Anyone fly Pan AM from Gary, IN to Orlando?

[Rich Spencer]

I can save about $100-125 dollars by flying PAN AM over Southwest or ATA - have any of you have good or bad experiences flying PAN AM or flying this route. I am getting a rate of $800 for 2 adults and 2 kids tax included.

Rich Spencer
richspencer@attbi.com

 

[Ted and Holly]

Welcome to the DIS! I am this board's Number 1 Pan Am Hater! Pan Am flies out of Portsmouth New Hampshire which is just minutes from our house. The convenience and price are not worth all of the trouble we've had with Pan AM. Here are a couple of links to previous threads!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=173177

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=165117


Just some food for thought!!! These boards will really help you plan your vacation! You're in good hands!

Holly

 

[Bildmouse]

DH and I flew PanAm from Gary to Sanford but that was almost two years ago. We loved the convenience of the airport and the parking. We had a very good experience with them. The price was also very good. We had hoped to use them for our trip next week but there were no direct flights and my DH refuses to use a stopover. Sanford is about an hour from WDWbut the drive seemed easier than from Orlando. MCO is about 30 minutes

 

[atigeg]

We fly from the Chicago area to Orlando several times a year, and since we are close to the Indiana border, I have checked into Pan Am. Unfortunately, all the feedback I got back was negative! We elected not to go with them due to the feedback and their limited schedule. Our trips are usually for Disney cruises, so we cannot afford to miss our flight and have the ship leave without us. At least at O'Hare or Midway, there are lots of other options if one airline has to cancel their flight. But if you are flexible, it might be something to fly. We had asked our Happy Limo driver about Sanford and the flights there, and he said they pick up mostly international passengers there.
Barb
Visit the Platinum Castaway Club at: www.castawaclub.com

 

[Augustheather97]

Barb...we just returned 3/17 form Disney and flew Pan Am with NO PROBLEMS at all......plane was on time very clean, mush more leg room than Delta or Us Air.....all in all a wonderful experience..no lines at the rental car counters like at MCo..only a 40 mile drive to Disney easy Up rte 4......I would definitely fly them again......security was very good...and I didn't have to have people see me naked on those new scanners at the airport they showed on the today show this am.......I will always fly Pan am from now on this was our second trip with them with out ANY prblems at all........If I were you I'd save the money and fly with them...just NOT having to fly into Logan was reason enough for me

 

[milo]

My sister flew out of Gary to Orlando on Pan Am last year and said it was really nice. The only complaint was that they there were no nonstops. But the stopover in New Orleans was very short.

My BIL's only complaint was that it took too long to drive to WDW from Sanford. Also, if you arrive too late, I'm not sure what rental car companies are still open.

 

[CarolA]

Has PanAm changed their NO carry on policy. They came with an absurb policy after 9/11 and I would not fly them under those rules. (My laptop is NOT checked baggage!)

 

[ducklite]

I predict they'll be out of busines by the end of the year. no way i would fly a carry taht shakey. At least with the big guys the government would ahve mor eincentive to bail them out. Pan AM is a rinky dink operation at best, with some absurd policies. most corproate travel agents would book clients on Amtrack before Pan Am.

Spend the $125 for a REAL airline to avaiod the headaches. Think about how much you're spending to go to WDW to begin with...are you going to start nickel and diming over what could make or break your trip?

Anne

 

[Augustheather97]

anne.....I don't think they will be out of business ANY time soon..they JUST bought 32 more planes from United last month to triple their fleet.........and they do allow carryons on .I saw LOTS of laptops and backpacks I had a good size back pack as well as my daughter.......they were wonderful to fly with..the car rental agenies are open till 11:00pm......most Pan Am flights come in early in the day........the ride to the airport was a breeze too..........45-50 minutes..whats an extra 20 minutes in the car???

 

[Ted and Holly]

They bought 727s that were probably unused for some time. They do have a good maintenance group but these are very old planes. They are getting harder and harder to keep together.

Heather, I know you how you feel about Pan Am. Living 15 minutes from Pease, Pan Am is such a convenient choice for me. But you will change your mind when you need to make an emergency landing and wait 5.5 hours somewhere that you don't want to be. Or, when you show up for your flight and there is a 6 hour "unscheduled maintenance" delay.

They may be able to pull it together with a larger fleet, but I will still avoid them.

And price is not an issue. Compare prices from Pease to Sanford on Pan Am to Manchester to MCO or Tampa on Southwest. Pan Am used to be the cheaper choice. I have fouind that it ablsolutely isn't anymore.

Ted

 

[Augustheather97]

TED............I live right under the flight path for Pan Am and I'd say 90% of the time they take off on time you must just have gotten real rotten luck with your flights........All 727's that Delta and US Air use are also at least 30 years old and I have flown them quite often in the past 12 years.......they are in worse condition I think........and have delays also......US AIr is just downright NASTY......I priced SW for this trip and they were over $80 more PER TICKET and I need 3 and that was no a direct flight so they weren't an Option.......I just enjoy flying into Sanford a lot more than MCO...no hassle at the car rental , and no scarey scanners to go through...I don't want people making $8 an hour looking possibley at us all naked especially my young Daughter..........