[YoYo]

I'm thinking of going to the EAA Sun N Fun in early April this year.

Anyone know what the best route/Airline to take to get me there?

[RV BLUE]

I've been there a few times, its a wonderful show, and getting better every year. I think Orlando would be good for you, its not too far away from Lakeland. Have fun , maybe I'll see ya there.....

[aviateire]

I flew EI direct DUB - MCO last Summer with no problems, saved a lot of messing by not goin BA or someother airline!
Last time I flew BA we had to get a connection to Heathrow to catch our mode of transport (BA 777, Oh yeah ) to MCO, little bit awkward as you have to go backwards first. On the way back with EI there was a pit stop made in Shannon, didn't care as it was another opportunity to experience T/O and the joy of flight in the 330. The thing is though I remember there was rumour as to whether EI will be operating this route in the near future, thats what I heard anyway.
Where in Florida is it on? Florida is a great place to do some flying, not too much in the midlands apart from a huge croc infested lake namely Lake Okeechobee, nice water feature all the same. Flying along the coast is beautiful and would really recommend it if you got the chance.

[RV BLUE]

Where in Florida is it on?

Its in Lakeland, Florida. check www.eaa.org

[aviateire]

Rite-o, so its in Lakeland, Thanks

IF you were thinking about doing a spot of flying while there you could maybe hire a plane from Orlando Intl or somewhere else if possible and fly down to Lakeland Linder Regional (KLAL) (if thats the airport its on in not 100% sure) that airport can be found under the Miami Sectional chart although Orlando is under the Jacksonville section both of which you can buy from Transair. I have the Florida airport directory and can send you the information on the airport if you were considering it. It probably all depends on how long you plan to stay etc etc. Just an idea worth considering maybe

[alphaLaura]

Ya aer lingus do a direct flight from DUB to MCO - for quite a decent price too. My aunt just took that very flight yesterday and I think it should still be available in a few months time.

[mikekilo]

The last Aer Lingus flight into Orlando is next week - 14th Jan. I presume this aircraft is now being assigned to operate the new Dubai route.

[Dutch Roll]

bang on mike kilo,orlando is dropped and dubai comes in! serious shortage of long haul aircraft,rumours that Aer Lingus leasing 2 A340 from Air Canada

[YoYo]

I'm not getting very far with this so lets change the question slightly. Anyone know the best web sites for getting cheap airline flights?

[aviateire]

Since I have used a few different airlines and you asked which one would get yout there, I thought I was answering your question, maybe it wasn't the answer you were looking for? I suggested some flying since you were in the area, as its a really nice place to fly and could be a missed opportunity.
For cheap tickets or airfares you could try these search engines, they bring up a few different fares from different airlines that meet your criteria:

http://www.travelocity.com/?Service=TRAVELOCITY

http://www.cheaptickets.com/

http://farechase.yahoo.com/

Theres more but am not sure I have the time or patients.
Hope this helps

[mikekilo]

Be aware that some of the above websites don't include low-cost carriers in their searches (eg - jetblue, airtran, etc..).

It is also my experience that the cheapest fares can be found by booking directly thru the airlines that operate transatlantic out of Dublin - and connect to your final destination thru their hub(e.g. Newark for Continental, Atlanta for Delta, Chicago for American). Try Dublin - Orlando on their sites and see who comes out best.

Another option worth a try is to travel on a cheap fare with Aer Lingus to JFK, and connect onto a Jetblue flight (they do great fares JFK - Florida).

Key thing to remember when looking for a cheap fare - you must willing to travel on a Tues,Weds,Thur or a Sat.

Good luck with your search!

[aviateire]

Mikekilo, Words of wisdom!
Ive never done internal flights, only direct or via UK, so I can't comment on Jetblue etc.

I agree that you have to be careful what the search engines spew up, afterall it is a system, but it does make it eaiser to get a broad idea of whats available instead of individually searching each website initially.

I think the way it works is that it will find you the flight from outbound - arrival destination in as direct way as possible, if it cant find a direct route it will bring up all sorts of connections which may be unnecessary but you can obviously sift your way through the nonsense ones and possibly find the one which best suits you. I thinks its a good program to research flight fares as it brings it all up on screen after which you can look up the airline website that has the best price.
Happy researching!!

[shrtfld]

Hi YoYo

Check your PM.

As it happens I am heading over on EI to BOS ( April 8th) and then to MCO on SONG the following morning.

When I was booking (before Christmas) I did not realise at the time thats Sun n Fun was on that weekend. I hope to catch the last day of the event (Monday 10th). I have to check out ground travel and distances.

In the meantime be aware this is the start of the Easter Holidays. Flights are already heavily booked. I had tried BA and Virgin out of the UK but times did not suit. Costs were also very high due to very high demand.

Best of luck. Let me know how you do.

[YoYo]

Thanks everyone for your help

I'm having great fun - only wish I had broadband as comparing prices and routes on a dial up line is a pain.

Route proposed (so far) is Continental from Belfast to EWR. Works out about ?80 cheaper than flying out of Dublin.

Does anyone know how I can locate the cheap carriers who fly out of EWR to Orlando/Miami/Fort Laurderdale. Continental are quoting ?411 for 2 round trip at the times I need to fly to make connections.

[mikekilo]

Sounds like you are unnecessarily buying two seperate legs (Belfast to Newark... and Newark to Orlando)? Have you tried putting Belfast to Orlando as one journey into the Continental website to see what fare they offer? If you look for a fare quote this way, it usually works out cheaper than buying the two legs as seperate tickets.

Perhaps you are doing this intentionally due to a sightseeing agenda in NY If this is the case, then your cheapest fare down to Florida out of all NY airports is likely to be found at www.jetblue.com (they fly to almost all the major airports in Florida except Miami). Alternatively if you fancy a trip on a Boeing 717 - you could fly www.airtran.com , however you'll have a stopover in Atlanta en-route. Another option is www.delta.com and www.aa.com but these are non-lowcost carriers.