Cheap flghts to Orlando!

Was doing some searching on the internet on the weekend for flights for our jan/feb trip, and found that Airtran had $57 oneway direct flights from Buffalo.

That is so awesome, how can you beat that.....no wonder Air Canada is in trouble all the time. ; Who wants to pay there high prices (or high airport taxes from Toronto).

I don't know how you TA's compete against that.... ;

 

I saw that. We are flying from Buffalo in December and I'm thinking of doing a quick trip in February for my birthday cheap flight would be cool.

 

Not sure what you mean by 'compete'. ; ??? ; I promise what I'm about to say is not directed at you, as I'm simply venting. ; That is, I never understood where the idea that TA's don't/can't get the same prices that people see on-line came from? ; I mean Expedia pulls from a TA booking engine, as does selloffvacations.com. ; So, exact same price. ; In fact 99% of the time, a TA is cheaper than what you see on-line.

Our agency specializes solely in complete vacations to WDW, DL and aboard DCL. ; "Complete" obviously includes airfare. ; So in short, IF the client is willing and able to fly out of Buffalo then we check for flights out of Buffalo as well. ; Which would be the exact same price you see (in this case the $57 each way). ; So again; no need to 'compete'. ;

On a side note; I ran some of the $57 rates found on Southwest for someone today. ; Came to $135 USD with taxes (roughly $165 CDN). ; Sunwing out of Toronto was pricing at $237 CDN. ; For a difference of $72, they decided to fly out of Toronto. ; For them, the drive to Buffalo was just not worth a $288 savings by the time they factored in gas, time etc. ; Each to their own...

That all aside; I hate Air Canada. ; They are absolute crooks with what they charge. ; I heard today that AC will be taking out a page from Westjet and trying out a new idea. ; That is to be nice, smile etc. to customers ; Sadly; I'm not kidding. ; :

 

Certainly, TAs can see what you can see, Alex... and usually a lot more than you can see as well. ; We have access to flights with consolidators, charters, special suppliers, etc. - so can often find flights cheaper and faster than you can - thus, saving you the headache of searching, and perhaps a few bucks as well. ;

Plus, you have the benefit of having a TA helping you, so you have all that wonderful TICO legislation and support behind you, protecting your vacation investment.

But, of course, having a TA help you, you get personlized service. ; I'm sure every TA has their own touch. I do customized spreadsheets for my clients - guest hours, extra magic hours, parades, fireworks, adrs, etc., all built in. ; And, if you need assistance, you can reach me (rather than queuing up in an Expedia call centre). ; I had a client text me as he was boarding a cruise ship yesterday, and I was able to get his issues sorted right away.

As for flights out of the US, the CAD being what it is, most folks will factor the exchange and inconvenience of having to deal border crossings into any US gateway departure (then you might have to park your car while your away - an additional cost that is sometimes overlooked) - sometimes the cheaper flight from the US isn't worth it, but you can always evaluate your particular situation and decide.

 

Flight Comparison Jan 28 - Feb 4
Family of 4
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; YYZ - MCO ; MCO - YYZ ; Taxes ; ; ; ; Total Per ; ; ; Total ; ; ; ; ; Convert
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (Per Person) ; ; (Per Person) ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Person ; ; ; ; (Family of 4) ; ; to CDN
Sunwing ; ; $51.00 ; ; ; ; ; $70.00 ; ; ; ; $210.00 ; ; $331.00 ; ; $1,324.00
WestJet ; ; $159.00 ; ; ; ; $159.00 ; ; ; $123.25 ; ; $441.25 ; ; $1,765.00
Air Tran ; ; $133.95 ; ; ; ; $101.39 ; ; ; $38.66 ; ; ; $274.00 ; ; $1,096.00 ; ; $1,329.90
Southwest $101.40 ; ; ; ; $90.23 ; ; ; ; $35.37 ; ; ; ; $227.00 ; ; $908.00 ; ; ; $1,100.75
JetBlue ; ; $120.00 ; ; ; ; $106.05 ; ; ; $37.95 ; ; ; ; $264.00 ; ; $1,056.00 ; ; $1,280.17


From my quick non scientific comparison Sunwing beats AirTran and is it worth it to Travel to Buffalo for $223.25 (You will need to pay for Gas, Parking (in Toronto someone could drop you at airport) and possibly a hotel for the night before.... As stated earlier Departing from Toronto can work out better but you need to do your home work....

