In need of transportation help with flying

[SL6827]

Alright Dissers, here ya go... for someone who is afraid of flying, never has flown and now is in the position of a must do flight to Paris. Yes, Paris! First time flying, uggghh, Paris.

But it is for the sake of my child, so I will do it. (medical stint) I need to know any and all tips, advice, how to do its, about getting a decent deal on a ticket, well, 4-5 round trip tickets from Atlanta to Paris!
(can you fly to Paris out of Chattanooga by chance?) Time frame looks to be in February to March?

Probably will be gone for two weeks. I have been on these boards since 2004, learned sooooo much about Disney World and how to do it,(we live close enough for a 8-9 hour drive) but I have never been in more need of help, advice, ect than I am now.

I remember when I started researching Disney in 2004 for our first ever trip in 2005, had one year to research. I now have 3 months to research flying, Paris and Bordeaux.

 

[Shanti]

Alright Dissers, here ya go... for someone who is afraid of flying, never has flown and now is in the position of a must do flight to Paris. Yes, Paris! First time flying, uggghh, Paris.

But it is for the sake of my child, so I will do it. (medical stint) I need to know any and all tips, advice, how to do its, about getting a decent deal on a ticket, well, 4-5 round trip tickets from Atlanta to Paris!
(can you fly to Paris out of Chattanooga by chance?) Time frame looks to be in February to March?

Probably will be gone for two weeks. I have been on these boards since 2004, learned sooooo much about Disney World and how to do it,(we live close enough for a 8-9 hour drive) but I have never been in more need of help, advice, ect than I am now.

I remember when I started researching Disney in 2004 for our first ever trip in 2005, had one year to research. I now have 3 months to research flying, Paris and Bordeaux.

The best way to cope with a fear of flying is to remember that it is by far the safest method of travel. You are much, much more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a car accident than for anything to happen to you on any flight, even if you were to fly every week. So reminding yourself of that can help. You really are quite safe on the plane. Turbulence can feel unsettling, but it's just a normal part of flight. If you feel nervous, watch the stewardesses. They fly all day on a regular basis, and you'll see them taking it all in stride, because turbulence is no danger to the plane, but instead is just a normal part of flight.

To get a decent deal on flights, I recommend booking as far in advance as you possibly can. Since you only have a few months, you need to book soon. Also, don't limit yourself to American-owned carriers in your search. We're flying to Canada from Texas for our Alaska cruise in June, and got a great deal on tickets booked via the Canadian airline WestJet. I've read many complaints about flying into Canada being extremely expensive, but the complaints only quoted prices from the legacy American carriers: Delta, United & American Airlines. So don't limit yourself to the obvious when looking for international flight deals: do a bit of research on different airlines, to become aware of what all the possibilities are. Check out travel forums by Americans who travel to Europe a lot, and see what they tend to do.

 

[Kay123456]

I really dont know what youre looking for, if you already have a place to stay, etc. However, some travel places can get you way better deals than if you plan it yourself. A certain travel site has some good deals and my mom uses them all the time because of their deals. They do not do flight only, but I looked on their site and flight plus room was $2852 (thats the cost for two people) Feb 24-march 10. Looking at google for flight alone, you are looking at $1000 at a minimum per person unless you want a ridiculously long stopover somewhere.

The flight will most likely be an overnight. You leave in the afternoon/evening and then arrive in the morning (exhausted from no sleep and your room is never ready yet). I always hated this because I was never able to get a good nights sleep on an airplane. I would rather use one day for traveling. Leave in the morning and arrive at night, then get a good night sleep to try and alleviate the jet lag. There are those types of flights but they may be a bit hard to come by.

