Internal US flights

[LLdisney2018]

Hi, we were supposed to travel last year and were going to fly into Charleston to stay with some friends before driving down to Florida for a week. BA aren't doing direct flights to Charleston anymore so thinking of doing a return to Orlando and then on arrival hoping on an internal flight between Orlando and Charleston, then drive down stopping off in a couple of places after a few days with them. Is there anything I need to know with regards to internal flights, can non US citizebs book and are there additional luggage charges etc?

[Softy]

Anyone can book. I used Southwest for orlando to New York a few years ago, as they give 2 free checked bags. They were great.

[Bozza]

If you do mean literally hopping on a flight when you land in MCO, the risk you have is if your incoming flight is delayed by any great margin you could miss your next flight and as they are separate bookings, you will be responsible for that. So there could be a bit of a "gamble" in what time you book that next flight for.

Other than though - anyone can book these flights so you'll have no issue there.

[123]

Almost all US flights will incur luggage charges unless booked at the same time as your transatlantic flight as a single itinerary (and even then sometimes they will charge)

US internal flights will also incur seat charges if you want to pre-select

Anyone can buy them though, it is worth noting that a lot of the budet carriers release their entire season calendar on a specific date (i.e. all Summer 2022 available to book from Nov 30th 2021) inthe way ryanair/easyjet do rather than a rolling 11 month calendar like the larger airlines

Bozza's comment above about missed flights is important, if you book two flights that are not linked in the same itinerary and you miss the second one because the first is late the airline will not switch your ticket or be responsible for rerouting you, that is down to you, most insurers don't cover it either.

The way most people resolve this is by having a day or two in the "change" city before the getting the next flight (or book a connected itinerary - these are often more expensive to cover the risk of these types of scenarios)

[Kraken]

The main risk is a missed onward flight if your transatlantic flight to MCO is seriously delayed. I've been on VS75 when we got to the west coast of Ireland and then had to return to Manchester with a technical fault (smoke on the flight deck). After dumping fuel for 40mins, landing then sitting on the ground in Manchester while the flight deck crew were replaced, we arrived in MCO 3h55min late - annoying as an extra 5mins would have triggered the higher EU261 payout!

Add into any calculations time to clear immigration in MCO, then to check-in for the internal flight & clear the TSA checkpoint to get to the gate. I would allow a minimum of 3hrs - ideally more.

If your budget will stretch to it, get a room at the airport Hyatt for arrival day, then book the first available internal flight the following morning. You can then relax by the pool and enjoy some Florida sunshine on arrival day, get some food and an early night safe in the knowledge that you're already on-airport for the following morning.

Most US airlines, with a few exceptions, charge for everything in the same way Ryanair & easyJet do over here. Bags, seat selection, on-board food and drinks will all be chargeable. Only on some really long trans-continental flights do they offer minimal free food and drinks. You only have to read any aviation forum where lots of US residents post and they all complain of being "Nickel and Dimed" for everything, as they remember the days when bags, seat selection, food & drink were all free.

[CADisneymum]

I love Southwest for internal flights. I used to use the weekly when I lived in the US. My mom used them weekly for years. My husband isn’t American and has travelled on them. As others have said travelled there is no issue for a non-US citizen to book.

My mom has done the travelling on 2 airlines to meet us in London. She got an amazing fare from the east coast of American so took a Southwest flight internally to meet the Virgin plane. She left several hours between the flights and was prepared to stay over if something went wrong. She had a reward ticket and points for a hotel. It worked perfectly but the price was worth the risk. Lol

[macgasbp]

If I can to what's already posted - I have found the US carriers very accommodating if you miss an internal flights as the bigger airlines fly several times a day with a view to taking a later flight. I'm not sure if its an option but what about flying with an US airline from the UK indirect to Charleston with a stop in New York then down to Charleston on return from Orlando back to the UK that way you may save on luggage costs plus takes out the responsibility of a missed connection ? If you go onto the United airlines website you can do a dummy multi trip that way you will have an idea of costing

[LLdisney2018]

Hi All, thanks so much. Im hoping to book a package just in case of issues, once you factor in a multi flight itinerary it seems to push the price up, whereas internal flights seem quite reasonable (though im sure it all stacks up once all the 'extras' are added on!) it's definitely just an idea though and i will be hunting through the various options when my dates are released. Just gutted BA stopped the direct flight. We fly from manchester so i was ok with a change in london but not sure i can be bothered with 2 changes with 2 kids which is why i thought of getting an internal flight and then still possibly flying direct from Manchester. Love the idea of a night at the airport though, we did that a couple of years ago when we flew into tampa.