 

forgot one point about selloffvacations - I had a client call me late one night last week. ; They were looking at an all-inclusive trip on selloffvacations for his family of 4 to Cancun, Mexcio (all adults - so two rooms wanted) - they knew exactly which resort, which dates, which gateways they wanted, which hotel room type, etc- they told me the price they'd seen on selloffvacations, and asked if I could match it. ; I pulled up the all inclusive package for the same hotel on one of my TA booking engines, and was able to secure the exact same itinerary at the same hotel for the same price; and booked the vacation for his family - if he'd come straight to me, of course, he'd have gotten the same deal, but same himself boatloads of time in research and internet searching!

 

Not in the case of flying out of Buffalo...

 

I've read that SunWing is in trouble!?! ; I would be careful booking with them!

 

You are right that every TA has their own touch, my TA who is also a Disney Vacation Specialist also does exactly the same things that you do. ; Actually, I have found that pretty much anyone that is a specific "DISNEY" TA, they all give that personalized service. ;

 

The biggest benefit to dealing with a TA, of course, for any travel service is the establishment of a relationship - that's what you don't get on Expedia, et al. I love focussing on the Counsellor part of being a travel counsellor, rather than focusing on the transaction part of a travel sale. In every part of our lives, we all value the personal service we get - and if your TA provides the service and the knowledge, and values you as a customer and values their relationship with you as a client, the little things make the difference for sure, and you all benefit from an ongoing relationship. ; They can be there to help with regular queries and when things go wrong!

One of my Travel Counsellor colleagues said it best - only a spider trusts the web! ;

 

You are so correct.

I have removed my comments as they have strayed off the original topic of this thread..... We are talking about Airlines not TA's

 

Not sure where you read this, as Sunwing is among the top grossing Canadian companies for the past 3 years in a row! ; I assure you that they are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Besides, if you are booked through TICO (be it through a TA or on-line), even if Sunwing does goes 'belly up' you are protected, so no big. ;

 

I think I know where you may have heard this. Sunwing was involved with XL Leisure Group (which went bankrupt) causing Sunwing to scramble to find planes for the winter season.

From same article - Sunwing, which has 800 employees, is on a hiring spree as it prepares to deliver 700,000 seats this winter for Canadian snowbirds.

Source:
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets ... 30A#adSkip

 

That's good to hear!

 

BTW, I flew Sunwing last January and found that the service is great. I will fly with them again.

 

Ditto. ; I flew with them on thier "inaugural flight" to Orlando 2 years ago. ; They brought us to Orlando at 6 in the morning, VIP tour of both Universal parks and they flew us home at 9 at night. ; SOOO cool!!

I'm flying with them again in December. ; I thought they were great too. ; They are the only airline out of Toronto to Orlando that still serves a hot meal for FREE. ; ;D

 

Great comparison chart, and reminds to reasons why we do fly out of Buffalo. ; The taxes alone are number one reason it is too expensive to fly out of Toronto. ; In order to get really cheap flights with Airtran, Jetblue, or Southwest you need to be flexible on what day of the week you fly. ; Parking is irrelevant. ; We need to park here or there. ; Plus it is 400 times less stressful flying out of Buffalo (its a beautiful airport and friendly), unlike Pearson!

 

I couldn't agree with that statement more. ; I do love the Buffalo airport...

This is usually the reason I have issues with Buffalo. ; Most of the time, my dates are not flexible, grrr...

I guess I don't look at the taxes. ; I just look at the overall fare and whichever works out to be cheaper is the one I go with. ;

 

I love the fact that I can go shopping in Buffalo! ; Pick up those grocery items that we can't get here in Canada!

Plus DD loves A&F and Hollister which is at least $25.00 cheaper for the jeans!

And the customs' officers don't seem to be on a power trip as they are at Pearson!

 

Boy - you guys are lucky to have the option with Buffalo.

In Ottawa - it's either drive to Montreal ; to try to catch a direct flight or cheaper flight (the drive, though, with traffic and construction, can take quite a while - at least 1.5 hours, but likely more like 2.5 hrs) - or face the drive to Syracuse (which is at least 3 hours away, before border time). ; The money you save on flying out of Syracuse you'd give up in sanity time! ; Course, I have some clients who want to do it - but the costs of an overnight hotel are usually factored in, plus parking costs - in Ottawa, they can usually grab a cab or get someone to bring them to the airport, so by the time everything is added up, the US gateway isn't usually worth it.