Flights from Boston/Providence Area

[jenos0524]

Has anyone recently traveled from Boston/Providence to Orlando/Tampa/Jacksonville/Miami recently?

I have flown from Providence to Tampa and also Boston to Orlando before, but those were well over 5 years ago.

My trip isn't until August 2016 so flights are not out yet,

But based on research It looks like
Delta comes out with their flight schedule in another week,
Jet Blue will release theirs in December, then Southwest will released sometime Jan/Feb/Mar.

Which airline would you recommend? Again I can fly out of Boston or Providence as I live equally in between the two. I Prefer to fly into Orlando to use the ME, but if Tampa/Jacksonville/Miami are cheaper with a rental car, then I am fine with driving the extra distance.. Also what is the rule with Car seats for kids in FL? Is a taxi out of the question? I really don't want to fly with it, if I don't need to.

Thanks in advance!

 

[lilclerk]

We always fly Providence to Orlando on Southwest. PVD is such a small, easy airport, I love it. Security usually only takes a few minutes, and then it's a straight walk to your gate. I don't have experience with parking long-term there, so I can't help with that if you need it. We only live about 20 minutes away, so it's easy enough to get someone to give us a ride there.
Then Southwest usually has good rates, and a bunch of non-stop times to choose from. Jet Blue started flying non-stop to Orlando a year or two ago, but I've never liked their flight times. Their prices look okay, but I haven't been able to find a good time. They seem to only have 2 or 3 flights a day out of Providence. If I could get a good time, I would give them a shot.

The biggest thing to keep in mind about SW is their boarding procedure. You need to either check in exactly 24 hours before your flight, or buy the early bird check in, so that you can get a good boarding number.

 

[jenos0524]

Thanks. I actually work less than 5 minutes from the airport so I can leave me car at work if I need to.

Does southwest always let passengers with young kids to board first? Last time i went SW it was for a cruise so i checked in online early to leave, but on the way home we got a C # and got lucky and got 2 seats next to each other. Considering we are with my almost 3 year old daughter I want to guarantee 3 seats next to each other.

The problem is Delta comes out with their flights first, then Jet Blue then Southwest. I don't want to book Delta and then find better prices on the other two. (if i fly Jet Blue it will most likely be out of Boston as they have more flights to choose from, and I would pay a company to drive us in and pick us up)

Any ideas on what is a good price to pay for a roundtrip flight to/from orlando? I may just book Delta if prices are decent, but I know I would have to pay for the Bags to fly as well...

Thanks for your advice, I would rather fly out of TF Green anyday, Logan is huge, but tends to have the cheaper prices, How is Airport security with little ones too?

 

[anchorman314]

I also live between Logan and Green. We've flown out of both over the last few years. While Logan definitely has more options (airlines and times), I much prefer Green. When we've used Green, it's always been on Southwest. However, for our upcoming trip, we're flying JetBlue (first for me, not for others I'm traveling with). We like to leave in the morning, but on the earlier side. Southwest only had super-early, or early afternoon. JetBlue had the better morning time for us.

 

[dvitali]

If you considering Hartford Connecticut Bradley Field, jetblue flies out to orlando 7:30 am direct flight. SouthWest never tried, and Delta do not have direct anymore.

 

[Ben_since_1971]

Southwest lets families board in between A & B groups.
Delta has only one non-stop per day between MCO and BOS.
I prefer BOS due to familiarity (I used to travel for business) and ease of getting there (my MIL lives 10 minutes from Braintree Logan Express). But I agree Green is a friendlier airport to get in and out of.
I used to swear by Delta. However - I may start flying Southwest once I use all my Delta miles up. They always seem to come in cheaper than Delta. Plus Delta is changing their business model to suit business and international flyers. I haven't flown JetBlue enough to make any decision. But SW not charging for bags is another consideration I am making.

 

[Figments Friend]

I have flown out of Boston's Logan many times over the years to Orlando, and the best flights were all on carriers that no longer exist.
Eastern, Continental and Delta's 'Song'....remember them?
AirTran was another one I enjoyed...reasonable rates and a time schedule that worked for me.
But that was then....this is now.

The last few times i have flown to Orlando I have enjoyed JetBlue.
I could find non-stops at fair rates and times that worked well for me.
I have also gone via Delta and American too in the past, both being a rare treat mostly due to pricing.

Which brings up the topic of Southwest..
Since they started service at Logan a few years ago, I have yet to have found them a cheap alternative.
For years I would drool as people would rave about the ridiculously cheap fares that were available through this airline.
At the time, SW only serviced Manchester, NH and that was too far out of my reach for an option.
When it was announced SW would start flying out of Logan, I was pumped.
I was really looking forward to finally being able to take advance of all these amazing deals I kept hearing about and thought this would help me save some money on flights.
Big nope.

