Which is the safer option at this point???

[Laura]

To drive or to fly, that is the question.

I'm really conflicted over this. I leave for Disney in exactly 3 weeks. All along we have been planning to drive. I am not really concerned about the cost of gas, but the availability. I'll need 4 full tanks to get there and back.

But on the other hand, if we flew, there's the possibility of Orlando airport closing now??

So which is the safer bet at this point?

I did the calculations and found I could fly my family of 4 roundtrip instead of drive, and stay another night at Poly (Lagoon view) and spend another full day in Disney for only $300 more than the cost of not having that extra night and day and having to drive each way. The problem is I think I'd lose my mind having to use Magical Express and bus transportation for 11 days, so a rental car would be another $300 on top of that.

Anyway, I'm just trying to decide what is the safest option. I'd have to decide quickly as we are leaving in only 3 weeks!

 

[s25843]

The Bus/Monorail transportation isnt that bad. Although, I agree with you on Magical Express.


If you are going to fly, I would say make sure it is on a major carrier, and you should be fine.

 

[Laura]

The bus transportation wouldn't be bad, except we are doing a lot of resort to resort trips, which would be a huge hassle without our own vehicle.

Is Southwest a major carrier? That's where I found the tickets for under $100 roundtrip.

 

[dixiegirl]

i can relate..we are leaving sept 9 for our disney trip....hopefully orlando will be up and running..i went on the orlando international airport website...as of now (knock on wood) they are trying to conserve and still keep things running...we fly out on southwest airlines....lets keep our fingers crossed..i know it might seem so selfish to others to worry about things like this because of what is going on with katrina....but i know as well as others i'm just concered..

 

[Bluewaves]

Yes Southwest is a major carrier. I wouldn't worry about fuel shortages for the airlines. Its very unlikely that the airlines will run out of fuel. If you can stand taking buses then take the buses, ME is not bad at all and I still don't understand the bad rap it gets.

Myself I couldn't stand driving thats the long and the short of it. I would fly any day before driving anythign more than about 3 hours.

 

[Miss Bell]

What's up with the airport? I haven't heard anything about potential closings, but I do live under a rock. We're going in about 6 weeks.

 

[righttrack]

Whatever you do, consider carrying travel insurance, esp if travelling by air. I would do either, but only a major carrier (jetblue included)

 

[mousermerf]

Central Florida has plenty of gas - it's supplied from the Virgin Islands, not the Gulf coast.

 

[tigger_rox00]

I really haven't seen any reports on any of the major networks or newspapers about airports closing. I know American has found some great ways to conserve gasoline so has Southwest. Maybe someone can point me to the news story that talks about airports closing, because I don't think it will happen.

 

[Shrike]

Central Florida has plenty of gas - it's supplied from the Virgin Islands, not the Gulf coast.

I certainly wouldn't go that far, though I wouldn't worry about cancelled flights in or out of MCO because of fuel concerns.

It is however a fact that at least 3 major carriers aren't refueling in Orlando, and are instead carrying enough fuel for a round trip. It's also a fact that MCO has had to fly fuel in quite recently because weather has disrupted shipping schedules, but things are fine right now.

All bets are off if there should be another double digit decrease in the supply of Jet A, but as things stand there's not a huge amount of concern.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Laura22 - Go by air and hire your rental car - ignore the fact that the airports MIGHT close due to lack of fuel. Orlando must be THE busiest airport in Florida (prepares to be corrected on this) and if any airports were to close then the smaller ones would be shut first ie those with minimal international flights and travellers.
Take out holiday insurance to be safe.
Enjoy yourselves !

 

[brich]

Taken from a Travel Industry publication I subscribe to.... Hope it helps

Aviation industry will deal with jet fuel shortages (09/01/2005)
FAA, ATA: Airports, airlines in no urgent danger
By Andrew Compart

WASHINGTON -- Airports and airlines do have enough jet fuel to support continued full commercial operations, both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Air Transport Association (ATA) said Sept. 1.

The FAA and the ATA issued the statements after some individuals were quoted in the media suggesting shortages could force some airports to shut down.

There are jet fuel shortages, some of which have been exacerbated by the impact of Hurricane Katrina on Gulf Coast refineries and jet fuel pipelines.

But “given that a number of major pipeline operators have now resumed operations, we believe the aviation industry will not face any immediate disruptions relating to the supply of jet fuel,” the FAA said.

The ATA, for its part, also declared “there is not an imminent threat of significant flight cancellations or airports being shut down.”

“Over the next several weeks fuel supply problems could become more critical if the supply line is not restored” ATA president and CEO James May said. “However, reports from both oil companies and pipelines indicate positive developments.”

The ATA already was talking before the hurricane about jet fuel shortages at some airports, and it said the effects of Katrina reduced the production of jet fuel by 13%.

Airports with shortages include Charlotte, N.C.; Fort Myers and West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Washington (Dulles), the ATA said.

The ATA never said any airports were in danger of shutting down. But it did say keeping them stocked has been a major logistical challenge.

One way the airline industry has been doing it is by tr__________g fuel to the airports. Another is by a method called “tankering.” With tankering, airlines carry extra fuel in an aircraft when flying to the airport so they won’t need to fill up as much for the subsequent flight.

One airline, for example, recently loaded its aircraft with 60,000 extra gallons for a flight from Denver. That can be costly to an airline, however, because a heavier plane burns more fuel. As a general rule, an aircraft burns about 200 additional pounds of fuel for every 1,000 pounds it carries above its optimal level, a pilot told TravelWeekly.com.