 

[SL6827]

Ok, so far we think we are going to rent a house in Paris for week #1 and rent a house in Bordeaux for week #2, so we won't have to deal with our room not being ready and all once we land. It might be another month before we get the dates settled down, take out maybe $40,000 loan on our house/farm that is worth around $200,000. (its already paid for so that is absolutely no big deal there)

 

[GADisneyDad14]

My wife just flew Atlanta to Paris a few weeks ago on Delta. This is going to sound like an absurd travel plan, but she flew Atlanta to Charlotte, Charlotte to Cinci, then Cinci to Paris. She scoured flight options for months and this turned out to be the cheapest option by far for her dates. Obviously the trade off was a lot of connections/extra flying time, but it was very cheap (relatively speaking).

I guess the point is that sometimes odd/inefficient connecting flights can save a few bucks.

Happy planning!

 

[Alesia]

Book your flights soon. The best prices for flights to Europe are generally found at about 10 months out and they only go up as the date gets nearer. I use Google flights to find flights.

You can definitely fly out of Chattanooga, but you won't get a non-stop flight. It's generally quite a bit cheaper to fly out of an international airport, though.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Hi, me again
ok in your other thread you were asking about Disneyland Paris. Disneyland Paris is about an hour from central Paris. It is possible to get a train from Disneyland Paris to central Paris, but you are really minimising your park hours and adding on an hour commute at the start and end of a park day.

Like I advised in the other thread, staying onsite or a partner hotel is really the best option for a visit to Disneyland Paris.

You need to figure out which is your priority, basing in central Paris and having a 1 or 2 day curtailed park visit and spending most of your time in central Paris OR basing in Disney, having a more inclusive park visit and a 1 or 2 day trip into central Paris to see the tourist highlights.

Park hours in February for an off site visitor will be approx 10am to 7pm. How would you feel then having a 1 hour commute at night on a train back into Paris?

For a one week stay in central Paris I would do AirBnB or hotel.

For flights I use www.skyscanner.com which is a flight comparison website.

I just did a test for you
Multi city
Chattanooga, TN (CHA) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) 06/02/2018
Bordeaux (BOD) to Chattanooga, TN (CHA) 20/02/2018
I adult Economy

Cheapest Flight Option
Leave Chattanooga at 15.19 on Tuesday 6 February
Arrive ATL Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson at 16.14
KLM KL5231 | Operated by Endeavor DBA Delta Connection

Change planes

Leave ATL Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson at 17.25
Arrive CDG Paris Charles de Gaulle at 07.40 on Wednesday 7 February
KLM KL2199 | Operated by Air France

Journey duration 10 hours 21 minutes

Leave BOD Bordeaux at 12.30 on Tuesday 20 February
Arrive Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at 14.20
KLM KL1316

Change planes
Leave Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at 15.20
Arrive DTW Detroit Wayne County at 18.22
KLM KL6019 | Operated by Delta

Change planes
Leave DTW Detroit Wayne County at 19.55
Arrive Chattanooga at 21.35
KLM KL6940 | Operated by Endeavor DBA Delta Connection

Journey duration 15 hours

Price €1065 which is approx $1255

Transatlantic flights usually leave afternoon / evening onwards, fly through the night and you arrive early next morning.

Transatlantic flights usually allow 50 pounds for checked luggage and 2 pieces of cabin baggage.

Transatlantic flights usually have 1 main meal and 2 light snack meals, depending on the airline.

The cheapest transatlantic flights have a layover, the direct flights work out more expensive as @GADisneyDad14 has given an example of.

Like @Shanti said, check European airlines like Air France or Norwegian or KLM

 

[AquamarineSteph]

As others have pointed out, you can fly out of Chattanooga, but it may be cheaper for you to drive to Atlanta and fly out of there. They have far more international flights a day than anything else within easy driving distance. Given the fact that this is your first flight, I would highly suggest looking at an upgraded economy seat (the name varies by airline, but it's usually easy to spot with the words Economy Plus, Comfort Plus, etc.) This seat will give you a little more room (not a lot, but for the overnight flight every bit helps). If you can afford to fly business class, then by all means do that. You'll be in a far more comfortable seat for this flight.

