International Air Question

[zachsmomie]

SO...instead of working on my grad class I have been reading everything I can about the Viva Italia trip. I know the 2009 dates and rates do not come out until later this month/early next month but I am trying to prepare and look at our budget to see if it is feasible.

Having said that, my question is about air travel. We have only flown domestically and only flown economy/coach. Most flights have been to Orlando for less than 2 hours and not a big deal. But 2 years ago we went to Hawaii from the East Coast. All the flights were very full and I could tell my husband was uncomfortable for the many hours we were on the plane. Also, my son is now 15 and has grown like a weed! So here are my questions:

1) Is there a big difference in personal space between Business and Coach when you travel internationally? I can't seem to find a clear answer. I keep getting 6 inches but I have a hard time realizing what that means.

2) What would you do...fly coach and arrive a day early or fly business and arrive the day of?

3) Also, since we have never travelled internationally, would you recommend using Disney for the air arrangements? Is Disney much more costly than booking yourself?

Thank you in advance!
Sandy

 

[rkdahl]

1) Is there a big difference in personal space between Business and Coach when you travel internationally? I can't seem to find a clear answer. I keep getting 6 inches but I have a hard time realizing what that means.

2) What would you do...fly coach and arrive a day early or fly business and arrive the day of?

3) Also, since we have never travelled internationally, would you recommend using Disney for the air arrangements? Is Disney much more costly than booking yourself?

Sandy,
I've flown a lot, I've got 2.6 million miles logged on my American freq flyer account alone. Although many of those are bonus miles and such. But you get the idea. So here are my thoughts in response to your questions:

1) There's a huge difference in space betweeen Business and Coach seats. For example on American the business class seats fully recline into an almost flat bed. The seat pitch, distance between seats, is 59" and in coach it's 31". The service levels are vastly different as well; in business you get hot towels, pre-take off drinks, much improved meal service, usually ice cream sundaes for desserts, appetizers, video movies on demand or players, noice cancelling headsets, etc, etc.

Then first class is a step up over business, with 89" seat pitch, yet improved service, better food, more personalized service, etc

Now all that comes with a huge price difference. For example if a RT coach ticket to Europe was $1,000/person in coach it might be $4,000 in business and $7,000 in first. You can find sales, YUP fares, and other things to minimize that or use FF miles to upgrade, etc. But it's not cheap, especially these days.

2) When I fly internationally to any major event, business meeting, cruise, Disney ABD trip, I never fly in the day of. There are too many risks. Flight issues, mechanical problems, weather, etc. Not to mention time zone changes that require adjustment. You are never fresh after a 14-16 hour travel day. You need to sleep and adjust to the new timezone. No matter what class of service, I'd highly recommend flying in the day before.

3) This is a tough one. Best thing to do is shop, shop and then compare. Using Disney has some advantages (protection if there are issues, etc) but you may find fares cheaper on your own. Best thing to do, to start getting quotes, use www.kayak.com and Orbitz, Expedia, etc and then the airlines own sites, get some prices and then call Disney to get their quote. Remember, simple things like a day change or time change can make huge fare differences. The hard part is timing. Prices are usually high if you are really early, then 3-6 months prior they may drop or be on sale, BUT you are then battling how many seats are left. Esepcially with todays airline service reductions. You wait too long and you can't get your entire family on one flight. Not good. So it's a bit of a gamble when to buy. It's always best to have a seat for everyone at a slightly higher cost, than no seats at all.

Also, if you thought the flights were full 2 years ago...wait till you fly now!

Hope that helped.
Keith

 

[zachsmomie]

Thank you so much for your prompt and candid reply. I can't find anywhere that will give me prices for airfare right now but I just wanted to get an idea.

While I love the idea of upgrading to business class, the upgrade might be as much as the ABD trip cost. UGH!

 

[SailingBeagle]

I absolutely agree with Rkdahl on everypoint, especially traveling at least
1 day ahead of the trip start date.
Most airlines have just under 12months available on their web sites.
If you are looking at next summer...to get you a ballpark idea..price out this
summer. The fare increases have gone into effect for most airlines already.
Dosen't mean they won't go high, but at least you will get an idea.

Happy planning

 

[dingoballs]

SO...instead of working on my grad class I have been reading everything I can about the Viva Italia trip. I know the 2009 dates and rates do not come out until later this month/early next month but I am trying to prepare and look at our budget to see if it is feasible.

Having said that, my question is about air travel. We have only flown domestically and only flown economy/coach. Most flights have been to Orlando for less than 2 hours and not a big deal. But 2 years ago we went to Hawaii from the East Coast. All the flights were very full and I could tell my husband was uncomfortable for the many hours we were on the plane. Also, my son is now 15 and has grown like a weed! So here are my questions:

1) Is there a big difference in personal space between Business and Coach when you travel internationally? I can't seem to find a clear answer. I keep getting 6 inches but I have a hard time realizing what that means.