ATA chief economist John Heimlich said other potential methods for coping with the shortages include more fuel conservation -- although airlines have been doing plenty of that already to cope with rising fuel prices-and schedule reductions.

 

[brich]

Laura22 - Go by air and hire your rental car - ignore the fact that the airports MIGHT close due to lack of fuel. Orlando must be THE busiest airport in Florida (prepares to be corrected on this) and if any airports were to close then the smaller ones would be shut first ie those with minimal international flights and travellers.
Take out holiday insurance to be safe.
Enjoy yourselves !

Miami gets the "busiest" title in Florida. But not by that much... :animwink:

 

[Laura]

Yes Southwest is a major carrier. I wouldn't worry about fuel shortages for the airlines. Its very unlikely that the airlines will run out of fuel. If you can stand taking buses then take the buses, ME is not bad at all and I still don't understand the bad rap it gets.

Myself I couldn't stand driving thats the long and the short of it. I would fly any day before driving anythign more than about 3 hours.

It's not that I think Magical Express is bad, but here's why I prefer flying. If we flew our flight would leave at 10:15 a.m, so we'd need to get to the airport around 8:30 a.m. It takes 3 hours to drive to the airport from here, so we'd have to leave our house at 5:30 a.m. We'd get to Orlando at 11:30 and then probably wouldn't actually make it to our resort until 1 p.m. So for us to take a 1 hour flight to Orlando actually takes 7 1/2 hours! Driving only takes about 10 1/2, broken up over 2 days it's not bad at all.

My husband just told me last night that we only have 1 gas station in town that isn't out of gas. I wish there was some way to know if this situation would improve in the next 3 weeks or get worse.

Those of you who said you haven't heard about airport closures, it was posted right here in this forum: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=62117

 

[barnum42]

If flying is an affordable option, that's what I personally would go for. Certainly beats a long drive.

 

[Did Knee]

I'm driving down from near Atlanta on the 18th. It sounds like I don't have to worry about gas shortages in Florida, and I usually only have to gas up once in south Georgia, but that's what is worrying me. Any thoughts?

 

[Laura]

Taken from a Travel Industry publication I subscribe to.... Hope it helps

Aviation industry will deal with jet fuel shortages (09/01/2005)
FAA, ATA: Airports, airlines in no urgent danger
By Andrew Compart

WASHINGTON -- Airports and airlines do have enough jet fuel to support continued full commercial operations, both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Air Transport Association (ATA) said Sept. 1.

The FAA and the ATA issued the statements after some individuals were quoted in the media suggesting shortages could force some airports to shut down.

There are jet fuel shortages, some of which have been exacerbated by the impact of Hurricane Katrina on Gulf Coast refineries and jet fuel pipelines.

But “given that a number of major pipeline operators have now resumed operations, we believe the aviation industry will not face any immediate disruptions relating to the supply of jet fuel,” the FAA said.

The ATA, for its part, also declared “there is not an imminent threat of significant flight cancellations or airports being shut down.”

“Over the next several weeks fuel supply problems could become more critical if the supply line is not restored” ATA president and CEO James May said. “However, reports from both oil companies and pipelines indicate positive developments.”

The ATA already was talking before the hurricane about jet fuel shortages at some airports, and it said the effects of Katrina reduced the production of jet fuel by 13%.

Airports with shortages include Charlotte, N.C.; Fort Myers and West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Washington (Dulles), the ATA said.

The ATA never said any airports were in danger of shutting down. But it did say keeping them stocked has been a major logistical challenge.

One way the airline industry has been doing it is by tr__________g fuel to the airports. Another is by a method called “tankering.” With tankering, airlines carry extra fuel in an aircraft when flying to the airport so they won’t need to fill up as much for the subsequent flight.

One airline, for example, recently loaded its aircraft with 60,000 extra gallons for a flight from Denver. That can be costly to an airline, however, because a heavier plane burns more fuel. As a general rule, an aircraft burns about 200 additional pounds of fuel for every 1,000 pounds it carries above its optimal level, a pilot told TravelWeekly.com.

ATA chief economist John Heimlich said other potential methods for coping with the shortages include more fuel conservation -- although airlines have been doing plenty of that already to cope with rising fuel prices-and schedule reductions.

Thanks - that makes me feel like that option is safe anyway. I would still much rather drive - we only saved up a certain budget and flying and getting a rental car is not in the budget, so it would be going on credit, which I hate! But I guess putting a few hundred on credit is better than skipping the vacation altogether.

 

[brich]

Thanks - that makes me feel like that option is safe anyway. I would still much rather drive - we only saved up a certain budget and flying and getting a rental car is not in the budget, so it would be going on credit, which I hate! But I guess putting a few hundred on credit is better than skipping the vacation altogether.

I feel your concerns. We leave in 48 days, which is still a ways out, but I'm somewhat concerned about a fuel shortage. This sure isn't an easy time to vacation but we all have to get on as best as we can. No panic, just prepare...
Good Luck! and have FUN !!! :sohappy:

 

[swimmom]

I am almost certain that there will be a shortage of gas and I would feel much safer flying, especially with small children. When you are driving, you just don't know where you may encounter gas stations out of fuel or limiting purchases.

 

[mousebymarriage]

OMG, i had no idea the aiport closing was even an issue (i guess my severe case of mommy brain hasn't cleared up yet. However, I am predicting a full recovery on Sept.6th- that's when the kiddies go back to school!LOL)

We leave in 31 days , I hope there are no problems with the airport closing!
I guess i'll just keep my fingers crossed!