When booking airline tickets, make sure that you don't click on the 'buy' button until you're fairly sure that these are the dates and times you want. Many airlines do not allow changes/cancellations after 24 hours unless you're willing to pay a fee to do so.

You'll also want to review what you can/can't carry onto the airplane. Each airline has its own guidelines about luggage weight/size and carryon bag sizes, but the TSA regulates what can go where as far as liquids, laptops, batteries, etc.

Google Flights is an excellent search option, but you can also do searches on sites like Expedia and Travelocity to get an idea of fares for the dates you want. Also keep in mind that flying on certain days is cheaper than others. Sometimes if you can move your flight a day or two one direction of another, you can get a far better deal.

Ask all the questions you like! We were all first time flyers at one point.



EDIT TO ADD - IMPORTANT question - do you have a passport yet?

 

[bumbershoot]

EDIT TO ADD - IMPORTANT question - do you have a passport yet?

Good question.

 

[AngiTN]

No international advice
Just popping in to say don't fly out of here (Chattanooga)!
Not for your first ever flight
We only have very small regional puddle jumper planes here. The flight attendants don't even get out of their jump seats.
They are not what you want to fly on as your first introduction to flying
At least not in my opinion
Go to Atlanta and get on a jet for your first flight. Use Groome Transportation of you don't have someone to take you to the airport. It's usually cheaper than Parking in Atlanta for a week. If you want your car there look at Peachy Parking in Atlanta. It's what we use when we park off site but we won't book 3rd party with them. They've refused our 3rd party reservation twice

 

[SL6827]

Good question.

Working on that.- ( passport)

 

[SL6827]

The dates that I will first have to nail down is the dates of the actual surgery. Won't know that for a month

No international advice
Just popping in to say don't fly out of here (Chattanooga)!
Not for your first ever flight
We only have very small regional puddle jumper planes here. The flight attendants don't even get out of their jump seats.
They are not what you want to fly on as your first introduction to flying
At least not in my opinion
Go to Atlanta and get on a jet for your first flight. Use Groome Transportation of you don't have someone to take you to the airport. It's usually cheaper than Parking in Atlanta for a week. If you want your car there look at Peachy Parking in Atlanta. It's what we use when we park off site but we won't book 3rd party with them. They've refused our 3rd party reservation twice

We have made the decision to fly out of Atlanta, but girl, you made me laugh! And that is what I need to be doing right now, because my nerves are in knots most of the day worrying about all this. But I am determined to make lemonade out of this batch of lemons!

 

[SL6827]

Hi, me again
ok in your other thread you were asking about Disneyland Paris. Disneyland Paris is about an hour from central Paris. It is possible to get a train from Disneyland Paris to central Paris, but you are really minimising your park hours and adding on an hour commute at the start and end of a park day.

Like I advised in the other thread, staying onsite or a partner hotel is really the best option for a visit to Disneyland Paris.

You need to figure out which is your priority, basing in central Paris and having a 1 or 2 day curtailed park visit and spending most of your time in central Paris OR basing in Disney, having a more inclusive park visit and a 1 or 2 day trip into central Paris to see the tourist highlights.

Park hours in February for an off site visitor will be approx 10am to 7pm. How would you feel then having a 1 hour commute at night on a train back into Paris?

For a one week stay in central Paris I would do AirBnB or hotel.

For flights I use www.skyscanner.com which is a flight comparison website.

