Which airline?

[MumsieDonsie]

Hi,
I've booked accommodation for October 2018, and am waiting for flights to be released at a price I am happy to pay. I've read on here that BA have a summer sale which may start soon, and just wondered what people's experiences were with Virgin, Thomas cook, and ba?
We'll have 3 youngish children with us (11,8,5) so as well as cost I need to weigh up what will be the best to keep them entertained? And which people think offer the best comfort?
Tia

[smithlane]

Just a heads up about the BA sale. You'll have to wait for the December one to book flights for Oct 2018. BA release flights 355 days ahead. I think it's only Virgin Holidays (not Virgin Atlantic), TC and Thomson that you can book that far in advance as well as other independent travel agents such as Charter and Ocean.
I would personally go with the cheapest and make sure you have a tablet loaded with games and films for them. It's a means to an end for me 😃

[MumsieDonsie]

Aah ok, I'll be waiting til the 11 months out then and compare then. Thanks for the info x

[NewtoOrlando]

To me it's much of a muchness. They all have IFE, they all have seats and a good safety record, airline food is never good and kids get bored on all flights no matter the airline lol. So I break it down into:

What flight times I prefer
Departing airport - would rather fly from Heathrow than Gatwick as it's up the road
Arriving airport - flew into Miami last year and would happily do that again, if not hiring a car it would have to be direct to Orlando.
And price! So last year we flew Heathrow to Miami, wuth BA with a car & a night in Miami, it was £2368 for 2 adults and kids 8 & 10. No problems with the flight or flying into Miami and the drive up to Orlando was easy (long, but easy) However, if Virgin/Thomas Cook/Norwegian/Thomsons etc were offering a good deal from Gatwick to Orlando I would book that, but will more often than not come down to price for me. I'm not brand loyal, 9 hours in a metal tube isn't my idea of fun but it's a means to an end and gets me to the happy place!

[Guest]

Hi there,
We're brand loyal with BA as far as other parts of the States but are back with Virgin for Florida this year. They're great with little (& big) kids. Afraid I can't comment personally on TC, but I do know they were really late settling off when my parents used them to both Orlando & Vegas. BA & Virgin has always been on time- important to us, especially when the kids were little. I would have gone with BA again if they'd flown from Manchester- they don't without a connection. That said, my children might vote for Virgin. In the end I'd say, go for the best deal between these two.

[MumsieDonsie]

Thanks so much for your help everyone. It's our first Florida holiday so want to try and get the flights as cheap as possible to have extra spends for the Disney treats 😀

[Kazorina]

I have 3 kids of the same ages! and we flew with Thomas cook and tbh they did not watch the IFE much at all. Their own tablets, books and toys kept them occupied enough and they were more comfortable than us and all of them managed a wee nap. So I wouldn't let that be a factor for you.

[martyn7836]

It's been virgin for us lately and just returned on virgin again however we have decided to go back next year and said we would use anyone who ever is cheaper. My eldest my wife and myself all used the IFE even though we all had iPads fully loaded my youngest never even turned it on and the food was poor (don't ever expect anything out of this world on a plane) however i was told today when I returned to work that it's been announced that tablets will be banned in the near future not sure how true this is. Anyhow i believe the virgin IFE is much better and will use them again if not available to use tablets just to help pass the 9 hours.