FAQ: Flying Out of Buffalo OR Detroit

[ciniagara]

Please anybody from out of the Niagara region that are planning on flying out of Buffalo take the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie. Do Not take the Queenston Lewiston bridge or the Rainbow bridge. The drive between them and Fort Erie is minimal and the drive from the Peace bridge and the airport is so much easier. Also the wait times at the Peace bridge are a lot shorter than you will ever find at Queenston Lewiston

 

[3 Mouseketeers]

I cant remember the last time we flew out of Pearson. Anywhere in the US we fly out of Buffalo. Whether flying to California, Nevada, Florida or even close by to NYC, Pearson cant even touch the cost of flying out of Buffalo even after you put in the "park, sleep, fly" cost. Time isnt a factor as Buffalo is only an extra 20-30 minute drive for us.
For our upcoming trip, our direct SW flight was $215 pp return! Thats with taxes and all fees in. Cheapest direct return flights I found out of Pearson were about $400 pp.

As for bridge crossing, we always cross at Fort Erie. First few times we crossed at Queenston/Lewiston but not any longer. As ciniagara mentioned the waits are always much much longer.

 

[BareNecessities]

The first few times we went to Orlando, we flew out of Toronto.....last March, we decided to go out of Bufflao because the flight costs were at least 1/3 of what is cost to go out of Toronto. We will never fly out of Toronto again unless we get an absolute awesome deal.....which doesn't seem to happen.

We usually stay at the Marriot....it's about a 15-20 min drive to the airport, but much cheaper and nicer than the hotels across from the airport....like all the others, you park, sleep, and Fly!

I think I know which Marriott you are talking about...could you write which one, and where it is? Was it expensive? We're looking to do that too - I've stayed across from the airport and felt very unsafe.

 

[Chickkypoo]

I've never flown out of Buffalo before, only Toronto and Detroit.

What is JetBlue's service like? Is $300 US resonable for a flight from Buffalo to Orlando?

Is Buffalo a safe place to stay in overnight (I'm going on a solo trip) and any recommendations on Stay/Park/Fly?

 

[sue_gowin]

I've never flown out of Buffalo before, only Toronto and Detroit.

What is JetBlue's service like? Is $300 US resonable for a flight from Buffalo to Orlando?

Is Buffalo a safe place to stay in overnight (I'm going on a solo trip) and any recommendations on Stay/Park/Fly?

I've only ever stayed overnight in Detroit. I've driven to Buffalo to fly out the same day. I personally love the Detroit airport, and the hotels servicing that hotel.

 

[kg66]

Is it just me or is the airfare out of this world this year
Usually our family of 4 can do Detroit to Orlando round trip for $1000 or under, this year it's closer to $2000!!! What's up with that? Any suggestions I've checked all the airlines direct websites, as well as Kayak, Priceline, Hotwire, etc... Looking to go out Mar.23 ret'n Mar 31...

 

[Bubbie]

Same problem here.We always fly out of Detroit for March Break, but with airfare so expensive, we will be driving instead.

 

[Chip_Dale]

What are the airline options out of Buffalo for a direct flight? Are there any other cariers other than Southblue or JetBlue?

 

[MrsB1228]

What are the airline options out of Buffalo for a direct flight? Are there any other cariers other than Southblue or JetBlue?

AirTran also offers direct flights to Orlando. Has anyone had any experience with them?

 

[CanadianPaco]

We've flown Buffalo to Orlando many times direct with Air Trans. Piece of cake! This next trip, Delta had cheaper direct flights out of Detroit for us though.

 

[archdandy]

So I've been scouring the internet trying to get a good deal on flights these past few weeks. We are going down in September and the flights from Toronto ranged from $750-$1000 for two adults. That's way too expensive for us. We had talked about driving but neither of us are really thrilled about that option. I started looking at prices from Buffalo today and found what I think is a good deal. Its $480 for both of us including taxes. Then its about $50 for both of our checked bags and I'm estimating around $60 for gas. Plus another $60 for parking. The dilemma is that the flight is at 6:00am which is what I wanted but that would mean we would have to leave home around 10:00m the previous night to get to the airport on time. Plus there's a stop so its a 5.5 hour flight. What I'm wondering is if you guys think this is worth it or should we just drive?

 

[MrsB1228]

Another option would be to drive to Buffalo the night before your flight and stay in one of the hotels that offer a parking package with your room. Check out the Park, Sleep, Fly website to see a listing of airport hotels that offer these packages. I'm sure there are other members here who could offer hotel suggestions too. We're going to fly out of Buffalo this September too, for the same reasons. Flying out of Toronto is just ridiculously expensive, almost double what we'd pay to fly out of Buffalo.