2) What would you do...fly coach and arrive a day early or fly business and arrive the day of?

3) Also, since we have never travelled internationally, would you recommend using Disney for the air arrangements? Is Disney much more costly than booking yourself?

Thank you in advance!
Sandy

Here is a very informative website for you to check out air fares for the various airlines. www.itasoftware.com
(Click on "Search Airfares" and log in as a guest)

 

[eva]

Keith has it right on the money. While flying business or first class is great, you will pay a premium for it. Our roundtrip coach flight to Italy from Peoria, IL cost us around $1,300 per person. The same flights business would be over $4,500 a person. Business class is nice. I've flown business a number of times for work and a couple times for vacations. But in this case I just can't justify the cost. I think I will put up with tight quarters for 8 hours to save $6,400. Wow! I could take another ABD for that amount.

 

[zachsmomie]

Keith has it right on the money. While flying business or first class is great, you will pay a premium for it. Our roundtrip coach flight to Italy from Peoria, IL cost us around $1,300 per person. The same flights business would be over $4,500 a person. Business class is nice. I've flown business a number of times for work and a couple times for vacations. But in this case I just can't justify the cost. I think I will put up with tight quarters for 8 hours to save $6,400. Wow! I could take another ABD for that amount.

You know. .. that is my thought too. I am thinking the cost is too prohibitive especially since you could do another adventure for that extra money. Enjoy your trip. I can't wait to hear about it when you return.

 

[jackienut]

SO...instead of working on my grad class I have been reading everything I can about the Viva Italia trip. I know the 2009 dates and rates do not come out until later this month/early next month but I am trying to prepare and look at our budget to see if it is feasible.

Having said that, my question is about air travel. We have only flown domestically and only flown economy/coach. Most flights have been to Orlando for less than 2 hours and not a big deal. But 2 years ago we went to Hawaii from the East Coast. All the flights were very full and I could tell my husband was uncomfortable for the many hours we were on the plane. Also, my son is now 15 and has grown like a weed! So here are my questions:

1) Is there a big difference in personal space between Business and Coach when you travel internationally? I can't seem to find a clear answer. I keep getting 6 inches but I have a hard time realizing what that means.

2) What would you do...fly coach and arrive a day early or fly business and arrive the day of?

3) Also, since we have never travelled internationally, would you recommend using Disney for the air arrangements? Is Disney much more costly than booking yourself?
Thank you in advance!
Sandy

Hi Sandy
We just returned from Viva Italia 6/28/08. We booked our trip entirely through Disney, found our own flights, provided the flight information to Disney and they booked the flights. They updated us periodically of any changes and expressed our tickets to within a month of departure. Everything was effortless for us. No extra cost at all. Have a wonderful trip! You just can't believe how incredible it is going to be!
Jackie

 

[zachsmomie]

Hi Sandy
We just returned from Viva Italia 6/28/08. We booked our trip entirely through Disney, found our own flights, provided the flight information to Disney and they booked the flights. They updated us periodically of any changes and expressed our tickets to within a month of departure. Everything was effortless for us. No extra cost at all. Have a wonderful trip! You just can't believe how incredible it is going to be!
Jackie

Jackie,
That is good to hear. I am going crazy waiting for the dates/rates to come out. I really need to work on the final project for my class but I keep drifting over to the DisBoards.
Hopefully you can answer a question(s) for me.

1) When you booked you ABD did you tell Disney you wanted them to get the air for you?
2) When did you give them the flights that you wanted? I can't even find the flight times/rates posted yet as it is too early on all the sites suggested by earlier posters (thank you again for all your help posters - I have them bookmarked!) Or did you just give them time (like I want to leave in the evening)?
3) Did Disney tell you what carrier to check for flight times or were you free to choose whomever?

I love my husband but the more info I can give him at one time, the more likely I will be able to convince him this is doable! (Not that I really think he will say no because he is a great guy) He just is a facts and figures man. LOL I have a spreadsheet already set up with last year's Disney prices (just waiting to change to this year) and any available room rates/tour costs/etc. for if we did it by ourselves. I already have a $3000 difference between Disney and "doing it ourselves" and that doesn't count all the magical Disney extras. (Can you tell I am practicing my pitch on you?!)

Thanks again,
Sandy

 

[jackienut]

Hi again Sandy,
We booked VIVA ITALIA either the very day or the next day after the dates/rates were released year. Since you are not required to book airfare right away, we found our own flights very early in Oct, called Disney with the information and they handled it all. After they made the reservations, I was able to log into the airline website and select our seats. We wanted as much control of our ticket prices, scheduled departures, layovers, etc as possible.
We were interested in a night flight which was more condusive to sleep, and we did not want to "hit the ground running" once we arrived in Rome. We left RDU in NC @ 5:45 pm, left JFK @ 9:30 pm. and arrived in Rome the next day at 11:30 a.m. We also had an extra day at beginning and end of our trip.