Flight woes

[Floridatilly]

We have still not booked our fights for our upcoming trip. It’s looking like we will have to fly indirect and pay an extra thousand pound for the privilege!
We can’t drive down to London because we really don’t want to leave our car there for a month. I am an anxious flyer to say the least, my daughter has type 1 diabetes and flying has a massive negative impact on her bloods, my middle son has ADHD and ASD, our youngest son will be 7 so needs entertaining and a long day/flight will have a impact on him.
All in all it’s not a straight forward, easy flight so a direct flight is hugely beneficial.

Next year (2021) we had planned on going to Florida again because we have 3 big celebrations. My husband is 50, daughter is 18 and it’s our 20th wedding anniversary! But this flight situation is really putting a dark cloud over it and we are now considering not going.

I know this is such a superficial problem to have and I know we are extremely lucky to even consider going two years in a trot.
We don’t go out, we don’t drink or smoke, we don’t have take aways etc we save very hard for our holidays because they are very special but where do we draw the line. Tickets have gone up, flights have gone up, villas have gone up, car hire hire too. We are becoming priced out I am afraid.
Our children think we are still going next year and will be gutted if we don’t go. We have requested villa prices but not booked anything yet (sorry if I have not got back to dibb owners but we are unsure at the moment)
I was hoping that Manchester would have some other airline in place after the TC situation. At the moment Virgin has the monopoly for Manchester.

Sorry for the long moaning post!

[Lostbrain]

Sounds frustrating! Could you get public transport to London if it's a big saving? Allowing you to get there without the car parking issues?
We flew indirect home last year and were surprised at how easy it was, we went via Detroit and it was actually less painful having the journey broken up.
Hope you find something x

[Rac20]

Have you tried flights from Newcastle? We saved hundreds in 2018 flying from there rather than Manchester and it’s only a couple of hours drive away.

[Steveje]

I left my car for over 3 weeks no issues. If you are going to leave your car for any time in an organised compound.. not talking multi storey here! Then the duration has no real factor. If it makes things more convenient and cheaper I would just do it.. with no worries. Also at the end of the day it's just a car.. the important things will be with you.

[JimF]

Originally Posted by Steveje

I left my car for over 3 weeks no issues. If you are going to leave your car for any time in an organised compound.. not talking multi storey here! Then the duration has no real factor. If it makes things more convenient and cheaper I would just do it.. with no worries. Also at the end of the day it's just a car.. the important things will be with you.

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Agree with that. We have used Gatwick official parking for years for trips from 2 weeks to 2 months and never had a problem. Parking for a month on your dates is about £160. You could save about £700 to £800 on direct flights using BA or Virgin from Gatwick.

The main issue for us is the drive back. We prefer regional airports, if we can find the flights but Gatwick is the fallback option unless Regional 1 stop flights are significantly cheaper. Good luck with the search.

[Floridarules]

Are you committed to this year with villa bookings etc? I ask as we were going this year but the flights just have not been at a low enough price to justify.

Alternatively the train is a great alternative. Make sure you get a Friends and Family railcard and this makes a massive saving!

[Brave5]

Last year we took the train down to London and back after our trip... we actually really enjoyed the journey as we didn't have to drive after a long flight. Getting from airport to major train stations is very easy as well. If you do do this make sure your return train ticket is an anytime ticket to cover any flight delays.

[3disneykids]

I totally get where you are coming from... my reluctance to go hand luggage only doesn't help (though it may be my only option next time) The thought of Carting 5 cases and 5 hand luggage on public transport is a no go and that amount of luggage wouldn't fit in our Car. Things seem a little more complicated with children and I guess more so when they have special needs. I like to fly from Manchester and a connection I feel would be less stressful than going to London (though i haven't done either).
This year we paid the price for Direct and made some adjustments to our dates to fit a better budget (not a perfect budget though).

I think next time if I want to go again I will have to be more flexible but just wanted to be booked and sorted for this time.

Hope you fin something appropriate it is really hard logistically for a family 5 but I am sure you will find something x

[Sew109]

Sorry is this for 2021 or 2020 ? if for 2021 of course flights are expensive as they are not out until 11 months before your return date and you need to look far later on. We have booked flights at 9 months but usually its under 6months and sometimes under 3.

Also if you are going for a month maybe if you went for three weeks you could use the money save for direct flights.

I would not worry about next years flight prices yet the pound is getting stronger the US is now 100% oil sufficient it is possible that they will come down and of course as the deals start to get sorted for Brexit the pound will only get stronger.

Flying indirect is no biggie I live in Kent Gatwick 2-3 hours depending on traffic and Heathrow 2.5-4 we always stay overnight before a flight. If you did drive down here a one way rental of a bigger car may save you and be cheaper than the parking.

I would not hesitate to drive to Manchester to save enough money but I would far rather fly indirect than travel to Manchester, flying indirect is no biggie you dont have to do anything extra apart from you collect your cases twice and get on a plane twice. You clear immigration and customs before you get to your final destination which is so much better.

Flying indirect really is not a big deal at all for me navigating Disney and just being in Magic Kingdom is far more stressful than an indirect flight.

[Mr Tom Morrow]

Can I ask what the issue is with leaving your car? Is it the cost or something else?

I leave mine at Gatwick for 12 weeks a year in total. Mind you I wont leave it in a car park and use a Meet & greet company.