 

[archdandy]

Another option would be to drive to Buffalo the night before your flight and stay in one of the hotels that offer a parking package with your room. Check out the Park, Sleep, Fly website to see a listing of airport hotels that offer these packages. I'm sure there are other members here who could offer hotel suggestions too. We're going to fly out of Buffalo this September too, for the same reasons. Flying out of Toronto is just ridiculously expensive, almost double what we'd pay to fly out of Buffalo.

Thanks! It looks like your going to be arriving the same day as us! I'll definitely check out that website.

 

[DVC Melissa]

Post your best tips and guidance for flying out of Buffalo or Detroit to MCO in this thread here..

I've asked for it to be made a sticky.

Thanks!

Knox

We fly out of Detroit as we are in London Ontario. The hotels that offer Park and Fly are reasonable and your vehical is secure.

 

[DVC Melissa]

AirTran also offers direct flights to Orlando. Has anyone had any experience with them?

I have travelled on AirTran from Detroit to Orlando and find it much much better than Spirit Air and less expensive. I have also used Delta but it can be a bit higher of a price.

 

[grantclaire]

We are flying out of Buffalo for the first time this December. Direct flight to Fort Lauderdale with Southwest. Should be no problem driving to Buffalo as long as the weather is good. Am a little worried about flying Southwest after watching the show On the Fly! Are they always bumping people from the flights?

 

[MrsB1228]

Thanks! It looks like your going to be arriving the same day as us! I'll definitely check out that website.

Did you have any luck finding a hotel you like? We're going to be staying at the Days Inn, which is right across from the airport. Which Disney resort are you staying at? Maybe we'll see each other!

 

[MrsB1228]

We've flown Buffalo to Orlando many times direct with Air Trans. Piece of cake! This next trip, Delta had cheaper direct flights out of Detroit for us though.

I have travelled on AirTran from Detroit to Orlando and find it much much better than Spirit Air and less expensive. I have also used Delta but it can be a bit higher of a price.

Thanks for your feedback! I've booked our flight with AirTran flying out of Buffalo direct to Orlando. It cost $926.40 for 4 adults, including all taxes and choosing our seats in advance. We'll have to pay $20/suitcase at the airport and the hotel will cost us $151.73 including all taxes, fees and 14 days parking. I'm also budgeting an additional $125 for gas and food. The best price I could find for direct (I hate connecting flights and avoid them whenever possible) out of Toronto was $1722.40 flying with WestJet. Air Canada was comparable at $1722.48. AC charges $25 for the first suitcase and I believe the first is still free with WJ? Parking would set us back approximately $130 for the two weeks. So the total out of Buffalo is US$1283 and out of Toronto (flying WJ) CDN$1852. At todays exchange rate, we're still saving around $550. Which means more money for Disney!

 

[tgropp]

We are flying out of Detroit to Orlando for 12 days..hence we need 12 days of parking. We always stay at the Westin at Mcnamara terminal but since we leave on a Thursday, the rates with taxes and 12 days parking is over $400.00. So, we are still staying at the Westin for free on points and I can get 12 days of parking at the big blue deck at the north terminal of detroit airport for $120.00 plus tax. It says that it has a free shuttle to Mcnamara terminal/Westin hotel. and that it is a covered lot. Has anyone ever parked here before. I think that this is the terminal where Southwest and some other airlines fly out of.

 

[MrsB1228]

Please anybody from out of the Niagara region that are planning on flying out of Buffalo take the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie. Do Not take the Queenston Lewiston bridge or the Rainbow bridge. The drive between them and Fort Erie is minimal and the drive from the Peace bridge and the airport is so much easier. Also the wait times at the Peace bridge are a lot shorter than you will ever find at Queenston Lewiston

I cant remember the last time we flew out of Pearson. Anywhere in the US we fly out of Buffalo. Whether flying to California, Nevada, Florida or even close by to NYC, Pearson cant even touch the cost of flying out of Buffalo even after you put in the "park, sleep, fly" cost. Time isnt a factor as Buffalo is only an extra 20-30 minute drive for us.
For our upcoming trip, our direct SW flight was $215 pp return! Thats with taxes and all fees in. Cheapest direct return flights I found out of Pearson were about $400 pp.

As for bridge crossing, we always cross at Fort Erie. First few times we crossed at Queenston/Lewiston but not any longer. As ciniagara mentioned the waits are always much much longer.

Thank you both for this advice! This will be our first time flying out of Buffalo and we had been planning to cross at Queenston/Lewiston but will do as you suggest, thanks again!