Every time I price out various flights, even these days, I can always find a much better rate then what SW offers out of Logan.
So it was a big disappointment.
Once I learned more about their unusual boarding procedures however I quickly realized I wasn't missing out on anything.
So I don't find them to be a option at all price wise out of Boston.
Their planes sure do look pretty though....


So JetBlue gets my top vote for flying to Orlando.
There snacks are the best too....gotta have them 'blue chips'..and lots of them!

-

 

[jenos0524]

Eastern, Continental and Delta's 'Song'....remember them?

-

Last time i went to Disney i flew out of Boston to Disney I went Delta Song... They were great Tvs at every seat (before JetBlue was around.)

Have you ever tried Southwest out of TF Green? I flew them to Tampa about 6 years ago.

I got the Prices for Delta and its approx $1200 for 3 roundtrip flights (fly out on a tuesday(8/16), inbound on a thursday(8/25)

Looks like I will be waiting for Jet Blue Prices to become available next out of Logan/Boston.
or Southwest out of TF Green/Providence.

Thanks all for the info.

 

[Nemo14]

We live about 5 minutes from TFGreen (2 minutes from all the construction...) and we generally fly Southwest. Their prices are usually the best and the first 2 bags fly free. The check-in process is a bit of a pain, but if you check in right at the 24 hour mark, you'll be OK. Also as others have mentioned, families with kids are allowed to board between the A and B groups, so you'll have no problem getting 3 seats together. SW will be opening their calendar up on October 27 for flights up until June 3, so you'll have to wait a while before you can check their prices for August.

 

[jenos0524]

Thanks! What construction near TF Green? I work 5 minutes away from there in the industrial park behind Swarovski, Pepsi, & Channel 10 NBC.

 

[Nemo14]

Thanks! What construction near TF Green? I work 5 minutes away from there in the industrial park behind Swarovski, Pepsi, & Channel 10 NBC.

The rerouting of Main Ave over on the other side (where the ballfields used to be)

 

[Figments Friend]

Last time i went to Disney i flew out of Boston to Disney I went Delta Song... They were great Tvs at every seat (before JetBlue was around.)

Have you ever tried Southwest out of TF Green? I flew them to Tampa about 6 years ago.

I got the Prices for Delta and its approx $1200 for 3 roundtrip flights (fly out on a tuesday(8/16), inbound on a thursday(8/25)

Looks like I will be waiting for Jet Blue Prices to become available next out of Logan/Boston.
or Southwest out of TF Green/Providence.

Thanks all for the info.

Glad I could help out a little.

I'm not able to get to TF Green, so my only option is Logan.
When i used to fly to Orlando from Boston in the past I could find excellent rates from JetBlue and American.
The flights were always non-stop and the times worked well for me.
Not sure if that is true today..its been two years since I've been back to Florida.

Once in a while I could snag a cheap rate from Delta, but at that time it was rare.
AirTran and Song were the best options back in the day for me.
After their time it was usually JetBlue or American that had the best fares between those two destinations.

I fly mostly to Californai now, focusing on Disneyland, so the routing is different and currently my best options to SNA (Orange County) from Boston are United and American.
JetBlue has non-stop to Long Beach, CA which is great.....but it is usually a little pricier.


-

 

[dreamfinder]

Which brings up the topic of Southwest..
Since they started service at Logan a few years ago, I have yet to have found them a cheap alternative.
For years I would drool as people would rave about the ridiculously cheap fares that were available through this airline.
At the time, SW only serviced Manchester, NH and that was too far out of my reach for an option.
When it was announced SW would start flying out of Logan, I was pumped.
I was really looking forward to finally being able to take advance of all these amazing deals I kept hearing about and thought this would help me save some money on flights.
Big nope.

Every time I price out various flights, even these days, I can always find a much better rate then what SW offers out of Logan.
So it was a big disappointment.
Once I learned more about their unusual boarding procedures however I quickly realized I wasn't missing out on anything.
So I don't find them to be a option at all price wise out of Boston.
Their planes sure do look pretty though....


So JetBlue gets my top vote for flying to Orlando.
There snacks are the best too....gotta have them 'blue chips'..and lots of them!

-

Pretty sure that Southwest expanded into Logan around the time their locks on fuel prices started to run out. So their prices had to go up to more in line with the rest of the industry. At this point though, I think JetBlue has the most flights out of Logan, they just don't seem to be as good as flying out of MHT on SW.

 

[Kate Alan]

I fly out of BOS JetBlue every time I go to MCO (or anywhere else they have a direct route to frankly). I usually find them to be the cheapest (they also often have flight sales), their customer service has always been great, and between the JetBlue Amex and doing surveys through E-Rewards and Points For Surveys, I accrue flight points very quickly. I've already secured plane tickets through them for my December and February WDW trips, and I only had to pay out of pocket for one way on the second trip that way.