I just did a test for you
Multi city
Chattanooga, TN (CHA) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) 06/02/2018
Bordeaux (BOD) to Chattanooga, TN (CHA) 20/02/2018
I adult Economy

Cheapest Flight Option
Leave Chattanooga at 15.19 on Tuesday 6 February
Arrive ATL Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson at 16.14
KLM KL5231 | Operated by Endeavor DBA Delta Connection

Change planes

Leave ATL Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson at 17.25
Arrive CDG Paris Charles de Gaulle at 07.40 on Wednesday 7 February
KLM KL2199 | Operated by Air France

Journey duration 10 hours 21 minutes

Leave BOD Bordeaux at 12.30 on Tuesday 20 February
Arrive Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at 14.20
KLM KL1316

Change planes
Leave Amsterdam Schiphol Airport at 15.20
Arrive DTW Detroit Wayne County at 18.22
KLM KL6019 | Operated by Delta

Change planes
Leave DTW Detroit Wayne County at 19.55
Arrive Chattanooga at 21.35
KLM KL6940 | Operated by Endeavor DBA Delta Connection

Journey duration 15 hours

Price €1065 which is approx $1255

Transatlantic flights usually leave afternoon / evening onwards, fly through the night and you arrive early next morning.

Transatlantic flights usually allow 50 pounds for checked luggage and 2 pieces of cabin baggage.

Transatlantic flights usually have 1 main meal and 2 light snack meals, depending on the airline.

The cheapest transatlantic flights have a layover, the direct flights work out more expensive as @GADisneyDad14 has given an example of.

Like @Shanti said, check European airlines like Air France or Norwegian or KLM

You are too kind. If you don't mind, I might be asking you a whole lot of questions during the months to come?

 

[SL6827]

I really dont know what youre looking for, if you already have a place to stay, etc. However, some travel places can get you way better deals than if you plan it yourself. A certain travel site has some good deals and my mom uses them all the time because of their deals. They do not do flight only, but I looked on their site and flight plus room was $2852 (thats the cost for two people) Feb 24-march 10. Looking at google for flight alone, you are looking at $1000 at a minimum per person unless you want a ridiculously long stopover somewhere.

The flight will most likely be an overnight. You leave in the afternoon/evening and then arrive in the morning (exhausted from no sleep and your room is never ready yet). I always hated this because I was never able to get a good nights sleep on an airplane. I would rather use one day for traveling. Leave in the morning and arrive at night, then get a good night sleep to try and alleviate the jet lag. There are those types of flights but they may be a bit hard to come by.

Oh, I am going to be way to scared to sleep! Lol.

 

[Woodview]

Ok, so far we think we are going to rent a house in Paris for week #1 and rent a house in Bordeaux for week #2, so we won't have to deal with our room not being ready and all once we land. It might be another month before we get the dates settled down, take out maybe $40,000 loan on our house/farm that is worth around $200,000. (its already paid for so that is absolutely no big deal there)

As a European ( Ireland ) how on earth do you come up with a figure of $ 40,00 for house rent ?

( Good Hotels would cost under $ 1500 a Week per room with food )

Now here goes on figuring on your flight dilemma

Try Flying out of Atlanta using Delta ( Home base Atlanta ) or Air France , KLM , Luftansa .British Airways

Virgin Atlantic , AND Aer Lingus via Dublin or Shannon ( Ireland )

Yes best flight times are evening FROM USA to arrive AM in Europe ( France is 6 hours ahead of

Georgia Time )

Return times FROM EUROPE should be BEFORE NOON or close to it. ( you loose 6 hours )

NOTE ALL times shown on Flights details ARE LOCAL .


..........................

First thing Now , as pointed out , is BUY your Passports & TRAVEL Insurance.

NO passport == NO fly


............

Remember to buy a European Travel Plug ( 2 pin ROUND for Mainland Europe )


Keep asking for more help & we try to give good advice

 

[writerguyfl]

Although you should use a couple of different travel sites to search for options (Google Flights is probably the best), you should purchase your tickets directly from the airline. Buying from an online travel agency (OTA) like Expedia or Orbitz is not recommended. If something happens and you need to make a change to your flight, you will be forced to call the OTA. They are all notorious for poor customer service.

The price though an OTA should be the same as when purchased directly from the airline.

