Cheapest flights to Florida

[LuS1fer]

We've been twice before using My Travel (hmmm) and Virgin Atlantic.

Looking at may next year so who tends to eb cheapest. Virgin website only goes to April 2013.

[susanq]

We booked our flights to Florida back in January for our trip next month. British Airways came up the cheapest, with car hire too.

[chopper602]

Take a look at indirect flights - we've saved a few hundred quid this summer by going via Washington (immigration there too) and it's only a couple of hours more travel time and should break the journey up a bit too.

[Matt Harper]

I was going to suggest the same - US Airways via Philly or Charlotte. If you aren't a flight-snob and can tolerate US carrier's coach product, I think you could probably save quite a lot on a family holiday by looking at something like this. Pretty much every US carrier connects into MCO.

[LuS1fer]

Indirect is out as we have easily bored 6 and 3 year old boys who "must get there now".

[bint]

Admittedly it was for Sept 2009 - but when we were looking we ended up paying £450 each for direct flights with Thomas Cook, but we bought them through www.onthebeach.co.uk and when I approached TC directly to see if they could undercut/match, they couldn’t and told me to buy ASAP! I also have to say that on the beach were very good too.

[chopper602]

LuS1fer said:

Indirect is out as we have easily bored 6 and 3 year old boys who "must get there now".

by the time the second plane is in the air and they have brought a drink round, it'll be descending again and you can go straight past all the people waiting for immigration at Orlando, can be 1-2 hours if you hit it wrong (Virgin & BA flights from Gatwick often get in at about the same time - 600 people queuing . . .)

[DiseasalDriver]

Have a look at Delta via Atlanta.

If the kids are easily bored then you do not want to be waiting at immigration at Orlando, as has already been said.

Much better off clearing it elsewhere leaving yourself a nice easy internal flight into Orlando.

[ChrisBMW]

If you decide to go this way choose your entry airport into the USA very carefully, we went the indirect route last year for the first time and we spent much longer in immgration in Newark than we ever did in MCO.

If you can fly into Sandford, its a little longer transfer time into the international drive area but it is a much smaller airport with smaller queues.

[LuS1fer]

We're planning on May 2013 and have been twice in 05 and 08 and I don't recall the queues for immigration being grossly excessive at that time of year but maybe I have suppressed it or maybe we were nearer the front of the queue.

[ChrisBMW]

Queue in Newark was 1 hour 45 minutes which I think is way too long, we nearly missed our connecting flight because of the wait.

Max time at MCO or Sandford has always been less than an hour, usually more like 30 minutes

[Bluebarge]

You can also clear US immigration in Toronto, should Air Canada be offering any decent fares. However, in the event of another "volcano" incident, non-European carriers will do bugger all to get you home.

[SwanJack]

Bluebarge said:

You can also clear US immigration in Toronto, .

And Dublin.

[Matt Harper]

DiseasalDriver said:

Have a look at Delta via Atlanta.

I think you'll find that both BA and Virgin are cheaper than Delta and are direct. I always use Delta for my work-related transatlantic flights (lie-flat in Business), but I'm not paying. Delta coach is as horrid as everyone else, but more expensive than US Airways and United/Conti.

Don't know if they still do it, but I got a really dirt-cheap BMI flight from UK (MAN, I think) to Dulles. That was a few years ago, however.

[DiseasalDriver]

Matt Harper said:

I think you'll find that both BA and Virgin are cheaper than Delta and are direct.

I am happy to pay over the odds for Delta.

Better business seats, quicker through immigration. Suits me.

Virgin has the worst 'premium' seats of the lot, I don't rate BA.

[Matt Harper]

DiseasalDriver said:

I am happy to pay over the odds for Delta.

Although your brand-loyalty is admirable - doesn't really help the OP much.....

[DiseasalDriver]

Matt Harper said:

DiseasalDriver said:

I am happy to pay over the odds for Delta.

Although your brand-loyalty is admirable - doesn't really help the OP much.....

It does as the slight extra cost means his kids will be more relaxed and therefore the entire journey being the same.