lately we’ve been choosing to compromise with the cheapest Newark flights which means very early or late. Last minute spring break trip with 5am and 6am flights $250rt. I could live with that.

Our upcoming trip we want to come home Fri Dec 22? All Newark flights are $738 ONE WAY Not much better Thurs or Sat either. But we can get down there the weekend before for $99… and maybe just stay there