Once you finalize your airline, make sure you sign up for their frequent flyer program. It's always free to join. Some airlines have miles that never expire. Other ones require that you have some sort of activity every 12-24 months. (Activity can be a flight, hotel stay using your frequent flyer number, or even an online purchase from a linked website.) Who knows...you may even discover that you LOVE to fly!

There's no downside to joining a frequent flyer program. If you decide you don't want to keep up with the miles, most airlines let you donate them to charity.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

Other international travel tips:

Before you leave, contact credit card companies to let them know you'll be traveling abroad. If you don't, they may see a purchase made in Paris when you're always in the US and deny the charge. While you are on the phone giving them that information, find out if they have an international transaction fee. Some credit cards have one. Some don't. A good one that has no international transaction fee as well as no annual fee (other than Amazon Prime membership) is the Amazon Prime Visa. There are plenty of others, but I'm just suggesting that one as many people already have an Amazon Prime membership.

Next - cell phone. You'll either need to arrange a coverage plan with with your current carrier OR buy a new phone/SIM card for use in France once you arrive. Call your cell phone carrier and see what plans they have to offer, but for a long term stay you may find a new phone/SIM card with a local number a cheaper alternative.

Now one thing I do before I travel to Europe is run by the bank and pick up some Euros. I don't get a lot, but that way I have something in my pocket just in case there's an issue with a credit card despite having called ahead. Plus, some smaller merchants do not take credit cards. Your local bank won't have Euro's on hand, but they can order them and have them ready for you to pick up locally in a week or less.

And I used to get very nervous when traveling. Now I try to make an adventure out of it. Think ahead to something for the trip - a good book, a whole Kindle full of reading material, music, noise cancelling headphones - the list is endless, so I'm trying not to overwhelm.

You're going to be fine. And don't forget to keep asking questions if you have them!

 

[Woodview]

Here are some Flight Times FROM Tuesday 6th February to 27th February 2018

Atlanta to Paris ( CDG ) 5.25 pm to 07.40 ( Wed )

Paris ( CDG ) to Atlanta 2.pm to 6pm ( Atlanta Time )

With AIR FRANCE Cost $ 1177 per person + Luggage (?)

..............

Same outward Flight with Delta & KLM BUT RETURN VIA AMSTERDAM

......................

NOW

TRAVEL FROM Paris to Bordeaux

Look at travel by Train Use the TGV ( High Speed ) a 3 hour journey City to City

 

[SL6827]

As a European ( Ireland ) how on earth do you come up with a figure of $ 40,00 for house rent ?

( Good Hotels would cost under $ 1500 a Week per room with food )

Now here goes on figuring on your flight dilemma

Try Flying out of Atlanta using Delta ( Home base Atlanta ) or Air France , KLM , Luftansa .British Airways

Virgin Atlantic , AND Aer Lingus via Dublin or Shannon ( Ireland )

Yes best flight times are evening FROM USA to arrive AM in Europe ( France is 6 hours ahead of

Georgia Time )

Return times FROM EUROPE should be BEFORE NOON or close to it. ( you loose 6 hours )

NOTE ALL times shown on Flights details ARE LOCAL .


..........................

First thing Now , as pointed out , is BUY your Passports & TRAVEL Insurance.

NO passport == NO fly


............

Remember to buy a European Travel Plug ( 2 pin ROUND for Mainland Europe )


Keep asking for more help & we try to give good advice

The surgery alone is going to be in the ball park of $30,000. We are hoping we can get our health insurance to pick up some of the cost. Hoping, just hoping. If not, oh well. But thank you for any help, advice, tips, ect. Thanks so much.

 

[Darbie]

The surgery alone is going to be in the ball park of $30,000. We are hoping we can get our health insurance to pick up some of the cost. Hoping, just hoping. If not, oh well. But thank you for any help, advice, tips, ect. Thanks so much.

Your insurance is not going to cover any procedure in France.